Toning Female Abs with Diet and Exercise

A common goal among women who work out is a flat, toned belly, but working female abs is an ongoing struggle. This is because women's bodies likely to store fat as they get older. In fact, for this reason, female six pack abs are a rarity, especially for those past their twenties. However, and with proper diet and targeted exercise, you can achieve that toned belly; in fact, women have even achieved that six pack into their sixties.

Nutrition

A calorie is a unit of energy. If you do not use all of the units of energy you take in, they are stored in the body and become fat. Nutritionists point out that if you eat natural and whole foods and avoid processed foods, you can eat more and will be more satisfied because they are lower in calories and higher in nutrients. Many also recommend that you eat five or six small meals each day, rather than two or three larger meals, because this will boost your metabolism. Healthy eating and lower calorie intake will lead to flatter female abs.

Working the Abs

The considered opinion of the general populous working toward a toned belly is that more crunches are better. Women and men working for a set of six pack abs will put themselves through strenuous abdominal workouts, doing 100 or more crunches each day, only to be frustrated with the lack of results. Like any other muscle group, your abdominal muscles will respond more readily to one or two sets of slow, controlled reps, in combination with regular aerobic activity. Female abs will become more toned if you exercise them the same way you do the rest of your body.

Benefits of Working Your Abs

Achieving female six pack abs is a rare accomplishment, especially for women over thirty. Heredity, cellulite, and body fat all play a role. However, even if you never achieve that six pack, you can still flatten and tone your abs, making you look and feel great. Healthy, toned abdominal muscles are important because they decrease back pain, strengthen your back and torso, and improve your posture.

How to Work Your Abs

Three beneficial exercises for working the female abs include the reverse crunch, in which you lie on your back and slowly bring your knees to your rib cage and slowly stretch them back to the floor; the Captain's Chair, done by supporting yourself with your elbows and lifting your legs into a sitting position, then back down; and the bicycle crunch, lying on the floor with your hands behind your head, and slowly bicycling your legs, meeting the knee with the opposite elbow. These should be done two to three times per week.

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