How to Get Abs Fast

Now that we're well into the fall and approaching winter, it's easy to slip into a lazy routine and lose those six pack abs you've worked so hard for. The holidays wreak havoc on flat stomachs thanks to large meals and cold weather. So how you can retain your sexy abs during the most testing time of year? Don't sweat (yet); it's easy if you know how to get abs fast in the first place.

The key to six-pack abs is all about your routine. Find some ab exercises you're comfortable with, create an exercise diary, and stick to it! Some of the most effective ab exercises include crunches, sit-ups, and leg lifts, and they'll have your abs back in shape or firmer than ever as long as you follow them with discipline, despite the challenging winter months.

The first ab exercise, sit-ups, is probably already familiar to you. I know, I know...you hate sit-ups, they're uncomfortable, they take too long, etc. The reasons sit-ups get such a bad rap in the quest to get abs fast is because people just don't do them correctly, or worse -- they do them lazily. First, lie on your back in a flat, open space with knees bent and feet on the floor. With your hands crossed over your chest, focus on your abdominal muscles as you bring your chest up all the way to your knees. Squeeze your abs! The most common mistake people make is that they use muscles other than their abs to pull themselves up. You don't have to do a million fast sit-ups to feel the burn in your ab muscles, you just have to do good ones where all the stress is on the abs.

The crunch, also a great ab exercise, is a variation of the sit-up. Instead of placing your feet on the floor, rest your calves across a bed or piece of furniture so that your knees are bent at a 90 degree angle. Again, visualize your flat stomach and focus on squeezing your abs as you bring your body against your knees. As you get to higher repetitions, picture your sleek, sexy abs or flat stomach with each pump (it really does motivate you).

Finally, leg lifts are a strong lower ab exercises that should get your stomach cut up nicely. While lying with your whole body flat on your back, put your hands under your butt and raise your legs about six inches from the ground, concentrating again on the ab muscles. Breathe in as you lift your legs, breathe out as you lower them and tighten your abs. You get a lot of resistance from these fast, so try to do about three more than you think you can. Remember that you want those abs fast!

Although this guide is on the abdominal exercise area of how to get abs fast, never underestimate the other factors of fitness, especially cardio work and diet. You might find that on your journey to get abs fast you're not seeing the results you expect, and that may be simply because you need to do some jogging as well. In fact, strong abs under a flabby stomach can actually make you look fat! If that's ever happened to you, doing a bit of running will bring all your hard work full circle and reveal those beautiful abs.

Ashley Gray is a personal fitness adviser with over 12 years experience. She recommends http://start-connecting.com as the best home training program available.