If you strive to achieve a chiseled, toned midsection, you’ve come to the right place. Sculpting six-pack abs is a common fitness goal; however, you may be under the impression that extreme workouts are the only way to get them. That’s not the case! By implementing the right diet, exercise, and all-around healthy lifestyle strategies into your routine, you can build the abs of your dreams. We’re breaking down how to get six-pack abs, according to people who have done it.
People on TikTok are sharing the tried-and-true steps that helped them sculpt enviable abs. They turned their dreams of abs into a reality—and you can, too. Keep in mind that what works for one person may not be the best course of attack for another, but these tips are certainly a great place to get started.
1. Maintain a calorie deficit.
TikTok user Anastasia (@nastyaswan) reveals in a clip exactly what they did to achieve “perfectly defined abs.” The first and “most important” step they stress is maintaining a slight calorie deficit to melt body fat.
Why is a calorie deficit so important? According to Ronny Garcia, CPT, Blink Fitness, “In order to reveal your abs, you need to reduce your body fat. The way to do this is by burning more calories than you consume (aka a deficit.) When your body is in a calorie deficit, it uses stored fat for energy, helping to uncover your muscles.”
2. Train your abs.
Another tip from Anastasia: Train your abs for five to ten minutes daily. Their abs workout features one-minute planks, flutter kicks, bicycle crunches, and classic crunches.
“Get core specific,” Garcia encourages. “While spot reduction isn’t possible, strengthening specific areas of your body will help define them. Try exercises like planks and Russian twists to target your core.”
3. Adjust your carb intake.
Not all carbs are created equal. Oats, quinoa, bananas, sweet potatoes, and blueberries are just a few examples of “healthy” carbs. However, carbs like white bread, potatoes, white pasta, and pastries lack nutrients.
TikTok user @alphamofficial reveals three hacks to get abs that “show quicker,” one of which is to reduce the amount of bad carbs you consume.
Dr. Amy Lee, chief medical advisor for Lindora, also stresses the importance of cutting out refined carbs. “Your body looks at these as ‘sugar’ when you consume them, so you are likely storing them in your fat tissue,” she tells us. “Typically, when you are storing, it gravitates into the midsection and abdominal area.”
4. Eat your protein.
TikTok user @loganisabella.fit explains in a video that eating protein and practicing clean eating are crucial for your abs: “You need to be eating clean 90% of the time. When you see someone with a shredded six-pack, that’s mostly coming from their diet. You cannot out-train a bad diet. You need to be dialed into your nutrition.”
Dr. Lee agrees that establishing healthy eating habits and consuming plenty of protein matters. “Having adequate protein can support the turnover of muscle mass and in nutrition science, muscle burns calories in the human body,” she tells us.
Alexa Mellardo
Alexa is the Mind + Body Deputy Editor of Eat This, Not That!, overseeing the M+B channel and delivering compelling fitness, wellness, and self-care topics to readers. Read more about Alexa
