Many people would like to have a toned tummy but have no idea on how to get one. It takes a lot of time and dedication to tone your tummy, but it can worth it to have increased physical fitness and greater self esteem. You can get a toned tummy through a healthy diet, abdominal exercises and plenty of cardiovascular exercise. Of course, make sure that you check with your doctor before you begin any diet or exercise program.
The first step in your quest for a toned tummy is to check your diet. If you are not eating the right foods, then you will not be able to maximize the benefits from all of your exercise. Cut out fatty foods, and make sure that your daily calorie intake is at a healthy level. You need to consume enough calories to give you enough energy throughout the day, but too many calories can cause you to gain weight. You can search online for a website that has a calorie calculator that will tell you the number of calories that you need based on your sex, height, weight, age and activity level.
The next step is cardiovascular exercise. You can do all of the crunches and abdominal exercises that you want, but the only way to get rid of the fat around your tummy is to burn it off through cardiovascular exercise. If you do not get rid of the layer of fat around your belly then all the abdominal exercises in the world will not get you a tone tummy; you will just have muscles under your fat. There are various types of exercises that will get your heart pumping, such as walking, running, swimming, doing workout videos or playing sports such as tennis or basketball. If you do not regularly exercise, you should start slowly and work your way up to a greater level of activity until you are doing at least 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise three days a week, although you can do much more if you are capable.
The last step in getting a toned tummy is doing abdominal exercises. Crunches, a more compact version of traditional sit-ups, probably are the best workout for your upper abdominal muscles. To target your lower abs, a good exercise to do is bicycles. To do this exercise, lie on your back, put your hands behind your head, lift both knees toward your chest, then begin making a pedaling motion with both feet, similar to the motion of pedaling a bicycle. As you pedal, you can touch each elbow to the opposite knee by turning your torso slightly, thereby working the lower abs and helping you to get a toned tummy.