Squeezing Abs for a Flat Stomach

Workouts that require you to tighten or squeeze your abs are believed by many to be the secret to a flat stomach. Although this guides you in the right direction, no exercise will spot reduce fat. In order to achieve a flat stomach, you need to combine aerobic exercises, healthy eating and strength-training exercises. Ab workouts can be done with simple ab squeezes and movements at work or at home.

Reverse Ab Curl
Lie on the floor on your back with your hands down to your sides. Keeping your hips on the floor, bend your knees and lift your legs toward your chest. Raise your hips and bring your knees closer to your chest by squeezing your abs. Go slowly to make sure your abs are doing the work of lifting your hips and to avoid swinging your legs. By squeezing your abs, you're targeting your lower front abs, as well as your side abs. To make this exercise more intense, keep your elbows on the floor with your hands in the air.

Abdominal Hold
Sit up tall on the edge of a sturdy chair. Place your hands on the edge of the chair on each side of you with your fingers pointing toward your knees. This is your starting position. Lift your feet 2 to 4 inches off the floor. Squeeze your abs and lift off the chair using your hands. Keep your butt up and off the chair for five to 10 seconds or as long as you're capable of holding yourself up. Bring yourself back down to the starting position. Repeat for one minute.

Swivel Chair
Place your hands a bit wider than shoulder-width apart on a waist-high piece of furniture. Point your feet and hips toward your right hand. Keep your feet together the entire exercise. Raise your heels off the floor and bend your knees enough so they are past your toes. Doing so will lower your body about 5 to 6 inches. This is your starting position. Squeezing your abs, lower yourself deeper and pulse to and from your starting position. Do five slow and 30 fast pulses before switching sides and repeating with your feet and hips pointing to your left hand.

Standing Oblique Strengthener
Hold a heavy object around your house or office, like a gallon of water or a stack of heavy papers. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and squeeze your abs tight. Lift your arms straight out in front of you while holding the object with both hands. Keeping your back straight and your hips in place, slowly move the object to the right and left. One set is one right and left. Do three sets of 20.

Safety
Do not overwork your abs. If the recommended number of sets and reps causes a strain in any of your muscles, decrease by one set or a few reps from each set. Don't increase the number of reps or sets until you have easily completed the recommended number several times without feeling sore the next day.