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Wellness > Health

Lose the Freshman 15: Mission Possible – Assemble Abs

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Having abs is such a nice concept – a flat tummy, a defined waistline and washboard abs are something to pine for.
 
And it’s something I’ve dreamed about, but never really given much thought to. Mainly because I’ve been overweight the majority of my life, so the possibility of me having abs was seriously unlikely.

absBut now that I’m well on my way toward losing weight and getting fit, I realize that striving to have abs one day may not be all that out of reach for me. I understand that I have a LONG way to go before I’ll be anywhere near ready to get abs, but I think it’s a realistic goal to set for my future self. And it’s something to keep me motivated throughout this whole experience.
 
There’s just one problem…
 
I absolutely HATE abs workouts. I would seriously rather run 13.1 miles right this minute than do an abs workout. Is that completely ridiculous? Probably so. But for some reason, I’ve just never enjoyed sit-ups, bicycles and leg lifts.
 
And it’s not because I can’t handle them, because I’m actually in pretty good shape, despite the extra weight I’ve got on me at the moment. I can’t really pinpoint why I hate abs workouts so much, I just do.
 
However, as I find myself longing for a flatter tummy and more defined abs, I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’ll HAVE to do abs workouts if I ever want to see any results.
 
Thankfully, I have my new best friend, Jillian Michaels, and the rest of the crew at SELF magazine on my side. Because they’ve designed some user-friendly abs workouts that aren’t too dreadful, and are motivating me to start working out my abs more often.

images 1One workout focuses on getting you bikini-ready and the other on getting yourself a sexy body
 
The best part about both ab workouts is that you can pretty much do them anywhere, within reason, of course.
I’ve personally taken to doing them in the gym or the comfort of my own living room, depending on my mood and time constraints.

But even better than that, these abs workouts actually work. I can really feel the use of my abs muscles as I do the various exercises, and I definitely felt the effects on my abs and tummy the morning after.

I’m not lying when I say that these workouts mean business
 
And I’m now striving to incorporate abs workouts into my daily life. I’ve started doing some sit ups and leg lifts as soon as I get out of bed in the morning, just as a way to get my energy flowing and wake me up on those early mornings.
           
But I’ve also made sure that I do some sort of abs workout before I go to bed. Because let’s be honest, an abs workout is the simplest, quickest and easiest form of exercise that anyone can do in a day. All it takes is 10 or so minutes and a flat surface to rest on.

images 2 And when I tell myself that, there’s really no excuse for me NOT to do an abs workout. So mark my words, I vow from this day on to do some form of abs workout every day. It’s just too easy to not to. 

Have you spent some time dieting and exercise, only to find one part of the process that you hate? How did you get through it? Let me know! I could use some motivation as I set my sights on doing abs workouts every day, even though I hate them. 

Sara Kaner was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California and first fell in love with journalism as a freshman in high school thanks to her wonderful Intro to Journalism teacher. A family move brought her to Fort Myers, Florida the summer after her freshman year of high school, but she continued to pursue an interest in journalism. She is in her second year at the University of Florida and is pursuing a dual degree in Public Relations and Psychology. She is heavily involved on the UF campus and dedicates most of her time to her various organizations and to her friends. She loves people, magazines, sports and social media, and she hopes to combine all three in her job someday. For now, she aspires to attend Law School and specialize in Media Law. She secretly aspires to be Chelsea Handler, but she's happy being herself for the moment, just as long as she can lose the freshman 15 this semester.