How to Get a Six Pack (for Girls)

Co-authored by Laila Ajani

Last Updated: November 7, 2022 References Approved

Most people associate six pack abs with guys, but there’s nothing stopping girls from getting them too! With a little bit of hard work and some changes to your diet and exercise routine, you can develop your own six pack very easily.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Diet

1
Create a balanced diet! Eat plenty of protein to build those ab muscles. Avoid sugar altogether and reduce your caloric intake.^{[1]
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- Include plenty of:
  - Lean meat, such as beef, fish, chicken, or turkey.
  - Lean protein, such as eggs and soybeans (tofu) or other beans.
  - Antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables, such as spinach, kale, blueberries, or strawberries.
  - Nuts and seeds, such as walnuts and sunflower seeds (unsalted).
  - Whole grains, such as oatmeal or whole-grain pasta.
- Try to avoid:
  - Fast-foods.
  - Rich sauces, heavy cream, ice cream, desserts and carbohydrates (bread, starches, etc.).
  - Sweets, such as candies, cakes, and pastries.
  - Processed foods, such as sweet breakfast cereals, chips, or fish sticks high in sodium.
- Try not to eat right before you go to bed. Food that gets consumed right before bed often doesn't have enough time to get metabolized by your body, and so is converted directly into fat. Avoid those late-night snacks!
2
Drink plenty of water. A suitable allowance of water for adults is 2.5 liters daily in most instances but most of this quantity is contained in prepared foods. Drinking water also prevents you from drinking other alternatives which contain calories while still keeping you hydrated.^{[2]
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- Cut out all sugary drinks from your diet! Sugary drinks — even those like Diet Coke, or Coke Zero — will not contribute to your overall health like plain, filtered water will. You don't have to be fanatical about it but try to avoid soft drinks as a general rule.
- Drink green tea! Green tea is packed with antioxidants, which are instrumental in curbing free radicals — cells in your body that attack other cells and contribute to aging.^{[3]
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  Research source} Without sugar, green tea is a great way to get some fluids and antioxidants into your body, and it does not contain any calories.
- Drink a big glass of water or green tea right before a meal. This will give your stomach the illusion of being full, which means that you're likely to eat less.
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Eat small portions of food in regular intervals. Shoot to eat about 5-7 times a day, just with really small portions. For a snack, go for a banana and some walnuts, or a small bit of Caprese salad. Your biggest meal of the day should be before mid-day.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Exercise

1
Do the plank exercise. The plank exercise is one of the most reliable, deceptively simple ways to give great definition to your abs. All you need is a flat surface, a little bit of time, and some serious gumption as you feel the burn.
- Get down in the prone position. The tips of your toes and your forearms — from the bottom of your elbow to your balled-up fist — should be the only parts of your body touching the floor.^{[4]
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- Make sure your weight is supported by your toes and your forearms.
- Keep your body as straight as possible at all times. Hold this position as long as you can.
  - To increase difficulty, an arm or leg can be raised. Place one foot on top of the other to also increase difficulty.
2
Do leg raises. Another great ab-builder is leg raises. You'll be able to feel how effective this exercise is as soon as you get into starting position.
- To get into starting position, lie down flat on a matted floor, your head, back and legs completely even with the floor. Shift your hands underneath your glutes.
- Gently lift your feet an inch or so above the ground, so that they are just barely hovering above, and are parallel to the ground. Keep this position until you start to feel a burn in your abs.
- Slowly lift your outstretched legs, with your knees bent a touch until they make a 90-degree angle to the floor. Your body should form an "L" shape.
- When your legs have reached the 90-degree angle, lift your hips up off the floor with the bottoms of your feet facing the ceiling and contract your abs for a second. Gradually lower your legs back down to the starting position, exhale, and repeat. ^{[5]
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Do crunches. Crunches are another great way to get abs quickly and effectively, and there are tons of variations on crunches.^{[6]
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Expert Source

Laila Ajani
Fitness Trainer
Expert Interview. 31 October 2019.} Basic crunches require you to lie down on a matted floor, with your back flat to the ground and your knees bent at a 60-degree angle. With your hands near your temples, or crossed on your chest, lift your shoulder blades off the ground a small bit and feel the "crunch" in your abs. Exhale and go back down to the ground.^{[7]
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Research source} Repeat.
- Try the hands overhead crunch. Instead of keeping your hands at your temple, do a basic crunch while stretching your arms overhead with your palms crossed. Keep your arms outstretched above your head at all times while you complete the crunch.
- Try the cross-body crunch. With your hands to the side of your head and your fingertips at your ears, gently behind your head, bring your left elbow and right knee together when you crunch. Go back down and bring the right elbow and left knee together as you crunch. Try to bring your shoulder up towards your knee rather than just your elbow. Remember that the key is to contract the abs as you perform the movement.
- Try the legs on exercise ball crunch. Instead of having your legs bent on the ground, place your legs at a 90-degree angle onto a large medicine ball. Slowly roll your shoulders off the floor and contract your abs, as in a regular crunch. Move down and repeat.
- Try the decline crunch. Lie on a decline bench and secure your legs at the highest point so you won't fall off. Lower yourself down so your body is completely in-line with the bench. With your hands crossed over your chest, gently lift your shoulders up, contract your ab muscles, and hold it for a second. Lower your torso back down and repeat.
- Try a rotation of crunches. Example: 20 regular, 10 cross-body, 15 hands overhead.
4
Lift your weight. Take two chairs of equal height, and rest your forearms on them, then pick your legs up off the floor in an up and down position. But be careful that you don't slip or fall.
5
Do cardio as much as possible.^{[8]
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Research source} Set aside at least one day a week to run a mile. Playing games like tag and hide and go seek outside can even burn calories.^{[9]
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Expert Source

Laila Ajani
Fitness Trainer
Expert Interview. 31 October 2019.} Taking your dog for a run is also a convenient way to run, and make sure you drink plenty of water!
6
Work out your abs for about 20-30 minutes, 3 days a week, at first. Work up to exercises all 5 days of the week.^{[10]
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Expert Source

Laila Ajani
Fitness Trainer
Expert Interview. 31 October 2019.} Eventually, when it gets easier, do ab workouts twice each day, 5 days a week.

Sample Exercises and Foods to Eat and Avoid

Fun Exercises to Get a Six Pack for Girls

Cardio Routine to Help Get a Six Pack

Foods to Eat and Avoid to Get a Six Pack as a Girl

Expert Q&A
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Question

What's an easy way for me to get a six pack?

Laila Ajani
Fitness Trainer
Laila Ajani is a Fitness Trainer and founder of Push Personal Fitness, a personal training organization based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Laila has expertise in competitive athletics (gymnastics, powerlifting, and tennis), personal training, distance running, and Olympic lifting. Laila is certified by the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA), USA Powerlifting (USAPL), and she is a Corrective Exercise Specialist (CES).

Laila Ajani

Fitness Trainer

Expert Answer

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Be sure you're doing ab workouts a few times a week so they get stronger and more defined. If you still can't see your six pack, try cutting calories to help burn fat around your stomach.
Question

How many weeks do you have to do this until you get your result?

Michele Dolan
Certified Fitness Trainer
Michele Dolan is a BCRPA certified Personal Trainer in British Columbia. She has been a personal trainer and fitness instructor since 2002.

Michele Dolan

Certified Fitness Trainer

Expert Answer

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Six to eight, possibly more if you have extra weight around the middle. Very slim people will see results faster.