The midsection, or abdominal area, is a frequent trouble spot for many people trying to get into shape. Although you cannot lose weight in specific spots, like the belly, you can build muscle in those areas to create a better-looking structure. As you lose weight, the curvature of your muscles will stand out, bringing your efforts into focus. By integrating ab targeting, cardio workouts into your routine, you can improve the look of your stomach in just a few month’s time. Here are three exercises that will help you achieve your belly-busting goals.

Ab Wheel

The ab wheel is a simple, yet incredibly challenging piece of equipment. The device consists of a pair of double wheels with a small handlebar jutting out of each side. You hold onto the handles and roll the wheels out in front of you to extend your body fully. You can complete the ab wheel workouts on your knees or toes, depending on your current level of strength. Either way, you need to focus on maintaining good form by avoiding a rounded back or arched neckline. Tighten up your core to keep your body in alignment with each extension across the ground.

Side Planks

Holding the plank position for more than thirty seconds at a time is a true challenge for your abdominal muscles. Adding a side reach to this position dramatically increases the amount of effort needed to complete and hold the position. To do a side plank, you hold the plank position for ten seconds, and then gently rotate your body so you are on one arm and one leg. Reach the upper arm to the sky for five to ten seconds, and then go back down to the starting position. Hold the full plank position for another ten seconds before reaching up with your other arm.

Incline Situps

Situps activate all of the muscles in your abdomen, back, thighs and glutes at the same time. A normal situp does not scale well as you adjust to the initial challenge. Perform this simple move on an incline board to drastically increase the difficulty level. You will need to keep your feet hooked under the foot brace to maintain stability throughout the session. Do not use your legs to pull yourself up, however. Instead, tighten your core and use those muscles to bring your upper body into a sitting position.

Creating A Workout

As you workout to lose weight and build strength, make sure to evenly challenge the muscles throughout your body. You can start with the core muscles in your abdominal area to give your entire structure strength and balance. From there, break up the workouts to target the muscle groups in your back, shoulders, chest, arms and legs. As long as you are eating at a caloric deficit while doing your workouts, you should see the pounds fall off over time. You will also notice that the composition of your body changes with each week of completed workouts.