You can find a fun and challenging exercise for abs routine to do either at home or at the gym, and you can do it with minimal equipment. Using an exercise mat, medicine ball, stability ball, or even a BOSU balance trainer, all of which take up minimal space, will provide you with all the variety and challenge you need for a complete ab work out.

The simplest way to create an exercise for abs routine is with an exercise mat. An exercise mat takes up minimal space, is available at almost every gym, and if you’re planning to work out at home the cost is minimal. Home ab work outs usually involve following along with a video or DVD. While it isn’t necessary to have an instructional DVD or be near a television, you should have a basic understanding of the basic ab exercises you would like to do or have reference material such as a magazine or book to refer to. If none of these are available, you can also consult YouTube videos for beginner to advanced examples of abdominal workouts. Choosing to use a mat and workout at home lets you create your own personalized workout and also allows beginners to get comfortable with each movement before moving on to more advanced routines.

Once you've mastered exercise for abs using an exercise mat, you will probably feel more comfortable adding a piece of equipment to create an additional challenge. The movements you will perform may not be any more complex than those you’re currently doing, but the medicine ball, stability ball, or bosu ball itself brings an additional challenge because of its unstable surface. So you should use a reflective surface such as a mirror, window, or even a door wall as feed back to ensure you maintain the correct position during each movement. You'll need a good eye when watching yourself as you attempt to maintain proper posture while also balancing on whichever piece of equipment you’re using.

The other consideration when toning abs, is to focus on reducing overall body fat which will hopefully lead to belly fat loss. There are many exercise tips and diet recommendations that will help you in this endeavor. One simple tip I can offer is to remove juice and soda from your daily diet and replace it with water. This will cut hundreds of calories from your diet each week and lead to total body weight loss. Instead of dieting try to eat more healthfully while maintaining or increasing the time you spend exercising each week.

If you couple a sound, healthy nutrition plan with cardiovascular exercise and the right exercise for abs routine, you will notice a change in your body. You will look leaner and feel better about yourself while also becoming healthier and more energetic. Not only will you lean and tone your abdominals, you’ll also feel stronger and proud of your new healthy lifestyle.