Running offers a wide range of physical and mental health benefits, which is why people commit to it for so many different reasons—from building fitness and reducing the risk of chronic disease to relieving stress and boosting confidence.
In my 15+ years as a personal trainer and running coach, I’ve also found that weight loss—especially losing belly fat and achieving visible abs—is a major motivator for many runners and those incorporating cardio into their routine.
So, does running give you abs? The answer is both yes and no. Running can help you develop stronger core muscles and reduce body fat, but on its own, it’s usually not enough to build and reveal clearly defined abs.
Here, we’ll break down whether running can help you get abs—and share practical tips to help you achieve the results you’re after.
Does Running Give You Abs?
So, what exactly does it mean when someone asks: “Can running give you abs?”
Generally, this question refers to wondering if running will give you visible abs, or what many people call “six-pack abs.”
“Having abs” means you have defined sections in the rectus abdominis muscle, which is the abdominal muscle that runs down the center of your abdomen, as well as sculpted or noticeable creases around the obliques (the abdominal muscles on the sides of your torso), tapering down towards your groin.
Running to get abs is motivating for some individuals, while others seek chiseled abdominal muscles through sit-ups, crunches, and core exercises.
However, no matter how many miles you run or sit-ups you do, you’re not going to see any definition in your abs unless your body fat percentage is low enough and you do strengthening exercises to build ab muscles.
Essentially, even if you have strong abdominal muscles, if they are covered in a layer of belly fat, you won’t be able to see muscle definition or tone through the subcutaneous fat layer around your midsection.
Therefore, in order to have visible abs, you have to have the right body composition—little total body fat (and abdominal fat specifically) and strong core muscles.
Note that the body fat percentage needed to see six-pack abs or good definition in your abdominal muscles is about 6-13% for men and 14-20% for women.
However, there is considerable variability due to differences in height, body weight, body build/somatotype, and body fat distribution.
How Can I Get Six-Pack Abs?
As mentioned, the key to getting abs from running—or any form of exercise—is having a low body fat percentage so that you do not have a significant amount of subcutaneous fat and deep visceral fat1Smith, G. I., Mittendorfer, B., & Klein, S. (2019). Metabolically healthy obesity: facts and fantasies. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 129(10), 3978–3989. https://doi.org/10.1172/jci129186 or “belly fat“ covering up your abdominal muscles.
Your body fat percentage refers to the makeup of your body, so it is a measure of your body fat (adipose tissue) mass versus lean body mass (muscle, bone, connective tissues, basically everything other than adipose cells).
If you’re following a running plan where you are doing a lot of different types of run workouts, core exercises, and strength training exercises to build abs, but you still can’t see your abs, you have a higher body fat percentage and need to lose fat before you will see muscle tone in your abs.
Although running can be a good way to lose weight, there’s an undeniable truth to the popular saying that “Abs are made in the kitchen.”
Your daily diet will largely impact your fat-loss results, as well as other factors that affect your body composition and belly fat distribution.
In order to lose body fat, you need to generate a modest calorie deficit, which means you need to consume fewer calories a day than you are burning on a regular basis.
You will lose one pound of fat for every 3,500-calorie deficit you create.
If you think about this number of calories in the context of losing one pound of fat per week, this would entail generating a caloric deficit of 500 calories per day.
This can be created by eating less, exercising more, or both.
Running, like all forms of physical activity, burns calories, so it contributes to the calorie-burning side of the weight-loss equation.
Furthermore, the good news is that studies suggest2Beaulieu, K., Hopkins, M., Blundell, J., & Finlayson, G. (2018). Homeostatic and non-homeostatic appetite control along the spectrum of physical activity levels: An updated perspective. Physiology and Behavior, 192, 23–29. https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/126090/ that exercise, such as running, may help control appetite, potentially helping you stick with your diet goals.
Why Running Helps Reveal Abs (But Won’t Burn Belly Fat Alone)
You can’t spot reduce fat, which is why just performing lots of ab workouts with crunches, sit-ups, and planks that isolate the rectus abdominis, obliques, and transversus abdominis won’t help you lose belly fat any faster or more drastically than elsewhere in the body.
Body fat is lost fairly evenly around the body, not at a specific site, and doing sit-ups doesn’t “burn belly fat” just because you’re flexing your stomach.
Similarly, while running provides a core workout by engaging the core muscles, the primary benefit of “running to get abs” is that it is a high-intensity exercise that increases your heart rate, making it a good choice for weight loss.
The type of running workouts you do, the duration of your runs, and the speed or pace of your runs will impact the calories burned while running.
Here are some tips for getting abs with running:
#1: Run Enough
The key to losing weight through running, cross-training with other types of cardiovascular exercise,3Kolnes, K. J., Petersen, M. H., Lien-Iversen, T., Højlund, K., & Jensen, J. (2021). Effect of Exercise Training on Fat Loss—Energetic Perspectives and the Role of Improved Adipose Tissue Function and Body Fat Distribution. Frontiers in Physiology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2021.737709 and strength training workouts is consistency.
Running for 30 minutes once or twice a week won’t create a significant caloric deficit for weight loss.
Instead, you want to ensure you’re doing cardio at least 4-5 days per week for 30-45 minutes, and potentially up to 60 minutes, depending on the intensity.
#2: Try Interval Training
Incorporate intervals of high-intensity running into your running workouts once or twice a week to help stoke your metabolism and support fat loss.4Coker, R. H., Williams, R. H., Kortebein, P. M., Sullivan, D. H., & Evans, W. J. (2009). Influence of Exercise Intensity on Abdominal Fat and Adiponectin in Elderly Adults. Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders, 7(4), 363–368. https://doi.org/10.1089/met.2008.0060
One study5Viana, R. B., Naves, J. P. A., Coswig, V. S., de Lira, C. A. B., Steele, J., Fisher, J. P., & Gentil, P. (2019). Is interval training the magic bullet for fat loss? A systematic review and meta-analysis comparing moderate-intensity continuous training with high-intensity interval training (HIIT). British Journal of Sports Medicine, 53(10), bjsports-2018-099928. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2018-099928 that compared body composition changes with moderate-intensity exercise at a steady pace with high-intensity interval training (HIIT) found that HIIT burned 28.5% more absolute fat mass overall over the same period of time.
Plus, by stoking your metabolism,6KNAB, A. M., SHANELY, R. A., CORBIN, K. D., JIN, F., SHA, W., & NIEMAN, D. C. (2011). A 45-Minute Vigorous Exercise Bout Increases Metabolic Rate for 14 Hours. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 43(9), 1643–1648. https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0b013e3182118891 HIIT training can help you burn fat once your exercise session is over.
#3: Run Hills
Hill sprints are a great way to do higher-intensity running while building muscle, burning calories, and accelerating weight loss.
#4: Strength Train
Strength-training exercises such as squats, lunges, step-ups, deadlifts, pull-ups, bench presses, and split squats with heavy weights should also be included in your weight-loss plan.7Westcott, W. L. (2012). Resistance training is medicine: Effects of strength training on health. Current Sports Medicine Reports, 11(4), 209–216. https://doi.org/10.1249/JSR.0b013e31825dabb8
Although your weightlifting workout may not burn as many calories as a long run, building lean muscle mass increases your overall metabolic rate (reflected in an increased BMR), so you will burn more calories throughout the day, even at rest.
Over time, this will help you lose weight faster because it will be easier to maintain a caloric deficit.
Moreover, strength training can increase your testosterone and growth hormone levels,8Schwanbeck, S. R., Cornish, S. M., Barss, T., & Chilibeck, P. D. (2020). Effects of Training With Free Weights Versus Machines on Muscle Mass, Strength, Free Testosterone, and Free Cortisol Levels. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 34(7), 1851–1859. https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0000000000003349 which both aid in boosting your metabolism, reducing body fat, and increasing muscle mass.
#5: Do Core Workouts Or Pilates
Core exercises performed properly and consistently in your fitness routine can build the size and strength of your abdominal muscles.
It’s important to note that the rectus abdominis is only one of the core muscles.9Core Anatomy: Muscles of the Core. (n.d.). Www.acefitness.org. https://www.acefitness.org/fitness-certifications/ace-answers/exam-preparation-blog/3562/core-anatomy-muscles-of-the-core/
In order to have an effective core from a functional standpoint, you also need to do ab exercises that strengthen your internal and external obliques, which are the muscles on the sides of your midsection, and transversus abdominis, which is a deep core muscle.
#6: Follow A Healthy Diet
The best diet for losing belly fat isn’t just a low-calorie diet to support weight loss but also one that decreases inflammation, controls appetite, regulates blood sugar and insulin levels, and optimizes hormonal balance.
Therefore, while you want to be mindful of how many calories you eat, you should also focus on limiting excess sodium, sugar, processed foods, alcohol, artificial ingredients, hydrogenated oils, and unhealthy fats.
Focus on getting plenty of fiber, water, complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, lean proteins, and antioxidants.
Good foods for fat loss are whole, natural, unprocessed foods such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, eggs, lean protein, nuts, seeds, and low-fat dairy products.
Ultimately, even if you have a lot of body fat and never reach a body fat percentage where you can see defined abs, doing effective ab exercises to build strong abs will still give you functional core strength, even if your “six-pack abs” are concealed by body fat.
Six-pack abs are awesome, but functionally strong abs take precedence over defined abs.
For one of our core workouts, check out this next guide:
