Bust through a plateau with new exercises

You feel a burst of satisfaction when you put your weights down. But for some reason, your scale isn’t budging. One reader asks: What do I do when I hit a wall?

Our answer: Switch it up.

You have abs—we promise. But when you do the same plan over and over, your body can adapt, making your stubborn flab refuse to budge. Instead of getting discouraged, surprise your muscles with some new tricks.

You know that in order to you reveal a cover-model stomach, you need to burn fat with lifting and occasional cardio. But you should condition your midsection at the same time. Swap out some of your abs exercises for intermediate and advanced moves that work several areas of your middle at the same time.

Or switch to heavier weights—just follow these dumbbell smarts. Then you'll have hundreds of new abs-sculpting options.