All About Abs

Hey friends! Before I get started on today’s awesome abs post, please take a minute and

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ABS. When I say that word what comes to mind? For me it used to be an area that I hated training as well as the most frustrating to actually see progress. Well with just a few key pointers that I have learned over the past year or so, I am proud to say I have come to really respect the work it takes to achieve a lean, defined midsection.

All of the factors I list below are a huge factor in obtaining that killer midsection. There is no set formula and of course all of our bodies are different with regards to exercise, nutrition and genetics. Train properly, respect your body, train smart,  eat clean and those abs will come through its just all about consistency with cardio, strength training, proper diet and focus. 

Train In Different Ways:

We find some abdominal exercises are based on movement and others are based on balance, where your abs have to contract harder to keep your body in a stable position. I try to Include both types of moves in a workout to really shake up and challenge the abdominals.

One exercise I love is a Mountain climber with a push up. Push ups, yes they work your arms and shoulders, but they are one of the all time best core exercises as well. Your core muscles have to work to keep your spine in that neutral, strong plank position . By combining a mountain climber, where you focus on your core as well WITH a push up this move is definitely one to try out today! I also love combining a swiss ball jack knife with a push up as well for the same amazing benefits.   

Train at Different Speeds:

I have talked before on a previous post about the importance of changing up your rep/set scheme to keep your muscles guessing and allowing you to experience greater strength, power as well as physique changes. The same is true for your abdominals! When performing ab exercises, you train them as you would any other body part (some people tend to overlook!) be sure you are varying up your reps and speed.  So don’t fail to vary your rep speed. The fast reps will help recruit more muscle fibers in the midsection and turn the crunch.

When you start seeing definition in your abs, you may get tempted to work them each and everyday. Resist the temptation!! Over training your abs will actually make them ‘come through’ less. All day, everyday I see the majority of those in the gym overworking their core when in truth they are NO different than any other muscle. If you are not giving your body a break, and keeping it in a state of over training, your muscles will begin to retain water and look ‘puffy’

What should you do instead of working your abs everyday? You can add resistance to make moves you already do more challenging for when you DO train your abs. For instance, Hold a heavier weight when performing Russian twists, or place a medicine ball in between your legs when performing decline crunches.

You can also work on progressing from certain exercises. If you are used to performing hanging leg raises by bringing your knees to your chest, try progressing by bringing your feet straight out in front of you . By adding resistance, this will shock your body like none other! You won’t build a blocky midsection, so stop worrying about it… or stop using that as an excuse to skip ab work

When you train your abs in your workout does matter! Most people who I speak to and also see just tend to throw in some ab work at the end of their workout. A reason I am against this is because by saving your ab work for the end of your workout, your body is already in a state of fatigue both mentally and physically. By icorporting ab training throughout your workout, you are able to use the core muscles when they are already being fired. You can add an ab exercise to your traditional superset, or throw in a set of abs after your superset is complete (while you are waiting)

Bench Press

Back Row

ADD –> Stability Ball Roll out

You can add an exercise at the end of your super set like I just showed you above. OR you can complete a full set of bench press and back rows, then complete 3 sets of a chosen abdominal exercise. Simple. Keeps your HR up and really focuses a lot of energy on working that core!

Sounds ironic doesn’t it? We all think that crunches are what work our abs properly right? Well, the number one tip I can give you is work your abs by almost eliminating abdominal exercises. Performing ab exercises is practically useless, according to ample research. The best way to work the abs is with compound exercises such as deadlifts, squats, chin ups and Olympic lifts. Lifts such as these provide a more strenuous overload to fast twitch fibers, causing the abs to really come through.

 Training your entire body as one unit is extremely more effective than performing a set of crunches. Performing hundreds of crunches has no effect on body weight, body fat, belly fat, or waist circumference—pretty useless! So next time you go bragging about how many crunches you did and different variations of them—well that’s great for you, but not for your abs!

Proper Diet

They say ‘abs are made in the kitchen’ and there is so much truth to this statement! Proper eating is a must if you want to a very lean midsection, there is no way around it. You want some tough love for getting those abs? well head over to Averie’s blog! Nutrition is the most important aspect of getting a lean core (it is also the most challenging aspect!) By following a regular clean eating lifestyle in addition to a greater active exercise routine you will lose weight along with fat.  It is true that almost every person has a set of great abs underneat the top layer of fat, and its not crunches that will get them to pop through!

It is a very smart idea to eat 5 or 6 smaller meals throughout the day to keep blood sugar levels stable. In doing so, you will keep insulin levels steady as well. This is important because when there is too much insulin in the body, from excess sugar it can turn into fat.

There are some no brainer foods that most are aware will inhibit them from seeing their abdominals (sweets, sodas, candy, chips, trans fats, alcohol, pastries refined grains) Of course these should not be in the picture, when the overall goal is fat loss.Processed foods will spike your insulin levels and like I mentioned before, will cause the body to store the excess sugar as fat.

There are many SMART choices you can make when it comes to overall fat loss that will actually help you to maintain your blood sugar levels:

• Lean protein: 99% lean turkey, lean ground beef, chicken breast, salmon, white fish, natural protein powder egg whites)
• Green vegetables: Spinach, kale, green beans, collard + mustard greens, broccoli
• Complex Carbs: Sweet potato, oatmeal, brown rice, quinoa, oat bran
• Healthy Fats: Avocado, olive oil, flaxseed and flaxseed oil, 100% all natural peanut or almond butter, raw almonds, salmon

Bottom Line: Build your diet around whole foods–nothing you would not find naturally. Minimal ingredients, no fluff which will keep your body’s digestive system off and running in the exact way it is supposed to. Our bodies get confused when processed foods enter the picture and can really inhibit fat loss of any kind.

Check out my post on my fat burning food staples or my post on fat loss tips which have lots of my favorite recipes!!

Interval Training for Cardio
I cannot think of the last time I did any sort of steady state cardio work. It is borning, ineffective and too much of it can be very detrimental to the body. When I hit the gym for some cardio (which is not much!) I am all about high intensity interval training which is geared toward fat loss. With interval training you are overloading the body and really pushing it out of its comfort zone

The key with interval training is to up the Intensity NOT the duration to see significant changes! 

I rely on HIIT training when it comes to cardio for the ultimate fat burning workout. I love pushing myself, getting breathless and visualizing how all of my hard work will pay off. I have posted several times about the importance of HIIT training in a weekly workout routine. Just 20 minutes of HIIT training can increase your aerobic capacity dramatically, help you to maintain lean muscle mass, boost metabolism during and after exercise on top of the fact that it burns more fat and calories in a shorter period of time. There is NO boredom when it comes to HIIT training. Try one of my Treadmill HIIT routines and my post entitled HIIT for dummies where you will learn a whole lot of new info!

Repeat 2-3x

Also check out my core conditioning workout video and this AB blast circuit!