2 Mandatory Steps To Six Pack Abs

First off, I want to mention that, for most people, getting six pack abs is not an easy task. It requires dedication, but it is possible! Below is a general 2-step guide that, if followed religiously for 3 months, will produce results.

2 Mandatory Steps To Six Pack Abs

Step 1: Nutrition

This is the single most important part of the puzzle, hands down. You can have the most impressive set of abs, but if they’re covered with a layer of fat, you won’t see them! Break up your day with 5 or 6 mini-meals because this jump starts your metabolism. And stop eating the food that is preventing results: white bread, loads of pasta, soda, candy, fast food, hydrogenated oils, sugars and fructose corn syrup.

Instead, replace them with foods that will help you reach your goal: oatmeal, olive oil, whole grain breads, fruits, vegetables, nuts, eggs, natural peanut butter, chicken, fish, protein and water. Be realistic- you’ll slip here and there, but make a conscious effort to radically improve your eating habits because getting a six pack will be impossible if you don’t.

Step 2: Exercise

You need to concern yourself with 3 different exercises: cardio, weightlifting and ab exercises. And aim to workout 3- 4 times a week.

The cardio you do can be anything: walking, running, biking, swimming….whichever cardio you don’t mind doing so that you’ll stick with it. Aim for 30-45 minutes, a minimum of 2 times a week.

Weightlifting is important because 3 pounds of added muscle burns as many calories as a 1 mile jog…and this is while you’re just sitting around! Aim for 30-45 minutes, a minimum of 2 times a week. If you’re confused as to what exercises to do for each body part, check out out the following website. It features professional bodybuilders, but the information is great and can be used by anyone.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.htm

The last exercise you need to incorporate into your workout is ab exercises. Aim to work your abs a minimum of 3 times a week. There are a ton of different ab exercises you can do so try to find 3 or so that you enjoy doing so you can mix it up. A good database of different ab exercises is:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exername.php?MainMuscle=Abdominals

Tip: mix up your workout routine every 2 weeks to keep your body guessing and changing. Add or take away different weight or ab exercises, or at the very least, vary the weight, reps or form of cardio you do.

Well, there you have it. Follow the above for 3 months religiously, and while results will vary from person to person, you will experience improvement.

It will take dedication on your part, but imagine the feeling you’ll get when you look in the mirror and like what you see!

 

Related Articles you may like:

Quick Ab Blaster Workout

Top 5 Six-pack mistakes!

Top 5 Six-Pack Mistakes

Top 5 Six-Pack Mistakes

It is safe to say that the list of today’s ab exercises is nothing short of unlimited. The act of achieving a six pack is generally considered some sort of untold “secret” in the gym, and most people fall for the same trap over and over again. There has become a common belief that an abdominal exercise must be of some “fancy” variety in order to become effective. But why is this even the case?

More often than not, the guys you see performing these advanced moves generally already have a strong core. The problem comes when younger lifters attempt to mimic these ab routines thinking that they’ll get a six pack, when in reality they might be working anything BUT their abs.

I’ve put together the top 5 six-pack mistakes that most guys make when ab day rolls around…

#5 Too Much Variety

Not many times in bodybuilding will you hear that variety can be a bad thing. Too much of it will most likely detour your mind into thinking that more is better, when in reality, the opposite is true, especially for the abdominals. I’ve seen guys train their abs for an hour straight on some days, and sometimes only for a couple minutes. So which one is the correct way?

Let’s break it down…

The rectus abdominis is primarily made of Type 1 slow twitch fibers. For those of you who aren’t physiology buffs out there,  this means that these fibers hold more endurance-like contractions and are stimulated mostly during aerobic activity. The point that I want to get across here is that the abs are better controlled through slower movements. None of those fast, crazy sit ups here. The abs do not need explosive repetitions like the calves do to grow. Just use the moto I like to live by: keep it simple.

Like the other major muscle groups of the body, sufficient time under tension is needed in order to initiate the growth response within the abs. My advice to you is not go all out in your abdominal training in one day; there’s no need to spend a full hour just training your core if you’ll be back the very next day doing the same thing. Split up your sessions across the week. I like to stick to the every-other-day approach, and it has worked for many of my clients as well.

#4 Upper Abs VS Lower Abs

I can’t count how many times I’ve heard that crunches are for the upper abs and leg lifts are for the lower abs. This is one of the biggest myths that has surrounded every gym in America for quite some time. Let’s

get this straight, the rectus abdominis is ONE sheet of muscle. It contracts as one unit and therefore cannot be split up into upper and lower exercises.

You can go ahead and test this one on yourself. Sit up straight in your chair and place one of your hands just underneath your belly button and firmly into your “lower” ab muscles. Now try to perform an “upper ab” crunch.

What happened?

The whole thing contracted didn’t it? Hmmm, I thought so…

Once you understand this simple physiology of the ab muscles, you can then further your knowledge into the exact exercises that are worth your time and those that have no business ever being performed again.

#3 Breathing

I think we’ve all been guilty of holding our breath at some point during a workout. It’s inevitable, especially for the inexperienced lifter. Ab training tends to get this a lot more than other muscles though. The reason this happens is often because of a lack of focus, improper technique – like fast movements, or just plain “forgetting.” Not many times in life do we FORGET to breathe, but apparently doing abs is one of them!

When the breath is being held, not only are your muscles unable to receive sufficient oxygen, they are unable to contract completely due to the thin, parachute-shaped muscle that surrounds the upper portion of the abdomen under the ribs: the diaphragm. When a breath is taken in, the diaphragm contracts expanding the chest cavity to allow the lungs to move freely. With this contraction taking place, it makes the abs unable to FULLY contract the way they normally would. Breathing OUT during the “up phase” of an ab crunch signifies this importance of getting a full contraction.

#2 Training The Fat Out Of Your Stomach

Just because you train your abs multiple times per week doesn’t mean that they will become more visible. Ever heard of spot reducing? Yeah, it doesn’t work. Sorry to burst your gullible bubble. Training your abs will not get rid of the fat on TOP of the abs. This is where nutrition becomes a huge weapon in your six-pack arsenal.

“Abs are not made in the gym, they are made in the KITCHEN.”

This quote hits the nail on the head. Without proper nutrition to help cut excess body fat, you can train your abs all day long, but they will never show up like you want them to. My advice to you is to get on a cutting program that will slowly taper off your carbohydrate intake over a period of time. This will better help you get the results that you’re looking for.

Use this training and nutritional program for the next 16-Weeks to get SHREDDED! >> MASS CONSTRUCTION 16 WEEK PROGRAM

#1 Technique, Technique, Technique

No more hanging upside down from the pull up bar, those days are over. It’s time to train your abs in a logical way, not always the most impressive way. Your technique should be nothing short of perfect every workout, every set, every rep. What most people don’t understand is that your abdominals flex your SPINE. They have no concentric action at the hips whatsoever. So how does this apply to your exercises? Let’s examine the sit up:

 

From a physiological standpoint, this does not make much sense at all. Although the sit up targets the abs to a degree, it is not the most effective in strengthening the abs because the movement is happening at the HIPS not the spine. Remember from above, the abdominals only create spinal flexion – about 30 degrees or so, that’s it! For the rest of the movement, the abs are statically working to hold the spine in place. Most of the movement happening at the hips is due to the major hip flexors, the psoas major muscles.

The exerciser starts flat on the ground most likely with a training partner standing on the toes (This same thing can be done with a sit up bench that holds the legs in place). You begin the movement, curl the spine and sit all the way up to your knees. You perform about 20 reps or so and the abs start to burn like crazy. Because this exercise has been used for so many years, beginning lifters do not question it’s effectiveness on the abs. Instead, they feel the abs burn and automatically place it in the “ab exercise” category.

CONCLUSION

I hope this article helped clear up some very popular myths among today’s ab mistakes. Take these 5 principles and bring them into the gym with you, or wherever you train. My advice to you is to become familiar with how your muscles act at their specific joints. This will give you a better inclination as to what exercises will work best and which will not.

Have fun and train hard!

PS – Click HERE to download my brand new and FREE report that utilizes these techniques: 10 Muscle Activation Techniques for Permanent Muscle!

 

– Mitch Muller

MindsetFitness.net

The Importance of Core Training

The Importance of Core Training

If you’ve listened to the buzz around the fitness world lately or perused the latest workout books, you’ve probably heard the experts referencing core fitness in some shape or form. Traditionally, strength training has been dominated by exercises focused on isolating the muscles of the arms and legs. In fact, if you look at many of the weight machines that have become popular in modern gyms, you’ll notice that they require you to sit or recline while you use them.

While these machines will effectively help you build the muscles that they target, the problem is that, in real life, we don’t use our muscles that way. We lift a box from the floor to a shelf, swing a golf club, push our children on the swing set, or climb a rock wall. In fact, the vast majority of the things we do require all of the muscles in our bodies to function together and be coordinated through our mid-sections, or our “core.”

While those activities may make the use of core muscles seem very obvious, this area, made up of the muscles of our midsection, are actually responsible for quite a few of the more subtle functions as well, including posture, balance and stability.

A weakened core will often result in poor posture and stability, yet we don’t necessarily feel the results of it in areas that show us a direct cause and effect correlation. For example, poor posture, due to a weakened core, might allow our hips to slip out of alignment resulting in knee pain. In fact, quite a few of the chronic muscle and joint pain issues that Americans are suffering with today stem from a weakened core.

It is no wonder, then, that exercise science has taken a dramatic shift in recent years to include the core in strength training regimes. Now, rather than using a machine to first exercise your legs and then your arms, trainers are suggesting that their clients use free weights or bands to combine exercises such as a squat to overhead press. By linking the two, people are forced to transition the exercise movement through their core, and the core muscles in turn help to maintain good posture throughout the exercise. The end result is that we are exercising in a fashion that mimics the movements that we use in everyday life, while creating better posture and increasing our stability and balance.

Here are a few ways to help strengthen your core:

1.  Stand Up

Most Americans will spend hours upon hours a day, sitting at a desk somewhere. The last thing you want to do when you go to the gym or workout is to sit! GET MOVING. Try incorporating standing stability exercises to your regular routines such as: Single-leg standing overhead presses or stability ball chest press.

2.  Do More Core

A great way to keep the consistency in your core strength is to train your core multiple times per week. Because of the location of the core in the human body, it is able to receive an abundance of nutrients quickly and is able to recover very fast, unlike the larger muscles of the upper and lower body.

3.  Breathe

There are very few times in life that we as people forget to breathe. Training your abs is one of them! When you release air out of your lungs, it allows your diaphragm to relax. When this happens, your abdominals are able to contract to the best of their ability. This results in more muscle breakdown – more blood flow – more nutrients – better recovery -> stronger midsection.

Abdominal Training: The Right Way

Abdominals

“I want to get a six pack, can you show me some ab workouts?”

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked this question. The fact of the matter is, most people fail to understand just how to go about training their abdominals and how to successfully obtain the desired 6 pack look. Simply jumping on the nearest ab machine or yoga ball will not cover all of the bases when it comes to correct technique on how to approach the training of this extremely popular muscle group.

So let me start by explaining the basics…

Your Rectus Abdominus extends from the costal cartilages near your sternum all the way down to the groin area. The center of your abdominals are separated by a thin band called the linea alba. It is important to see just how large of a muscle this really is, which will help in exercise selection later on down the road.

So how come I don’t have a six pack when I do abs at least three days a week?” This is a popular question so let me put to rest this common myth that has surrounded the fitness industry for quite some time now: Spot training or spot reducing do NOT work when it comes to burning body fat. 75% of the reason why you don’t see those eye-catching abs is due to the stubborn fat layer that covers them! Simply training your abdominals consistently is not enough.

There are three important factors that contribute to abdominal definition.

  • Diet/Food plan

The single most important part of building a strong, defined midsection will ALWAYS be your diet. The way you eat will reflect the results shown 100% of the time. Keeping track of the meals you eat throughout the day, as well as the timings of those meals will ultimately make or break your abdominal building journey. I discuss this more in the Diet section.

  • Fat Loss

So you have your food in order, now what? It’s time to focus on your body fat! Testing your body fat levels can be done if many different ways so I encourage you to get a testing device on your own or use one at your local gym. Ideal body fat percentage for a male 6 pack is around 10% at the very most. However in my personal opinion, 8% BF shows more eye catching results. I believe that getting that extra belly fat to come off is a simple process if taken seriously: do cardio! If a strong cardio routine is combined with weight training at least three days out of the week, RESULTS WILL COME. I talk about this more in my Cardio Section.

  • Abdominal training

Finally, lets hit em’ hard! Having a varied but structured, simple but effective abdominal routine will help you achieve that well deserved midsection. The reason why I said varied is because your body will automatically adapt to the stress put upon it, so it is important to change up your workouts and shock your abs into growth.

Keep in mind that every single person is made differently. If you find yourself thinking, “I want my abs to look like his,” then you need to realize that your own abs are genetically formed and shaped uniquely. Although everyone can build up a stronger midsection, they might not all look the same.

We must select our exercises wisely. But first, let me talk about breathing…

Using a standard barbell curl as an example; why do we breathe in on the way down and out on the way up?

WE INHALE FOR 2 REASONS:

  1. To fill muscles and bloodstream with needed oxygen.
  2. When the muscle is replenished with oxygen, it is now ready for perform at its complete potential.

WE EXHALE FOR 2 REASONS:

  1. To get rid of carbon dioxide within the blood.
  2. To release pressure within the thoracic cavity so it can be transferred to the abdominal muscles for full contraction.

Using this correct form of breathing is key to developing a stronger and better looking midsection. So keep this in mind when training!

EXERCISE SELECTION AND TRAINING…

Knowing which exercises work the best is usually determined by the person involved in training. Ab exercises that work particularly well for me might not work well for you, and vice versa. However from my experience, the best way to train your abs is in supersets (combining more than one exercise in a row without rest). Training abs this way requires only complete body weight with very limited extra resistance. Here is a list of the best abdominal exercises:

-Basic floor crunch        -Lying leg raises        -Bicycles         -Jack Knives      -Planks (static)

-Hip & tucks                      -Rope Crunches        -Medicine ball bicycles             -Leg Lifts

-Pendulums                      -Yoga ball Crunches       -Reverse crunches              -Leg tucks

-Barbell rollouts             -Hanging knee raises          -Hanging leg lifts

*These are only a few exercises to help stimulate abdominal muscle growth. I encourage many others but I’ll talk about those another time! If you have any questions about these exercises and how they’re performed, feel free to email me at, Mitch.mindsetfitness@gmail.com.

Till then, train hard and train smart!

-Mitch Muller

CPT – MindsetFitness.net

Summary with credit to: Permanent Muscle by Reuben Bajada. The Poliquin Principles by Charles Poliquin. ACEFitness.org