Abs Guide

1. Abs Myths
Abs myth 1 - If you train abs every day, you're guaranteed a 6-pack.
-Abs is like any other muscle, it needs rest too. You wouldn't do 100 bicep curls every day would you? **Although we use our core alot, crunches, leg lifts, and other exercises are not a natural motion and therefore should not be done every day for risk of overworking them. Also, all muscles rebuild during rest. If you don't give a muscle time to rebuild, it won't. End of story. Finally, studies show that being in a constant state of overtraining can lead to more laxity in your muscles. That means they'll appear softer and less defined.

Abs myth 2 - Sit-ups build your abs the best.-Sit-ups are possibly the worst exercise for strengthening your abs. Your main abs flexor does most of the work and you run the risk of causing abnormal forward curvature in your lower spine as well as back pain.

Abs myth 3 - Crunches build abs the best.-It is usually the last exercise in a lifter's workout and overuse of crunches can cause bad posture.

Abs myth 4 - You can eat junk food as long as you work out right after.-Having a diet, which helps w/ fat loss is extremely important to building/uncovering abs muscles. Look in McDonalds next time. How many people in there have a 6-pack?

Abs myth 5 - It takes years to get good abs.-It all depends on how you train. Training in the correct order and reducing the fat around them is key. People have different body types; it may take a few weeks for some but longer for others.

Abs myth 6 - You can lose your gut and get a six pack by doing abs exercises.-Plain and simple: Your strong abs will never show if you have a layer of fat covering them.

Abs myth 7 - Work your abs to failure. -Its not always the best option because it can lead to overtraining. Mix it up with a number of reps to stop at and going to failure.

Abs myth 8 - Someone else’s workout will work for you too.-Everyone's body is different, just because a workout works for someone doesn't mean it will produce the same results. Half of working out is figuring what works for YOU.

Abs myth 9 - MrSander7x is a professional trainer.
-No, but I’ve been around them long enough to know what I’m talking about (i.e. a world class dead-lifter, 2 competitive bodybuilders, a AAA baseball trainer, several personal trainers, Marines, a Navy Seal, a physical therapist (that can max out almost any machine in the gym) and many others). However, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER take my advice over that of a licensed doctor or professional.


Other Facts:-Side crunches don't get rid of love handles, in fact, I'd suggest not doing them at all. Fat loss is the most important.
-Sit-ups w/ weights can lead to over strengthening certain parts of your abs = lower back pain.
-Nobody is born w/ great abs. It takes lots of work and determination though.
-You can't completely isolate upper or lower abs, but you can put greater emphasis on either.

Now that we have that over with, time for the exercises

2. Exercises
Crunches - Lay down on the ground, so your knees are bent slightly w/ your feet flat on the floor. W/ your hands curled behind your head, slowly lift your shoulders off the ground, squeezing your abs muscles q/ each raise. DO NOT PULL YOUR NECK UP, but make it a natural movement. Lift only your shoulder blades off the ground and hold for 2 seconds before going slowly to the ground. Don't let your shoulders rest. Do 3 sets of 35 w/ only a few seconds in between sets.

Knee Ups - Sit on the edge of a bench, grabbing both sides w/ your hands. With your legs extended out, slowly pull your knees to your chest, squeezing abs muscles once again. Hold for 2 seconds and release. DO NOT BOUNCE. 3 sets of 25.

Knee Raises - Hold an overhead chin-up bar w/ your arms spread just wider than your shoulders. Feet shouldn't be on the ground. Slowly bring your knees towards your stomach so your knees are locked at a 90 degree angle. 3 sets of 10-20.

Twist-Crunches - Raise your shoulders off the ground as in normal crunches and slowly twist your upper body from side to side. Right elbow should turn to your left knee and back. Try 2 sets of 25 with as perfect form as possible.

Pikes - Lay down on your back, arms straight out, legs at 90 degrees; lift your shoulders to touch your toes. At the same time, your lower back/*** should be slightly off the floor. 2 sets of 25 reps followed by crunches will intensify things.

Scissors - Lay on your back, hands behind your head and legs a foot or so off the ground straight out. Twist your torso and bring up your opposite leg so, for example, your right elbow is touching your left knee. Switch sides and repeat 30 times.

Weighted Crunches - Set up a double rope (v-shaped rope w/ 2 knobs at the end) at a cable machine if you belong to a gym. Grab it with both hands, and bring them to the side of your head. Slowly bring your elbows (and the weight) down to your knees and hold it for a few seconds. Try 3 sets of 30 at a decent weight.

Hanging leg raises - Hang from a dip-bar/lat pull-up bar. Bend your knees slightly. Raise your legs to about your belly-button (don't swing legs but focus on abs). As usual, hold for 1-2 seconds and bring them down slowly. 2 sets 15-20 reps.

Leg thrust - *I just learned this one and its great* Lie on your back w/ your hands under your *** for back-support. Your legs should be straight up in the air. Tighten your abs so your legs and lower back go STRAIGHT UP towards the ceiling. Slowly let down. In this one, it's more important to squeeze your abs tightly than to do alot of reps. 2 sets, 15-20 reps.

Stability crunches - Find a stability ball at a gym. Lay with the center of your back on it and do crunches from there.

Leg Raise - Lie flat on your back, arms out at your side. Lift your legs (keep them straight) until they are at a 45 degree angle and let them down slowly. 3 sets of 25-30

Bicycle Crunches - Same as twist-crunches but to the same side. Right elbow to right knee.

Side Crunch - Find a stability/exercise ball lay on your side, torso off the ball, and contract your oblique’s (sides of stomach) and hold for 2-3 seconds. Do 15 reps, switch sides and repeat.

Side Leg-Lifts A.K.A. Windshield Wipers - Lie flat on your back with your legs 90 degrees in the air, arms spread out to the sides of your body. Lower your legs to the right until they are 6-10 inches off the ground bring them back to the top and go to the other side. Do 15 reps of each, 2 sets.

Plank - Get in pushup position but with your forearms flat on the ground. Contract your abs and hold for 30-90 seconds depending on your strength. Repeat twice. If you want to make it harder, put your forearms on a bench and your legs on an exercise ball.

There you have it, some of the best and easiest exercises around.

3. Abs machines
Most of them are good, especially the ABench. If you want to get one, try to find one that has changeable resistance. However, don't rely on these machines. The key is, these won't lower the amount of fat your have coving your abs. **I would suggest, instead of using your money to buy an abs machine, spend it on a gym membership.

4. Cardio workout
Run, bike, swim or walk. Cardio workouts increase metabolism and help you burn off that layer of fat covering your abs. here is a fairly simple, but effective workout:
1. Warm-up at an easy pace for 3-6 minutes
2. Perform 30-60 seconds of HARD exercise (almost as hard as possible, such as sprinting)
3. Perform one minute of moderate exercise (a well-paced jog) to give you time to catch your breath.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 7-12 times.
5. Cool down at an easy pace for 3-6 minutes.

**Make sure you stay in your heart-rate zone! It’s between 145-180 beats per minute (possibly slightly lower depending on your age). When you're in that heart-rate zone, you're burning fat and strengthening your heart the most. When you're below 145 bpm, you're not working hard enough to cause a noticeable loss in fat. Basically, you're just going to lose water-weight from sweating. HOWEVER, if you're above 180 bpm, you're putting alot of stress on your heart. Even worse, instead of burning fat, you're body is going to start burning muscle, and that's never good. I would suggest wearing a watch when you do cardio. Take your pulse with 2 fingers on the artery on the side of your neck every once and awhile. (Don't use your thumb because it has a different pulse or your wrist because it has a weaker pulse). Count how many beats you had in 15 seconds and multiply by 4. You could also get a heart-rate monitor. They're very handy in measuring heart-rate and timing how long you're in your zone. I suggest somewhere around 20-30 minutes. DO NOT GUESS! People who guess are on average 30 bpm's below their actual heart rate.

"As for running times... the time you should run is based on your fitness, level of health, and the amount of calories etc you need to burn (welcome back to your diet).”

5. Diet
None of this will do much if you're eating pizza and cake on a regular basis. Quit counting calories or fat, it's more hassle than you should go through. It all comes to just making healthy choices. Choose an apple over a candy bar. Maintaining and stabilizing your blood sugar levels is important to building muscle and burning fat.
Also, make sure your body has enough nutrients. Eat fruits, whole grains, berries, vegetables, nuts and lean proteins (fish, lean beef, etc). Eating healthy is essential to getting great abs. Also, make sure to drink plenty of water.

6. Personal Trainer
if you're serious about getting in shape, I would definitely suggest it. In all honesty, most people don't know enough about their bodies, nutrition and exercises to meet their goals. If you aren't happy with your current progress, I would consider it.

7. Program
Like I said earlier, what works for one person doesn't always work for another. Be sure to mix up your exercises so your performance doesn't plateau. However, if you'd like a starting point, here's my current abs workout (it changes every month or so).
Days 1, 3, 5:
3 sets of 35 crunches, 3 sets of 25 twist-crunches, 2 sets of 20 Scissors. 5 minute break. 2 sets of 20 pikes, 1 set of 15 knee raises, 2 sets of 25 leg raises, 60 second plank. 3 sets of 20 leg thrusts, 3 sets of 30 bicycle crunches, 3 sets of 30 crunches.

Days 2, 4, 6:
5 minute warm-up jog, 30 second sprints, 1 minute jog. Repeat for an hour w/ 2-3 5 minute jogs included. 10 minute cool-down.

Day 7: Rest

8. Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swjtn...2... - :08min abs technique

9. Summary
Once again, if you eat right, exercise smart and really put effort into your workouts, you'll have a 6-pack in no time. Those magazine-cover models work out every day and are on a strict diet, so don't worry if you don't see those kinds of results quickly, or ever. Just keep working, set goals and get stronger. It's not easy, but it's definitely possible. Plus the chicks dig it.

"You got to try a lot of things, then see what works for you... to a degree it's the same with [personal trainers]... we have to read all the arguements for and against... try most, if not all.. Then see which ones seem to be most right... "

Fitness theory always changes, and so should your workouts.
I hope this cleared up some of the confusion that has been going around here. Stay Healthy, Live Strong.