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After 18 years
in the fitness business, "How do I
get great abs" is still BY FAR the
most frequently asked question I receive
out of the 30,000+ emails that come into
my office every month.
No doubt,
it's because abs are the one body part that
most people are the most frustrated with.
Although their questions are often phrased
differently and each person's situation
seems unique, my answer to "how do
I get great abs" is almost always the
same and you're about to hear it...
"1,000
Sit-Ups And Crunches A Day and Still No
Abs!"
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One question I received
recently REALLY got my attention because a young
guy told me he was doing 1,000 crunches and sit
ups a day and said he still couldn't see his abdominals.
He wrote:
"Tom: I have
been working out for around a year now and I cannot
get my lower abs into any type of shape. I'm starting
to see my upper abs a little bit, which is great,
but despite doing 900 various crunches, ab roller,
and 100 sit-ups four days a week, along with my
regular workout on the weights, I still have a
tire around my waist. What else can I do?"
What did I tell
him? Well, I gave him the same answer I've given
thousands of people over the years, which is the
only true "Secret" to great abs...
It takes training
to increase strength, build endurance and DEVELOP
the abdominals, but to SEE the definition in your
abdominals - or any other muscle group for that
matter - is almost entirely the result of low
body fat levels.
This may sound counter-intuitive,
but if you can't see your abs, it's not an issue
of "muscle development" at all. You
simply have too much body fat covering up the
ab muscles. The lower abdominal area also happens
to be the one place that most people - especially
men - store the body fat first.
There's a Scientific Reason Why Your Lower Ab
Flab Is The Last Place To Go: Belly Fat - A Big
Problem
Most people don't
have their fat distributed evenly throughout their
bodies. Each of us inherits a genetically determined
and hormonally-influenced pattern of fat storage
just as we inherit our eye or hair color. In other
words, the fat seems to "stick" to certain
areas more than others.
There's a scientific
reason for this. Your fat cells are not just inert
"storage tanks" for excess fuel. They
are actually endocrine glands which send and receive
signals from the rest of the body. You could say
that your fat cells "talk to your body"
and your body "talks to your fat cells."
This occurs through a hormone and receptor system.
For body fat loss
to occur, you must first get the fat cell (adipocyte)
to release the fat into the bloodstream. THEN,
the free fatty acids must be delivered to the
working muscles where they are burned for energy.
For fat to be released,
the hormone adrenaline (epinephrine) must be secreted
and send a signal to your fat cells. Your fat
cells receive this hormonal signal via adrenaline
receptors called adrenoreceptors.
Fat cells have Beta
1 (B1) and Alpha 2 (A2) receptors. B1 receptors
are the good guys. They activate hormone sensitive
lipase, the enzyme that breaks down the fat and
allows it to be released into the bloodstream
to be burned. A2 receptors are the bad guys. They
block the fat-releasing enzymes in the fat cell
and encourage body fat formation.
How Body Fat Storage Patterns Affect You And Keep
Your Abs From Showing
What's the point
of all the physiology? Well, it turns out that
in men, the lower abdominal region has a higher
concentration of A2 receptors, so this gives us
one possible explanation of why the lower abdominal
region is often the first place the fat goes when
you gain it, and the last place it comes off when
you're losing it. (Incidentally, the fat in women's
hips and thighs is also higher in A2 receptors).
This situation is dictated by genetics and by
the hormonal and enzymatic pathways we discussed.
Think of ab fat
like the deep end of the swimming pool. No matter
how much you protest, there is no way you can
drain the deep end before the shallow end. However,
don't let this discourage you. Lower ab fat WILL
come off, it will simply be the last place to
come off. First place on - Last place off.
This helps to explain
why abdominal exercises have little impact on
body fat loss. It's a huge mistake to think that
hundreds or thousands of reps of ab exercises
will remove lower abdominal fat, except to the
degree that it burns calories and contributes
to the calorie deficit. What removes the fat -
all over your body - is a calorie deficit and
that comes from decreasing food intake, increasing
activity, or a combination of both.
What I suggested
to this young man was cutting back the ab training,
spending the time he was wasting on excess ab
exercises for more intense, calorie-burning cardio
and weight training for the rest of the body.
I also suggested he do an accounting of his food
intake, get his nutrition in order and decrease
his calories slightly if necessary.
As it turned out,
his diet was a mess, and as nutrition experts
like to say, "You can't out-train a lousy
diet."
It's a monumental
error to think that 1,000 reps of ab work a day
will make your abs finally "pop" when
your diet is a disaster and that's leading to
fat storage. It's not that ab exercises aren't
important. But all the ab exercises in the world
won't help as long as you still have body fat
covering the muscles. You can't "spot reduce"
with abdominal exercise and YOU
CAN'T SEE YOUR ABS THROUGH A LAYER OF BODY FAT!
My Championship-Winning Ab Workout Routine
Personally, I only
do about 15 minutes of ab work two times per week,
with anywhere from two to four exercises for about
10-25 reps per exercise. Forget about thousands
of reps of sit ups -- it's a waste of time. The
reason my abs look the way they do is not from
endless repetitions, but because I get my body
fat down into the single digits with a highly
specialized fat-burning diet program.
Here's a recent
ab routine that I've used (for bodybuilding/ ab-development
purposes). I do this routine only twice a week
and I change the exercises approximately every
month so my body doesn't adapt. I prefer slightly
higher rep range than other muscle groups, but
as you can see, it is far from doing a thousand
reps a day.
A1. Hanging leg
raises
3 sets, 15-20 reps
Superset to:
A2. Hanging knee
ups (bent-knee leg raises)
3 sets, 15-20 reps
(no rest between supersetted exercises A1 &
A2, 60 sec between supersets)
B1. Weighted
swiss ball crunches (or weighted cable crunches)
3 sets, 15-20 reps
Superset to:
B2. Incline Bench
Reverse crunches
3 sets, 15-20 reps
(no rest between supersetted exercises B1 &
B2, 60 sec between supersets)
How To Use Cardio For MAXIMUM Fat-Burning
Times have changed
since the Aerobics revolution of the 1970's and
1980's. For years, aerobics was the darling of
the fitness world. Then scientists began to acknowledge
the benefits of weight training - for everyone,
not just for bodybuilders.
Recently, the pendulum
has swung the other direction and we've actually
started hearing fitness "experts" suggesting
that cardio should be kept to a minimum or even
avoided completely. That's the way things tend
to go in the fitness world - they swing back and
forth in trends, from one extreme to another.
Lots of cardio or no cardio.
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I suggest
you avoid trend-hopping and pay close attention
to what actually works, by people who know
what they are talking about (such as bodybuilders,
who are the leanest muscular athletes in
the world). Doing nothing but cardio is
a mistake. But cutting out cardio completely
is also a mistake. The truth lies in the
middle. Maximum fat burning occurs when
you combine cardio training and weight training
together.
Those who
are genetically gifted with above average
metabolisms will find that a slight drop
in food intake and just a few days a week
of cardio will usually do the trick. However,
most people who are struggling with fat
loss (sometimes referred to as "endomorph"
body type) are simply NOT burning enough
calories to get the results they want. The
answer for them is more activity to burn
more calories.
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For health and weight
maintenance, I would suggest 3 short cardio workouts
per week, about 20-30 minutes per session. But
for maximum fat loss, I recommend 4-7 days per
week of cardio or other physical activity for
30-45 minutes (based on results), at a moderate
pace. You can mix up the type of cardio you do,
or choose the type you enjoy the most - stationary
cycling, stairclimbing, elliptical machines, aerobic
classes and other continuous activities are all
excellent fat burners (it doesn't have to be indoors
or on a cardio machine).
If time efficiency
is a concern for you, you could do 2-3 of those
cardio workouts as high intensity interval training
and you'll achieve very good results even with
briefer workouts. Even as little as 20-25 minutes
per session can get great results IF your intensity
level is high enough. Remember, seeing your abs
is about low body fat. Low body fat is about burning
calories and creating a calorie deficit. The calorie
deficit is created by increasing the number of
calories you burn and or decreasing the amount
of calories you take in from food. Increasing
intensity is one way to burn more calories in
less time.
NOTE: To reach the
"ripped" 3.7% body fat level you see
in my photos, I do cardio 7 days a week for 30-45
minutes per session, in addition to my 4 weight
training workouts per week.
7 Nutrition Secrets For Great Abs
That leads us to
nutrition. Many people say that "abdominals
are made in the kitchen, not in the gym,"
and there's a lot of truth to that. You can do
thousands of reps of ab work every week, but if
your nutrition is not in order, you can forget
about getting a great set of 6-pack abs.
- Eat about 15-20%
below your calorie maintenance level. If you
use a more aggressive calorie deficit of 25-30%,
then do not keep calories too low for too long;
increase calories to maintenance or maintenance
+10-15% 1-2 days per week.
- Spread your calories
into 5-6 smaller meals instead of 2-3 big ones.
Be very conscious of portion size. If you eat
too much of anything (even "healthy"
food), you can say goodbye to your abs. Period.
- Eat a source
of complete, high quality lean protein with
each meal (egg whites, lean meat, fish, protein
powder, etc)
- Choose natural,
complex carbs such as vegetables, oatmeal, yams,
potatoes, beans, brown rice and whole grains.
Start with aprox. 50% of your calories from
natural carbs and reduce carbs slightly (esp.
late in the day) if you are not losing fat.
Avoid refined, simple carbs that contain white
flour or white sugar
- Keep total fats
low and saturated fats low. Aim for 20% of your
total calories from fat (and no more than 30%).
A little bit of "good fat" like flax
oil, fish fat, nuts & seeds, etc is better
than a no fat diet. Essential fatty acids actually
assist the fat burning process.
- Drink plenty
of water - a gallon is a good ballpark to shoot
for if you are physically active.
- 1000+ reps of
daily ab work is an amazing feat of endurance,
but that's not how you get visible, 6-pack abs!
If you were to do 1,000 reps of ab exercises
every day, you would have outstanding development
in your abdominal muscles and you would definitely
have great muscular endurance. Unfortunately,
if your abs are covered up with a layer of fat,
you will never see them even if you do 10,000
reps a day!
You Condition and Strengthen Your Abs With Specific
Ab Exercises...But The Secret To Seeing Your Abs
Is Reducing Your Body Fat!
I once saw a photo
of a man who broke one of the Guiness World Records
for sit ups. It was the most paradoxical thing,
but this man did not have any abdominal muscle
definition. He was not obese or overweight at
all, mind you, but he had a small enough layer
of body fat that the muscular defintion did not
show through. I've never seen a better real life
example which demonstrates the basic principle
discussed in this article:
You get great abs
from reducing your body fat, and you reduce your
body fat by creating a caloric deficit through
nutrition and metabolism-stimulating and calorie-burning
exercise.
I've spent my entire
career - through more than 18 years and 28 bodybuilding
competitions - studying the science and practicing
the art of body fat reduction. I speak from experience
and I walk my talk as you can see from my pictures.
If you'd like to
learn for yourself, what I've learned about fat
burning nutrition and getting your body fat level
low enough so that you can finally see a "6
pack rack" of abs, then be sure to take a
look at the Burn
The Fat, Feed The Muscle program. Thousands
of men and women call this their "fat loss
bible." For all the details, click
here
Train hard and expect
success,
Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT,
CSCS
Fat Loss Coach
About
the Author:
Tom Venuto is a
natural bodybuilder, certified personal trainer
and freelance fitness writer. Tom is the author
of "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,"
which teaches you how to get lean without drugs
or supplements using secrets of the world's best
bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to
get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism
by CLICKING
HERE.
I hope that you
enjoyed this excellent article by Tom. And this
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a great site called "Burn
The Fat Inner Circle" - there are
plenty of other fat-loss articles, calculators
to help you design your fat loss plan, discussion
forums to find answers, audio interviews to motivate
you, success stories to inspire you, downloadable
goodies to stock up on, and much more inside the
member's area.
If you're not a
member yet, click on the link below to learn more
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and to see what you've been missing!
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