I'd rather keep using my shake weight -->
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I don’t know a single guy that would turn down a set of shredded abs, if they were offered under the conditions of doing zero work and making zero lifestyle modifications. Not only would your partner be pissed if you did, but have you seen the movie 300?
I ask men (ages 30 - 40) all the time what their number one fitness goal is. The answer 90% of the time is visible abs. I usually follow up by asking what they have done to achieve their number one fitness goal. Here are the most common answers: Crunches, jog, cut out beer, eat less pizza, reactivate gym membership, more crunches, .... give up. The other 10% want to live a healthier lifestyle.
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It seems most had good intentions. They initially realized that it would require a bit of elbow grease and some dietary sacrifice. But when the abs didn’t pop up within a week, most got discouraged and quickly gave up. For being a number one fitness goal, that’s not a real good follow through.
The truth is, everyone has abs. The skinniest people in the world have abs, as do the fattest. The difference lies in the size of the abdominals and the amount of fat covering them.
Just a beach, in Hawaii, with my wife, and my abs.
The main action of the abdominals, or the rectus abdominis, is spinal flexion. Just like other muscles, if you provide enough resistance, they will grow. If you were to train abdominals on a regular basis and not lose any body fat, your waist may actually get larger. How discouraging would that be?
Outside of a few genetically gifted men in this world, most don’t show abdominal definition above 12% body fat. And besides teenage boys and men in their low 20’s, I don’t know anyone that can effortlessly walk around at 12% body fat or lower. So if you’re wanting your abdominals to pop out to say “what’s up?” to summer, there are a few things you can do.
“You can crunch until the cows come home...”
Three Steps to Abs
First, you can take control of your nutrition and decrease your body fat. Regardless of what the media says, there is no way to “spot reduce” fat. If you want to decrease the fat around your stomach, you’ll need to decrease total body fat. Start by finding your daily maintenance calories, create a manageable caloric deficit, and slowly decrease your total body fat. For the basics of nutrition, I suggest downloading my “Back to the Basics Beginner’s Guide.” If you still need more guidance or information on adjusting your nutrition to make those abs pop, check out the Flexible Dieting University.
Mid-post ab check. Still there.
Second, you can grow your abdominals through heavy resistance training. The larger your abdominal muscles, the less body fat you need to lose for them to show through. No, this doesn’t mean 20% body fat. Some people’s abdominals respond better to low resistance + high-rep training and some respond better to high resistance + low-rep training. I have seen much better results in men that use high resistance + low-rep training. When using perfect form, these sets still don’t require much additional weight.
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Third, you can combine nutrition control with heavy abdominal resistance training. This will give the fastest and best quality results. In fact, I promote taking control of your nutrition and training abs year-round. If you’re going to have abs for summer, why not have them year round? If your goal is to have visible abs, this means you currently don’t have them. You can crunch until the cows come home, but unless you take control of your nutrition, it won’t do you much good.
Of all the men in their 30's and 40's that have six packs, most were in the 10% that said their number one goal was to live a healthier lifestyle. They put their plan into action by taking control of their nutrition and training. As a result, six packs emerged. Because that's how it's done.
Use this time efficient superset to initiate abdominal movements from various positions to stimulate new muscle growth. This superset pairs nicely with the 5-Minute Colossal Calves at the end of a leg day.
Complete the entire superset 3 times, resting only 45 seconds in between each superset. One-superset includes: decline sit ups, reverse pikes, and abdominal wheel rollouts, with no rest period. Use of proper form and the desired rep range will determine the weight used for each exercise. Do not reach failure during any set unless indicated. Short of Failure (SOF) means stopping one-rep prior to Total Failure. Total Failure (TF) is the inability to do anymore complete reps with proper form. Time Check: 5:03.
Exercise | Rep Range |
|---|---|
Decline Sit Ups | 6 - 8 |
Reverse Pikes | 6 - 8 |
Abdominal Wheel Rollouts | 5 - 7 |
Rest | 45 Seconds |
Decline Sit Ups | 6 - 8 |
Reverse Pikes | 6 - 8 |
Abdominal Wheel Rollouts | 5 - 7 |
Rest | 45 Seconds |
Decline Sit Ups | 6 - 8 (TF) |
Reverse Pikes | 6 - 8 (SOF) |
Abdominal Wheel Rollouts | 5 - 7 (TF) |
Decline Sit Up
Reverse Pike
Abdominal Wheel Rollout
