By Kate Vidulich, BSc, ACSM, CTT Exercise Physiologist, Master Certified Turbulence Trainer I can’t believe it!
Despite living in New York City, a hot bed for personal trainers, boutique fitness studios, and big box gyms, I still see misinformed trainers taking their clients through boring, outdated workouts that will NEVER deliver sexy, six-pack abs.
Worst is that these trusting clients pay upwards of $300/hour of their hard-earned money for workouts that aren’t delivering results.
I feel sorry for them!
But trust me, if it’s happening here in NYC, it’s happening where YOU are, too. Why?
Because of the BS served up by mass media.
You see, with their endless late night infomercial gadgets, “miracle” pill supplements, and questionable detox cleanses, getting flat abs has become downright unattainable.
Add it all up, and you have a recipe for confusion, frustration, and a nation predominantly overweight.
But I want to help you.
So with these 10 “underground” abdominal training secrets I’m about to share, you’ll learn exactly what you should and should NOT being doing to accelerate fat loss and finally get your abs defined – all while training LESS.
By the way, you’ll also discover the absolute “minimum dosage” of exercise to lose fat. Because I’m a Scientist and I work with the busiest of New York executives, I had to formulate a system that works because if I didn’t… I’d be out of a job.
New York is a competitive market for training, yet my schedule is packed (I’m no longer taking private clients).
I’m warning you right now… some of the tips you’re about to read
(if not all of them) will surprise you. These tips for getting a flatter
stomach go against much of what you read about in mainstream magazines
or hear from the trainers at your local gym.
But here’s the thing, I’ve spent years researching and testing what actually works when it comes to six-pack training – not just on myself, but with my billionaire clients – and I guarantee that if you’re doing ANY of the 10 things listed below, you’re NOT burning fat and building lean, sexy muscle as fast as you can.
But here’s the thing, I’ve spent years researching and testing what actually works when it comes to six-pack training – not just on myself, but with my billionaire clients – and I guarantee that if you’re doing ANY of the 10 things listed below, you’re NOT burning fat and building lean, sexy muscle as fast as you can.
Okay, let’s get to it…
You probably know the story. There are articles everywhere about the dangers of crunches and the risk of injury to your lower back. Perhaps you have read these too.
Yet, every time I go to the gym I see people doing endless crunches and sit-ups with horrible form. Isn’t this shocking? I apologize if you’ve heard this before. But clearly, this is a very important point to bring up. AGAIN.
And believe it or not, doing crunches and sit up are not only a waste of time, but extremely dangerous for your lower back.
The expert research on this topic speaks for itself. Dr. Stuart McGill is a smart professor at the University of Waterloo, and his findings suggest that spinal flexion (like when you do crunches) could seriously damage your lower back.
(1) Callaghan JP, McGill SM. (2001). Intervertebral disc herniation: studies on a porcine model exposed to highly repetitive flexion/extension motion with compressive force. Clinical Biomechanics, 16, 28-37
Don’t mess with your discs.
Like I said, just because your back feels OK doing crunches now doesn’t mean it will be fine in the future. Repeated stresses like this damage your back and one day – bam – it will hit you.
Scary, right?
You’ve seen the image of a sprinter vs. marathoner. And honestly, I don’t know anyone who’s dream body reflects the scrawny, gaunt marathoner.
But most people are training like a marathoner – without even realizing it. They are doing hundreds, if not thousands of reps of the same ab exercises like crunches and sit-ups, plus long cardio workouts.
These exercises are great for muscular endurance, NOT for building muscle strength.
Just like other muscles in your body, you need to focus on building strong abdominals.
So instead of doing more reps in your workouts, you need to progress the exercise to challenge yourself. For example, once you master lying leg raises, try doing a Hanging Knee Raises, Ab Wheel Rollouts or another unique variation I’ll show you later in this article.
In fact, your friends joke that “cardio” is your middle name… You spend up to 60 minutes sweating it out. Everyday. Single. Day.
Let’s just admit. It’s miserable. And it’s STILL not working.
Another misleading lie people have been lead to believe is long cardio sessions will help you get a flat, sexy stomach. Cardio in the “fat-burning zone” is a total waste of time when you want to the maximum number of calories in the least amount of time possible.
Try interval training. I was personally involved with a breakthrough fat loss research study at UNSW, proving interval training is more effective for reducing belly fat.
Subjects who did 40 minutes of slow cardio three times per week for 15 weeks didn’t lose a single inch of stomach fat. Shocking.
However, doing ONLY 20 minutes of interval training, three times a week helped subjects reduced their belly fat (and flattened their thighs.
(Reference: Trapp, E.G., Chisholm, D.J., Freund, J., Boutcher, S.H. (2008). The effects of high-intensity intermittent exercise training on fat loss and fasting insulin levels of young women. International Journal of Obesity. 32(4):684–691.)
But be careful of the trendy, celebrity workout plans that tout you’ll stay in the “fat burning zone” and still lose weight. It’s just another flat stomach LIE and fitness MYTH.
In fact, you can cut your workout time in HALF without stepping foot on a treadmill. You just have to be “smart” about it by using the unique training method I’ll show you below.
If the first three reasons didn’t surprise you, this one surely will.
In case you didn’t know, it has been discovered that common gym machines OVERESTIMATE the number of calories you burn. That’s right. They LIE to you.
A recent study named the elliptical as the least accurate when it comes to calorie counting, and most machines overestimate calorie burn by a whopping 42%!
So even though cardio exercise is considered healthy, the number of calories burned can be misleading. While you thought you burned enough calories to negate that muffin, in reality, you didn’t even come close.
To get flat, sexy abs, you need to burn the layer of fat off your stomach first. But exercises targeting your stomach will not do the trick. I’m afraid it’s not so simple, or every person I saw doing crunches would get results.
The problem is, you can’t spot reduce. This means you can’t choose where you lose fat off your body. It’s more important to focus on burning total body fat.
As long as you replace your cardio and crunch workouts with a combination of high intensity intervals, metabolic resistance training, and ab targeted circuits; you can boost your metabolism so you continue burning calories long after your workout finishes.
Even though it was traditionally thought MORE exercise is considered BETTER, it is completely unnecessary to train your abdominals every day.
Listen, would you train other muscle groups – like your legs – every single day?
Of course not. Your abdominals are just like any other muscle in your body. So there’s no need to train your abs this way too. Keep it to 3-4 times per week.
Which brings me to the next point.
Stop and think for a moment. How long do you spend doing abs?
Your ab workouts should take 5-10 minutes, on top of a total body strength training session or off-day conditioning workout. Keep your rest breaks short, and focus on exercise progression.
It’s unnecessary to do “abs workout classes” or even spend a whole 30 minute workout doing only abdominal exercises, especially if you’re looking to jump start your fat loss.
You may not know this, but your abdominal area is made up of smaller deep muscles and the larger muscles that maintain spinal control and pelvic balance. Plus, internal and external obliques, and major back muscles.
Listen, your abs includes more muscles than just the top layer you see in the mirror. The idea is to train your abdominals in three dimensions to support its main roles: stabilization, rotation, resisting movement and lending support simultaneously.
Crunches may directly target your abs, but you only isolate a few muscle groups through one plane of motion. You need to train ALL muscles in your stomach and lower back, through multiple planes of motion.
So add exercises like core rotations or diagonal wood chops to your routine and feel the difference. I’ll show you a few more powerful unique moves in a moment.
Albert Einstein defined insanity as: “Doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results.
Everyone has favorite ab exercises. But sadly, they are usually the least challenging. That’s just human nature. So it’s not your fault.
Why not spend your time doing something that actually works? You need to progress and change your ab exercises every month.
Yes. You are resting for too long. You need to hustle.
Ideally, your rest breaks should be no longer than 30 seconds when training for fast results. It’s tough, but using a GymBoss Interval timer (or your Smartphone) will stop you from cheating or slacking off.
Without any control over your rest breaks, your workout can become just like happy hour.
The name of the game is higher intensity, less rest, and short workouts.
You need strategic rest, to keep your fat-burning hormones switched “ON” to get rapid results. Believe it or not, you don’t even need to workout every single day.
You probably know the story. There are articles everywhere about the dangers of crunches and the risk of injury to your lower back. Perhaps you have read these too.
Yet, every time I go to the gym I see people doing endless crunches and sit-ups with horrible form. Isn’t this shocking? I apologize if you’ve heard this before. But clearly, this is a very important point to bring up. AGAIN.
And believe it or not, doing crunches and sit up are not only a waste of time, but extremely dangerous for your lower back.
The expert research on this topic speaks for itself. Dr. Stuart McGill is a smart professor at the University of Waterloo, and his findings suggest that spinal flexion (like when you do crunches) could seriously damage your lower back.
The Shocking Study Revealed Crunches Can Damage Your Back
McGill discovered that crunches and traditional sit-ups place 3,300 Newtons (the equivalent of 340 kg!) of compressive force on the spine when bent in flexion. These forces can squeeze the discs in your back to the point that it bulges. This presses on nerves and you guessed it, will cause back pain and potentially lead to a herniated disc.(1) Callaghan JP, McGill SM. (2001). Intervertebral disc herniation: studies on a porcine model exposed to highly repetitive flexion/extension motion with compressive force. Clinical Biomechanics, 16, 28-37
Don’t mess with your discs.
Like I said, just because your back feels OK doing crunches now doesn’t mean it will be fine in the future. Repeated stresses like this damage your back and one day – bam – it will hit you.
Now you can see why trying to get a flat stomach from crunches is really a waste of time and could damage your back if you’re not careful.
Scary, right?
You’ve seen the image of a sprinter vs. marathoner. And honestly, I don’t know anyone who’s dream body reflects the scrawny, gaunt marathoner.
But most people are training like a marathoner – without even realizing it. They are doing hundreds, if not thousands of reps of the same ab exercises like crunches and sit-ups, plus long cardio workouts.
These exercises are great for muscular endurance, NOT for building muscle strength.
Just like other muscles in your body, you need to focus on building strong abdominals.
So instead of doing more reps in your workouts, you need to progress the exercise to challenge yourself. For example, once you master lying leg raises, try doing a Hanging Knee Raises, Ab Wheel Rollouts or another unique variation I’ll show you later in this article.
In fact, your friends joke that “cardio” is your middle name… You spend up to 60 minutes sweating it out. Everyday. Single. Day.
Let’s just admit. It’s miserable. And it’s STILL not working.
Another misleading lie people have been lead to believe is long cardio sessions will help you get a flat, sexy stomach. Cardio in the “fat-burning zone” is a total waste of time when you want to the maximum number of calories in the least amount of time possible.
Try interval training. I was personally involved with a breakthrough fat loss research study at UNSW, proving interval training is more effective for reducing belly fat.
Subjects who did 40 minutes of slow cardio three times per week for 15 weeks didn’t lose a single inch of stomach fat. Shocking.
However, doing ONLY 20 minutes of interval training, three times a week helped subjects reduced their belly fat (and flattened their thighs.
(Reference: Trapp, E.G., Chisholm, D.J., Freund, J., Boutcher, S.H. (2008). The effects of high-intensity intermittent exercise training on fat loss and fasting insulin levels of young women. International Journal of Obesity. 32(4):684–691.)
But be careful of the trendy, celebrity workout plans that tout you’ll stay in the “fat burning zone” and still lose weight. It’s just another flat stomach LIE and fitness MYTH.
In fact, you can cut your workout time in HALF without stepping foot on a treadmill. You just have to be “smart” about it by using the unique training method I’ll show you below.
If the first three reasons didn’t surprise you, this one surely will.
In case you didn’t know, it has been discovered that common gym machines OVERESTIMATE the number of calories you burn. That’s right. They LIE to you.
A recent study named the elliptical as the least accurate when it comes to calorie counting, and most machines overestimate calorie burn by a whopping 42%!
Treadmill: Overestimated calories burnt by 13%
Stationary Bike: Overestimated calories burnt by 7%
Stair Climber: Overestimated calories burnt by 12%
Elliptical: Overestimated calories burnt by 42%
Reference: The University of California at San Francisco’s Human Performance CenterStationary Bike: Overestimated calories burnt by 7%
Stair Climber: Overestimated calories burnt by 12%
Elliptical: Overestimated calories burnt by 42%
So even though cardio exercise is considered healthy, the number of calories burned can be misleading. While you thought you burned enough calories to negate that muffin, in reality, you didn’t even come close.
To get flat, sexy abs, you need to burn the layer of fat off your stomach first. But exercises targeting your stomach will not do the trick. I’m afraid it’s not so simple, or every person I saw doing crunches would get results.
The problem is, you can’t spot reduce. This means you can’t choose where you lose fat off your body. It’s more important to focus on burning total body fat.
As long as you replace your cardio and crunch workouts with a combination of high intensity intervals, metabolic resistance training, and ab targeted circuits; you can boost your metabolism so you continue burning calories long after your workout finishes.
Even though it was traditionally thought MORE exercise is considered BETTER, it is completely unnecessary to train your abdominals every day.
Listen, would you train other muscle groups – like your legs – every single day?
Of course not. Your abdominals are just like any other muscle in your body. So there’s no need to train your abs this way too. Keep it to 3-4 times per week.
Which brings me to the next point.
Stop and think for a moment. How long do you spend doing abs?
Your ab workouts should take 5-10 minutes, on top of a total body strength training session or off-day conditioning workout. Keep your rest breaks short, and focus on exercise progression.
It’s unnecessary to do “abs workout classes” or even spend a whole 30 minute workout doing only abdominal exercises, especially if you’re looking to jump start your fat loss.
You may not know this, but your abdominal area is made up of smaller deep muscles and the larger muscles that maintain spinal control and pelvic balance. Plus, internal and external obliques, and major back muscles.
Listen, your abs includes more muscles than just the top layer you see in the mirror. The idea is to train your abdominals in three dimensions to support its main roles: stabilization, rotation, resisting movement and lending support simultaneously.
Crunches may directly target your abs, but you only isolate a few muscle groups through one plane of motion. You need to train ALL muscles in your stomach and lower back, through multiple planes of motion.
So add exercises like core rotations or diagonal wood chops to your routine and feel the difference. I’ll show you a few more powerful unique moves in a moment.
Albert Einstein defined insanity as: “Doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results.
Everyone has favorite ab exercises. But sadly, they are usually the least challenging. That’s just human nature. So it’s not your fault.
Why not spend your time doing something that actually works? You need to progress and change your ab exercises every month.
Yes. You are resting for too long. You need to hustle.
Ideally, your rest breaks should be no longer than 30 seconds when training for fast results. It’s tough, but using a GymBoss Interval timer (or your Smartphone) will stop you from cheating or slacking off.
Without any control over your rest breaks, your workout can become just like happy hour.
The name of the game is higher intensity, less rest, and short workouts.
You need strategic rest, to keep your fat-burning hormones switched “ON” to get rapid results. Believe it or not, you don’t even need to workout every single day.
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