Abs!

Everyone wants abs. Here's the hard truth. WE ALL HAVE THEM, but if you are fat you'll never see them! 

Do all the crunches, sit-ups, leg lifts, bicycles, trunk twists, and body curls you like. Your abs won't show through layers and layers of body fat. That's not to say you're wasting your time. Having a strong, well trained core will help with your posture, stability, and performance in everything from sports to everyday activities. That said, this blog is about getting a 6 pack.

Abs (abdominals) is the name given to the group of muscles that form the trunk of your body.

Here are the exercises that will make your abs pop:

Straight legged hanging leg lifts:

Not for the timid. You'll definitely have to work your way up to this one. I've been doing it for years and can still only get 12- 13 reps. Do 3-4 sets to failure.  There's nothing better for building those hard to reach lower abs.

Oblique leg lifts:

Another of my favorite high rep drills. Do as many reps as you can then switch sides and do the same # of reps on the opposite side. Repeat 3x.  Nothing sexier on a men or woman that a well formed set of obliques. You'll get that "V" that starts right above your hip bones and runs all the way down to your money maker. 

le *nice*

Trunk twists (I call them Cherry pickers):

A high rep exercise. It'll take a little while to get the balance right. Once you get it, lift your feet off the ground and go to work. Challenge yourself to do as may reps as you can before you stop. Anything from 20 - 100 reps. Push yourself to muscle failure for 3-5 sets.

Cable crunch (body curl):

Low rep exercise. Pick a weight that will allow you to do between 15-20 reps. Pack on the weight, your abs are stronger that you think. I can do the stack at most gyms. These will make your upper abs really pop. 

These and many other exercises will give you a strong well developed set of abs that start just below your chest, run all the way down to your business, and wrap all the way around both sides of your trunk.

BUT !!!

If you want all your hard work to show you've gotta burn off all your extra body fat. 

Do your cario. Lots and lots of cardio!

HAPPY TRAINING!

The Plateau

Okay, you've been working out for a year. For the 1st 3-4 months you saw awesome gains. You leaned up and packed on muscle.  For the last 6 months you've been doing the same exercises and training just as hard but your progress has stopped. You my friend have hit your plateau.

Our bodies are great at adapting to stress. Say your chest routine is: Incline barbell press, flat barbell press, and dips. The 1st time you do that routine you're super sore for the next few days. The next time chest day rolls around you do the same routine. Again the next time and the next. After a month or so you're not getting sore, your pumps just aren't there, and you're not putting on any size. This is because by now your pecs know exactly whats expected of them. They have adapted and know that they don't need to grow any more.
If you make a few little changes to your routine it'll shock your muscles into breaking through your plateau.
Try this: Start with flat dumbbells instead of incline, incline dumbbell flys instead of flat bench, and decline beach press instead of dips. You'll notice your pumps are back, you'll be sore again, and you'll start seeing gains again. After a while though, the plateau will come back. That's when it's time to change up the routine again! This applies to all area of fitness.

You've got to keep your workouts new and fresh. I always say "Your workouts should be like snow flakes. Never the same one twice." This will keep you excited about training, keep the gains coming, and prevent repetitive stress injuries (RSI)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repetitive_strain_injury .

So you run everyday. Great! Gotta be sure to keep your joints and ligaments healthy. Try cross training in the gym for a month. When you get back on the road all the areas that take a beating when you run will be well rested and stronger

So you lift every day. Awesome! Gotta be sure you don't sleep on the cardio. Try cycle/ run training for a month. You'll lean out a bit, and when you get back into the gym all the pings and pangs in your elbows, shoulders, and knees will be significantly better.

If this seem like too much to remember, find a trainer who knows what the hell he's talking about (I know a guy) to keep you motivated and moving in the right direction.

Showing up is not enough

So you bought a few boot camp or personal training sessions. Good for you! You've taken the 1st step. Now the hard work begins.

I take my career as a personal trainer deadly serious. I ask nothing less than 100% from all my clients 100% of the time, and I promise to always give 100% back. If you come to one of my classes or PT sessions expecting anything less than the hardest workout you've ever done you have hired the wrong guy.

Showing up is not enough! You must push your body as far as it will take you on every set, every rep, ALWAYS! (obviously being sure to always use proper form and taking any contraindications into consideration)

So you can squat 100 lbs for a minute then run a suicide. Good for you! Slap on another 10 lbs for the next set and do it again! 

If you do a set of swing throughs with with a 20 lb kettle bell, run a 100 yard sprint, get back and have enough wind to chat with your buddy about work or whatever, YOU HAVE NOT PUSHED HARD ENOUGH!!!  Up to the next weight and run harder!

We are social creatures. Getting together in groups and talking smack about whatever is just what we do. But for 1 hour a day all  I ask is that you put that crap on the back burner and train as hard as you can.

It will suck, you might puke, you may want to quit. DON'T!!! 

You WILL get stronger. You WILL get faster. You WILL get leaner. You Will get better.

"That was the hardest workout I've ever done. I wish I hadn't" 

said no one ever.

Isolation training vs full body training

I'd like to preface this blog by saying that if you are up and at the gym good for you! Keep it up!

That said, I spend my days in and out of gyms, fitness classes, training clients and working out myself.

Nothing frustrates me more than watching people waste their time on ineffectual workouts. Sometimes they're on their own, but many times they are with a trainer! And i'm like...

I was at the gym today watching an overweight, 25ish women (with a trainer) go through a lack luster, dead eyed, boring workout.

They did standing dumbbell curls with 10 pounders, lateral dumbbell flys with what looked like 3 lb dumbbells,  and a series of other isolation lifts with weight that was way too light.

I wanted to run over and say HEY!!! Put that woman on the treadmill for 10 minutes then get her ass over to the SQUAT RACK!!!

Imagine your body is a huge block of rough granite. You want to sculpt it into a work of art RIGHT!?!

Well isolation exercises are sand paper. 

Squats, dead lifts, push-ups, and sprints are a hammer and chisel.

If you are one of the lucky few who are naturally lean and muscular then isolation, toning, and finishing exercises are fine. For the rest of us, hard cardio and full body movements that incorporate multiple muscle groups are a must. 

Squats work all the major and stabilizing muscles of your lower body.

 Do 5 heavy sets of squats to failure and you'll feel like you've just run a 5k

Dead lifts work all the same muscle as squats as well as your lats and traps

Push-ups work all the muscles of your upper body (directly and indirectly)

and finally, sprints are by far the ultimate fat burner

Running is great. Putting in the miles every week is great for your heart, body and mind. I run ON THE REG!

But how many over weight people do you know who run half and full marathons? I know plenty!

But I've never met an over weight sprinter.

The key to getting the most out of a sprint is to give 100 percent! Otherwise you're just running.

I incorporate these exercises and many, many more into my own work outs as well as my clients. They will get you where you want to be.

 Once you've gotten long and lean then maybe you can sand in the mirror at the gym and watch yourself do dumbbell curls.