Got five minutes for a quick intense body weight abs workout to carve and shred your six-pack?
Did you know there are outrageous amounts of ab products with staggering high equipment sales?
Day in and say out people spend millions, if not billions of dollars in the US alone each year in the quest for a sexy flat abs.
Dear Friend,
Just wondering if you’ve ever noticed all those late night TV infomercials on cable channels?
Well, there is a ton and they’re there for a very good reason…
Right now, there are more than 200 ab exercise products and devices out there:
- ab do-it
- ab glider
- ab circle pro
- ab rock-it
- ab roller
- ab dolly
- fast abs
- 8 minute abs
And so many more not even listed here…
You’d think with all of those amazing new products it means most people would be walking around with a perfectly flat, lean mid-section they’ve always wanted, right?
Unfortunately, that’s not even close…
You see, most if not all of these ab products actually are useless, they do very little or nothing to flatten your stomach. Why?
Simply because these ab exercise contraptions cannot eliminate the layers of fat.
Fat sits on top of abs…
To get successful results… “if you measure, you can improve.”
So it makes sense to keep track of your RESULTS to keep it REAL…
Record your weight, measurements and progress for a thinner, leaner waistline and flat stomach.
You want a basic under standing of how ab muscles function.
And how your body burns fat…
First you need to understood the real differences between fat and muscle.
Sounds obvious or just stupid?
Well, let’s start with body fat…
Body fat is an accumulation of excess calories which are primarily stored in layers on top of muscle tissue.
Muscle is made from layers of interlocking fibers which contract or shorten to produce movement.
Let’s get one thing clear, fat does not turn into muscle and muscle does not turn into fat…
In fact, you can lose muscle and gain fat by over-eating and not exercising (being physically active).
And what happens to most people is they’re getting fat…
If your goal is to reduce your waist line and enjoy a firmer flat stomach, first step you need to do is decrease or eliminate layers of excess fat sitting on top of your abs.
The most effective way of flattening your stomach is a combination of body weight strength training with a extra focus on mid-section.
Combined with cardiovascular exercise, short, hard and intense workouts.
Key is to stabilize blood sugar, which in turn keeps you from adding more body fat.
You want to makes it easier for your body to use body fat for fuel…
Look, a flat stomach not only looks great, also prevents muscle imbalances between hips and abs.
Research shows this causes more than 80% of all lower back pain.
If your goal is a flat stomach, it means a strong, healthy lower back as well.
You’d want to do body weight strength workouts (or progressive strength training)
The primary function of the abdominal muscle is to flex your torso forward.
There are different muscles which flex torso sideways and rotate.
How often have you seen people on their ab roller every day doing hundreds of crunches or sit-ups…
If you want to effectively strengthen your abdominal you’d want to combine two types of exercises:
One to two forward flexion exercises (reverse crunch, knee raises, crunch, sit-up, etc.)
One to two side flexion exercises (side bends, side crunches, etc.)
One to two rotational exercises (trunk rotations, standing twists, etc.)
- One to two for lower abs
- One to two for obliques
- One to two for upper abs
There are so many different ab exercises with variations to choose from, simply way too many to list…
Here’s a short list of the most effective ab exercises:
- Reverse crunch
- Hanging knee raise
- Torso rotation (twist)
- Leg lowering
- Side bends
- Total crunch
- Exercise ball crunches
There are tons of exercise variations and choices…
Just make sure you work your abs hard and progressively.
Yes, abs are muscles just like any other and should ideally be exercised 2 times, but no more than 3 times per week.
You want to make sure you’re training your abdominal progressively by working harder each time.
The better way is to use short, hard and intense body weight workouts to speed up your metabolism.
Body weight workouts are important because if done correctly increases your metabolism for eight up to twenty four hours or more after workout.
This means you’re less likely to store any excess calories as body fat.
Plus, you are more likely to burn off excess body fat because of increased metabolism.
Below is an effective body weight abs workout to strengthen core and make your abs pop.
Do each of the exercises as a circuit, one set of each in sequence without rest.
Rest 30 seconds and repeat set once more…
Leg raises, do 2 sets x 10 reps:
Lie on floor, hold onto bench or legs of heavy chair for support.
Keep your legs straight, raise legs up until they’re vertical.
Lower back down…
Stop just before your feet hit floor to keep absolute tension on your abs at all times before doing next rep.
Arms high partial sit-up, do 2 sets x 20 reps:
Lie on your back, knees bent 90 degrees, raise your arms straight overhead, keep arms pointing upward throughout entire exercise.
Sit-up to just below halfway point to make sure there is constant tension on abs before returning to floor.
Flutter kicks, do 2 sets x 20 reps for each leg:
Lie on your back with legs straight, extend arms by your sides.
Lift heels about six inches, rapidly kick your feet up and down in a quick scissor-like motion.
Squeeze buttocks (gluteal muscles) and hamstrings, straighten legs until they are level with your hips.
Star plank, do 2 sets x 2 reps, hold for 30 seconds:
Get into a push-up position…
Move your arms and feet apart as wide as possible (make a star shape).
Hold star position with your torso straight, engage abs hard for 30 seconds to add greater challenge for core.
Also works chest and shoulders at the same time.
If you’re ready to rock, you could finish off with your favorite cardio interval workout (jump rope, bicycling, stair climbing)…
Do any of the above for 30 seconds of hard (as intense as possible) with 60 seconds of recovery time to catch your breath.
Cool down at an easy pace for two to five minutes.
Remember stable blood sugar is key…
This is by far the most important factor when it comes to burning excess body fat and keeping it off.
To effectively stabilize blood sugar as a simple guideline, you’d want to fuel your body frequently for example every two or three hours.
Bear in mind this is not a golden rule set in stone.
You need to give your body only what it needs…
Your body burns calories 24 hours a day, so why would you only fuel it once or twice a day?
Give your body the daily clean fuel it needs:
- vegetables
- fruits
- nuts
- berries
- whole grains
- lean protein (chicken, fish, beef, eggs)
Many people are too hung up on how much fat is in food or how healthy of a choice it is.
At the end of the day…calories are calories, it doesn’t matter where they come from.
If there’s extra calories…its going to be stored as body fat.
Not saying what you eat is not important…
Food and nutrition is crucial, it goes hand-in-hand with fat loss.
Yes, do make healthy choices whenever possible, just don’t feel guilty if you eat a beef burger.
Get guidance for most effective exercises from a personal trainer or mentor you can trust…
Most people don’t know enough about the human body, nutrition or effective exercise to meet their health and fitness goals.
Ask yourself this one question, “am I happy with my current level of fitness or condition?”
If you’re not, you could consider getting help from a qualified personal trainer.
Don’t depend on the information you get from magazines or your local gym or health club.
You’d be smart to educate yourself so you’re in a much better position to achieve your health and fitness goals in less time than you’d imagine.
If you’re serious about your health and fitness goals, if it’s okay with you, may I suggest doing the above four body weight abs workout outlined in this article.
These core exercise strategies can help you get a flat stomach and take back control of your metabolism.
Burn off excess body fat and you’ll be looking awesome and feeling great in no time flat…
Are you ready to get in the best physical and mental shape of your life?
Body Weight Abs Workout
