Best Abs Exercise

If you walk in to your local fitness club and ask one of their personal trainers what the best abs exercise is they will probably tell you crunches. Though the trend is finally changing to more efficient ab exercises I am still amazed at how little some professionals know. Realistically, how often do you find yourself lying on your back, mustering all of the strength that you can gather, in order to get off of the floor and to a standing position? My guess is that you answered, rarely. Then why do so many personal trainers and magazine experts seem to think that you need to spend your time doing millions of crunches to uncover your cleverly disguised six pack abs? Personally, I think it is ridiculous and a waste of time. So, I am going to give you 4 basic litmus tests you can apply to any exercise to determine whether it is the best abs exercise.

First, in order to understand what the best abs exercise is, we must first understand how the abdominals really work and what they were designed to do. When you look closely at the structure of the abdominals you notice that they are oriented much like a corset. We have muscles that run up and down, diagonal and side to side.

The rectus abdominis runs up and down and is responsible for the six pack look and for preventing excessive hyperextension of the trunk. They are also responsible for flexing the trunk or bending forward. However, this is not that difficult when you are standing upright because gravity helps. The two groups of oblique muscles run diagonally and help with stabilization of the spine and with rotation of the trunk. And finally, the transverse abdominis acts like a belt to stabilize the spine and aid with rotation of the trunk.

So basically, the abdominals stabilize the spine, rotate or prevent rotation of the trunk, flex the spine and prevent hyperextension of the spine.

I am now going to uncover for you 4 ways to determine whether the best abs exercise you like to do is, in fact, the best abs exercise.

1. The best abs exercise works the entire body. Therefore, abdominal exercise should be a total body movement. To ensure that your abs exercise is the most effective you should make sure that you are standing or that your feet are at least on the ground. There are still some quality abdominal exercises where you are not standing straight up, like a push up or mountain climbers. These are effective because your feet and hands are on the floor and you have to stabilize your trunk in order to perform the movement. Most movements that we do with our arms and legs require that we stabilize our trunk with abdominals first. The bottom line is to stick with exercises that put your feet on the floor.

2. The best abs exercise will stabilize the trunk while allowing movements with either the lower body or the upper body. The degree to which the abdominals are worked depends on the intensity of the activity and how many of the roles that the abdominals perform are used. For example, an upper extremity movement that requires stabilization of the trunk is going to be less demanding than an upper extremity movement that requires stabilization and rotation of the trunk.

3. All of the muscles of the abdominals will need to be recruited to work properly – NO isolation (crunches). In order to achieve maximum stabilization and efficiency the abdominal muscles will fire together. Our bodies rarely ever work in isolation, so why would we train in isolation if what we want is a fully functioning body that is ready to take on the stress and challenge of everyday life? The only exception that I see is if you are training in bodybuilding, but realistically that is a very small population.

4. The best abs exercise will require multiple planes of movement. Do you want to know how to increase the intensity of any abdominal exercise? Add another direction of movement to it. That means that it challenges our forward to backward motion (sagittal plane), side to side motion (frontal plane), and rotational motion (transverse plane) all at the same time. I call this 3 dimensional abdominal training.

Now compare your best abs exercise to the 4 qualifications that I just gave you and see how it compares. Just because an exercise doesn’t meet all 4 requirements doesn’t mean that it is a bad exercise, it just means that it can be improved or that there are more effective ones. An exercise that does meet all 4 requirements is going to work you harder. That means better results in less time.

Here are 4 of my best abs exercises:

1. Sprints: I know you are probably thinking that isn’t even an abdominal exercise. I would agree that it typically isn’t thought of as an abdominal exercise. However, how many sprinters do you know that don’t have ripped abs? This is also a great interval training exercise to reduce the amount of fat that is disguising your six pack abs.

2. Push Up Variations: From the most basic to the most advanced version of push ups, this is one of the best for training abdominal stabilization. Add intensity to a push up by introducing a new plane of motion.

3. Mountain Climber (a push up with a twist): This is a variation of a push up that can be a really intense exercise. Not only does this involve a traditional push up but you are adding a transverse movement with your legs while minimizing the width of your base at your feet. Try this one with your feet on a stability ball and tell me you don’t get a good workout. Another variation is called the Spiderman.

4. Kettlebell Swing: This one involves swinging a kettlebell, dumbbell, or weight plate up and down in front of you as if you were going to launch it straight up in the air. Add a diagonal movement to it and you have a woodchopper.

Now for the ultimate abdominal workout – Interval Training Style!

Pick your favorite 4 best abs exercises.

Choose an appropriate work to rest ratio and time.

Rotate from one exercise to the next during your work session.

It’s essential that you give a maximal effort during the work period.

Here’s an example using the above exercises.

Interval training workout protocol

20 second work

40 second rest

8 cycles / reps

Sprint for 20 seconds then active rest for 40 seconds

Push ups for 20 seconds then active rest for 40 seconds

Mountain climber for 20 seconds then active rest for 40 seconds

Kettlebell swing for 20 seconds then active rest for 40 seconds

Repeat this cycle 2x for a total of 8 minutes. I guarantee that if you are working hard you will get an amazing workout. Try changing the work to rest ratio or time and see what results you get.

The fun thing about using interval training as your workout protocol is that you can add enough variety that it seems like you are never doing the same workout.

Here is an article by Mike Geary.  He describes the effectiveness of the front squat and why it is one of the best exercises for creating a total body effect.  Most long boring cardio exercises do not require the type of total body balance, stability, and coordination that the front squat and dead lift stimulate.  What does that mean for you?  Maybe more efficient core training?

Total body exercises are the best and most effective way to lose fat and train your body for the stresses of everyday life.  The front squat and the dead lift require not only lower body strength but strengthen the core muscles that help to support the whole body as well as ripping the six pack that so many times is cleverly disguised.  Enjoy!  Train Fast!  Explode!

The Ultimate Hard-Body Exercise

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

Author:  The Truth About Six Pack Abs

The Front Squat

As you may have already discovered, the squat is at the top of the heap (along with deadlifts) as one of the most effective overall exercises for stimulating body composition changes (muscle gain and fat loss). This is because exercises like squats and deadlifts use more muscle groups under a heavy load than almost any other weight bearing exercises known to man. Hence, these exercises stimulate the greatest hormonal responses (growth hormone, testosterone, etc.) of all exercises.

In fact, university research studies have even proven that inclusion of squats into a training program increases upper body development, in addition to lower body development, even though upper body specific joint movements are not performed during the squat. Whether your goal is gaining muscle mass, losing body fat, building a strong and functional body, or improving athletic performance, the basic squat and deadlift (and their variations) are the ultimate solution.

If you don’t believe me that squats and deadlifts are THE basis for a lean and powerful body, then go ahead and join all of the other overweight people pumping away mindlessly for hours on boring cardio equipment.

Squats can be done with barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, or even just body weight. Squats should only be done with free weights – NEVER with a Smith machine! My ebook, The Truth About Six Pack Abs contains the full story on why machines are so inferior and even potentially DANGEROUS compared to free weights.

The type of squat that people are most familiar with is the barbell back squat where the bar is resting on the trapezius muscles of the upper back. Many professional strength coaches believe that front squats (where the bar rests on the shoulders in front of the head) and overhead squats (where the bar is locked out in a snatch grip overhead throughout the squat) are more functional to athletic performance than back squats with less risk of lower back injury.

I feel that a combination of all three (not necessarily during the same phase of your workouts) will yield the best results for overall muscular development, body fat loss, and athletic performance. Front squats are moderately more difficult than back squats, while overhead squats are considerably more difficult than either back squats or front squats. I’ll cover overhead squats in a future newsletter issue.

If you are only accustomed to performing back squats, it will take you a few sessions to become comfortable with front squats, so start out light. After a couple sessions of practice, you will start to feel the groove and be able to increase the poundage.

To perform front squats:

The front squat recruits the abdominals to a much higher degree for stability due to the more upright position compared with back squats. It is mostly a lower body exercise, but is great for functionally incorporating core strength and stability into the squatting movement. It can also be slightly difficult to learn how to properly rest the bar on your shoulders. There are two ways to rest the bar on the front of the shoulders.

In the first method, you step under the bar and cross your forearms into an “X” position while resting the bar on the dimple that is created by the shoulder muscle near the bone, keeping your elbows up high so that your arms are parallel to the ground. You then hold the bar in place by pressing the thumb side of your fists against the bar for support.

Alternatively, you can hold the bar by placing your palms face up and the bar resting on your fingers against your shoulders. For both methods, your elbows must stay up high to prevent the weight from falling. Your upper arms should stay parallel to the ground throughout the squat. Find out which bar support method is more comfortable for you.

Then, initiate the squat from your hips by sitting back and down keeping the weight on your heels as opposed to the balls of your feet. Squat down to a position where your thighs are approximately parallel to the ground, then press back up to the starting position. Keeping your weight more towards your heels is the key factor in squatting to protect your knees from injury and develop strong injury resistant knee joints.

Keep in mind – squats done correctly actually strengthen the knees; squats done incorrectly can damage the knees. Practice first with an un-weighted bar or a relatively light weight to learn the movement. Most people are surprised how hard this exercise works your abs once you learn the correct form.

For complete descriptions of over 50 of the most effective full body exercises for stripping away body fat while developing a rock-hard body, download my e-book The Truth About Six Pack Abs

For a long time I have been a believer that the best way to train your abdominal muscles is through natural movements.  It always seemed that there should be a better way to get six pack abs then spend hours doing crunches and variations of crunches.  I found it difficult to believe that lying flat on your back training your abdominal muscles would be the best way to train for quick side to side and rotational movements.

Over time I learned that the best abdominal exercises mimic athletic movements similar to those involved in sports.  The following article by Mike Geary is a great example of exercises that strengthen the entire core group of abdominal muscles.

The 3 Best Abdominal Exercises that Are Not Traditional Ab Exercises
by Mike Geary – Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

Instead of the typical ab routines that we see so often with crunches, situps, leg lifts, etc… I like to give my readers better options for metabolism-boosting high intensity workouts that work their entire body while also working their abs… thus building rock hard abs & core, but also creating a much better fat-burning workout than a typical ab workout.

I’m going to show you an example today of one of my favorite “ab workouts” that doesn’t include any direct “ab exercises” at all. It’s in a tri-set format (similar to a super-set but alternating between 3 exercises).

Here goes:

1a. Renegade Dumbbell Rows
1b. Front Squats with Barbell
1c. Mountain Climbers on Floor

A good rep scheme to use with this could be 3-4 sets of 8 reps for each exercise, or more sets for less reps, such as 5 sets of 5 reps of each exercise. Mountain climbers can be done for a time interval (such as 30 seconds) instead of “reps”.

Exercise Pics & Descriptions:

Renegade dumbbell rows are done starting in a pushup position with the hands on 2 dumbbells. You then row one dumbbell up while stabilizing your body with the other arm. Bring the dumbbell back to the ground and alternate the rowing arm while stabilizing with the opposite arm. This stabilizing effect during the rows creates incredible work for your entire midsection core area. Trust me… you’ll feel it in the abs!

Front squats are done similar to back squats, however with the barbell in front of your body on the front of your shoulders instead of resting on the upper back as in back squats. You stabilize the barbell on your shoulders by crossing your arms and pushing your fists into the bar against your shoulders while keeping your elbows out in front of the body.

This takes a little practice at first, so you will want to seek a professional trainer at your gym to help you with the form. Front squats require extreme stabilization strength from the abs due to the barbell weight being shifted to the front of the body instead of the back. Even though this is mostly a leg exercise, you’ll feel this one in the abs big time!

Mountain climbers are done by starting in a pushup position and then shuffling your feet in and out so that your knees are moving in under your chest and then back out to starting position. It sort of resembles climbing a mountain but flat on the floor. If you want an advanced version, you can also shuffle your hands 8-10 inches forward and backward in addition to the leg movements. This really makes it a full body exercise and MUCH more difficult than standard mountain climbers.

After finishing each exercise, rest about 30 seconds before starting the next exercise. Rest about 1-2 minutes after completing each “tri-set” before repeating.

This will give you one of the best ab workouts you’ve ever had without even doing any direct ab exercises. You’ll see what I mean after you try it!

This is just a sampling of some of the killer ideas you’ll discover in my internationally best-selling ebook program, The Truth about Six Pack Abs, currently the #1 most popular abs program on the internet (as ranked by clickbank.com) with 10’s of thousands of users in over 150 countries. If you don’t already have a copy be sure to pick one up today…

Not only will you receive a complete blue-print for challenging full-body workouts that will thoroughly define your entire body in addition to your abs (can be adjusted to beginners or advanced levels), but you’ll also gain a thorough understanding of what types of nutritional strategies and other lifestyle aspects that it takes to reduce your belly fat to the level where your abs are visible.

Check out what other users are saying about their results with the Truth about Six Pack Abs program

Don’t be lazy… Be lean.

Stop Wasting Your Time with Worthless Treadmill and Elliptical Machine Workouts!

by Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author:  The Truth About Six Pack Abs

Now that I pissed off all of the treadmill and elliptical machine worshipers… let me say that if you truly enjoy mindlessly pumping away on a treadmill or elliptical (or exercise bike for that matter too), then by all means, keep doing what you enjoy, because enjoying your exercise is one of the most important aspects to sticking with any exercise program…

However, don’t say that I didn’t warn you that you were wasting your time with all that mindless cardio machine boredom.

If I haven’t mentioned it before, I don’t believe in cardio machines, and to be quite honest, I don’t think I’ve personally used a treadmill, elliptical, or exercise bike for at least the last 7-8 years or so.

As a matter of fact, I don’t even use cardio machines anymore for warmups before a workout (did before occasionally)… Nowadays, I prefer to do dumbbell or kettlebell snatches and swings mixed with bodyweight exercises as the perfect full body warmup at the beginning of my workouts.

So why do I have such hatred for cardio machines?  Well, here goes:

1) Treadmills, ellipticals, and exercise bikes are mind-blowingly BOOOORING!

2) Mindless steady state exercise while watching tv or reading creates a mind / body disconnect resulting in poor results from your exercise routine

3) I’ve seen studies that indicated that treadmill running may be less effective than outdoor running for various reasons such as stride abnormalities on treadmills vs natural running, slightly less caloric burn compared to outdoor running, etc.

Order The Truth About Six Pack Abs

(although I never recommend just “jogging” anyway… variable intensity walks / runs or sprints are so much more effective, training your heart rate in a much wider range instead of just the same pace during the entire workout).

4) Treadmills and ellipticals are ridiculously expensive and a waste of money for people that workout at home… there’s so many better options for home workouts you could have spent your money on rather than wasting it on a treadmill, bike, or elliptical.

The perfect home gym setup is MUCH cheaper… there’s no reason you need anything other than a jump rope, bodyweight exercises, a few dumbbells, stability ball, maybe a few kettlebells (if you want to get fancy), and perhaps high tension bands for some more variety.

By the way, here are some great adjustable dumbbells such which can save you big time cash if you’re setting up a home gym.

5) Treadmills and elliptical machines are just a very ineffective way to workout compared to other options.  Why should you do treadmill or elliptical workouts when you can get better results by doing more interesting forms of training that actually stimulate a fat-burning hormonal response and stimulate your metabolism to a greater extent.

So what are the alternatives to treadmills and ellipticals? Here are some of my favorites:

* jumping rope – great mind / body connection (try speed jumping, crosses, double jumps once you get skilled at it)
* bodyweight training – bodyweight squats, pushups, lunges, jumps, bear crawls, mountain climbers and jumpers, planks, and the list goes on and on
* kettlebell training – nothing will get your heart pounding like high repetition KB swings and snatches or clean & presses (can be done with dumbbells too, but I prefer KBs)
* outdoor wind sprinting (the ultimate for a rock hard ripped body… just look at the chiseled powerful bodies of world class sprinters, and compare that to the weakling withered physique of a typical marathoner… nuff said!)
* hill sprinting (yet another classic for a rock hard powerful body)
* rowing machine (ok, I don’t really lump this in as a “cardio” machine like treadmills and ellipticals… I think the rowing machine is actually a great full body workout that actually uses resistance)
* sprint style swimming workouts (a more muscular workout than steady state distance swimming… I actually love the upper body pump I get from sprint style swimming) – this is the same concept as sprinting vs jogging but in a pool instead
* heavy bag punching / kicking workout, speed bag, rebound bag… all great forms of training and much more interesting than boring cardio machines (requires an intense mind / body connection)
* shadow boxing… awesome workout, but if you’re shy, this is best done at home since you’ll get some crazy stares doing this at a typical gym from people who think they’re “too cool” for stuff like that.

Well, I hope that helps give you ideas on how you can get away from all of these mindless and ineffective treadmill and elliptical (and exercise bike) workouts that are just wasting your time and energy that could be better spent on more effective workouts.

best full body and ab workoutsIf you don’t already have a copy of my Truth about Six Pack Abs program, you can see some of the incredible reviews and results people are getting with Truth about Abs here

You can check out the common questions and answers about this super-effective fat loss program here

Have a great one, and get out there and actually ENJOY your workouts!

Don’t be lazy, be lean.

interval training

Killer 11-minute workout

In case it gives you any ideas, here’s a killer high intensity fat burning workout that I did with a friend today… the entire sequence was done in 11 minutes and we were drenched in sweat from the intensity. You can do more or less based on your current fitness level:

a. 1-arm dbell swings (alternate arms every 5 reps) – 3 minutes straight as many reps as possible.

rest 1 min

b. 1-arm dbell snatches (alt arms every 5 reps) – 3 minutes straight as many reps as possible.

rest 1 min

Truth About Six Pack Abs

c. Dbell renegade rows (alt arms after each rep) – 10 reps each arm.

rest 30 seconds

d. Floor mountain climbers – 30 seconds max reps.

rest 30 seconds

e. Floor mountain jumpers – 30 seconds max reps.

Total workout time = 11 minutes of metabolism boosting insanity!

It may sound like an easy and short workout, but those first 6 minutes of non-stop swings and snatches will leave even the leanest and meanest trainee gasping for breath.

If you’re not sure what any of these exercises are or how to do them, they are all outlined in detail along with over 50 other of the most effective full body exercises to give you a tight lean body in my Truth About Six Pack Abs program…

interval training

Do You Really Need “Cardio” Workouts?

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
Author:  The Truth About Six Pack Abs

In this article, I have an intriguing discussion about cardio workouts, which will hopefully get you thinking differently, and trying new things.

You may know I’ve been called the anti-cardio guy before, but this week I’m back posing the question to you… Do you really need cardio training to get lean and in great shape? By the way, you’ll see in a minute that I’m not really “anti-cardio”, just “anti traditional cardio”.

Most fitness buffs, weekend warriors, or anyone trying to get in shape or lose body fat, consider it a fact that they need “cardio” exercise to accomplish these goals. They would never even question it. However, I’m not only questioning it, I’m going to refute it! In fact, you may be surprised to know that some of the leanest and meanest people I know (men and women), NEVER do any type of normal or traditional cardio. And I’ve spent over 15 years working out in various gyms, and hanging out with athletes of all sorts, so I’ve seen it all.

I will say that there can be a place for low-moderate level cardio for really overweight or deconditioned people, but even in those cases, there can be more effective methods.

But what exactly is “cardio”? Most people would consider cardio to be pumping away mindlessly on a treadmill, riding a stationary bike, or coasting on an elliptical machine, while watching the TV screen at their state of the art gym. This is what I call “traditional cardio”. Hmmm, no wonder the majority of people get bored with their workouts and give up after a couple months without seeing results.

But if you look closer, “cardio” exercise can be considered any type of exercise or activity that strengthens the cardiovascular system. I’m not going to get into anything technical like increasing your VO2 max or anything like that. To keep it simple, if it gets your heart pumpin, and gets you huffin and puffin, it’s cardio. I don’t care if you’re holding dumbbells or a barbell and everyone calls it a weight training exercise…it’s still conditioning your heart.

Let’s take a look at a couple examples. Take a barbell (or dumbbell, or kettlebell) clean & press for example, which involves lifting a barbell from the floor up to shoulders, then push pressing overhead. And listen up ladies, because even though this is usually seen as a manly exercise, it doesn’t matter if you’re not lifting 250 lbs; if 45 lbs is challenging to you, then you will still benefit just as much.

At first glance, most people think of the barbell C&P only as a weight training exercise or strength exercise. However, I challenge you to do a hard set of around 10-15 reps on the C&P. If you used a challenging enough weight, what you’ll find is that your heart rate is probably up to about 80-90% of your recommended max, and you are huffing and puffing like you just ran a 100-meter sprint (which by the way, sprinting kicks the crap out of jogging any day if you want the easiest way to lose the flab).

Try the same thing for a set of 20 reps of one-arm snatches or swings with each arm with a kettlebell or dumbbell, and tell me your legs aren’t burning, heart racing, and you’re gasping for breath. How about trying 5 minutes straight of bodyweight squats, lunges, and pushups with very little rest. Again, notice your heart pounding, sweat pouring off of you, and chest heaving for breaths!

Try and tell me you’re not conditioning your heart with this style of training! Conventional thinking says that these are weight training or strength training exercises. However, they are fullfilling your cardio workout needs as well.

Not only do you save time, but you strengthen and condition almost every muscle in your entire body with these full body exercises if you do them with enough intensity…something that can’t be said for that boring stationary bike ride or treadmill jaunt while reading or watching TV. Seriously, if you can read or watch TV while doing any exercise, you’re not concentrating enough on what you’re doing, plus you’re probably not working out hard enough to see any real results.

I challenge you to give the “traditional cardio” a rest for a month or two, and start training the way I explain in my internationally-selling Truth about Six pack Abs Program, and see how you start getting leaner, more defined, and your six pack starting to show through what used to be stubborn stomach fat deposits.

interval training

Weight Loss for Women At Home

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

A woman’s workout should consist of leg raises, biceps curls with
soup cans, and triceps kickbacks with water bottles.

Can you believe that silliness?

Neither can I, but that is what passes for “professional fitness
advice for women” these days.

I could see this info being accepted in the 1930’s (maybe?), but in the year 2007? Please…

Does anyone really believe that biceps curls with water bottles is going to prepare women to carry their children to bed, a bag of heavy groceries in from the car, or swing a sledgehammer during home reno’s?

No way. You need real-world workouts and fat loss advice. Not fluff.

Am I the only one that finds those types of recommendations
disrespectful to the physical capabilities of women? You’d think
that Linda Hamilton’s chin-up scene in Terminator 2 would have turned the tide of female fitness, or perhaps Demi Moore’s GI Jane.

I’ve watched women get fit fast at almost any age with Turbulence Training. In fact, we’ve had girls from 18 to 82 years young kickin’ butt with Turbulence Training.

Today, I want to share the story of a classic “supermom”, you know the mom with 3 active kids that has to drive them everywhere, eat on the run, and still find room for workouts. Her name is Brandy Kirton, and she’ll show you how real women train, eat, and find the time to do it all with proper planning.

CB: Brandy, tell us about your past exercise and nutrition experiences. At what point did you find out about Turbulence Training and what persuaded you to start using it?

BK:
I started working out back on high school. I’m 30 now.

I became a personal trainer for a few years in my early 20’s. So I learned a lot about nutrition and weight training. I have been in great shape and not so great shape in the last 10 years. I think I found Turbulence Training just surfing the web and decided to give it a try. I was desperate to lose weight after my 3rd kid.

CB: And how was this a change from what you had done in the past?

BK:
I was doing 30 minutes of cardio and then lifted for 30 mins
3 to 4 times a week. That was if I actually could make time.

I would not work out if I knew I couldnt get it all in. I would
think, “What’s the point of 20 mins?”.

CB: What kind of results have you achieved with Turbulence Training? And is there anything else, besides the results, you love about the Turbulence Training programs?

BK:
I love how it changes every month so I never get bored. I also love that I have no excuse about not having time to fit it in.

My results have been great. I am getting toned up and consistently loosing inches. I also have a lot more energy.

CB: Do you workout at home or in a gym?

BK:
I have to work out at home. No time to get to a gym.

CB: Has Turbulence Training had a positive impact on your lifestyle?

BK:
Turbulence Training has made a huge impact on me. I dont feel like it takes up my whole day or get bored of the same thing day in and day out.

I feel strong and love the daily emails. It helps me stay motivated.

I work full time, have three kids 9, 5, and 11 months, and a
husband. My older two kids play every sports so there really
is no extra time.

I have to get up at 5:30 to work out before they wake up but its
worth it. I feel great after I am done and no matter what happens that day I have already got my work out in which feels great.

CB: Do you have any social support? If so, how has this helped
you?

BK:
My mom comes over in the mornings to work out with me. I need that accountability so that I don’t sleep instead. Its hard to get up but I always feel so much better when I do.

CB: What are your daily obstacles and temptations that you have to avoid with respect to nutrition and training? And what
strategies do you use?

BK:
With all the practices, games and running around I have to do its hard not to grab McDonald’s with the kids.

I try to either bring food with me or wait until I get home. If I
have to eat out I do try and find grilled chicken or subway.

CB: How do you plan your nutrition?

BK:
I have to go shopping on Sunday to stock up on all my healthy
food. Otherwise I will eat whatever I can find which usually is not good for me.

CB: Thanks Brandy, keep up the great work.

****
The message is clear. Plan, prepare, commit, and be consistent.
Brandy didn’t use any magic pills or potions to succeed, she simply found a great workout plan, and did what she had to do.

As a supermom, Brandy practically has to create time out of thin air in order to do her workout, but again, she knows what she has to do and she does it. She’s committed. She has social support. She knows the correct options for eating on the run.

She has made the effort to plan for the obstacles (lack of time,
workout motivation) that we all come across. And by doing that,
she’s cleared a simple path to success.

And she doesn’t waste time in the gym with slow, boring cardio
workouts. Instead, she sculpts her body in half the time with the
Turbulence Training workouts.

Sincerely,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

About the Author

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit TurbulenceTraining

Barbell, Kettlebell, and Dumbbell Complexes to Take Your Body to a New Level of Hardness and Conditioning

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
Author:  The Truth About Six Pack Abs

If you’ve been looking for a different training technique to break out of a rut, eliminate the boredom, and bring on new results, “complexes” may be just what you’ve been looking for.

If you’ve never heard of “complexes” before, the basic concept is that instead of repeating the same exercise for multiple reps to complete a “set”, you sequence one rep of several different exercises right after one another and repeat the sequence several times to complete a “set”. It’s basically like performing a routine, instead of just mindlessly performing a typical “set”.

This type of training is excellent to work a huge amount of musculature in a short amount of time, and definitely takes your workouts to a whole new level of intensity. The conditioning aspect of this type of training is amazing, as you’ll find yourself huffing and puffing after repeating a sequence a mere two or three times.

If I had to venture a guess, I’d have to say that this type of training probably elicits a good growth hormone response as well, due to the large amount of full body work completed in a given time period. But that’s just my guess.

I like to incorporate about 5 exercises into my complexes. Any more than that and you might start to forget what’s next in the sequence. Here’s an example of a killer barbell complex that really gets me fired up:

Example Barbell Complex

1. high pull from floor (explosive deadlift right into upright row in one motion);
2. barbell back to thighs, then hang clean (explosively pull bar from knees and “catch” the bar at shoulders);
3. barbell back to floor, then clean & jerk;
4. barbell back to thighs, bend over, then bent over row;
5. barbell back to thighs, then finish with Romanian deadlift

Use a weight that you can still handle for your weakest lift of the bunch, but keep it heavy enough to challenge you. Try to repeat the sequence 2-3 times without resting… That’s 1 set. You could progress over time on this routine by increasing the amount of times you repeat the sequence in each set, or by adding sets on subsequent workouts before eventually increasing the weight.

For example, say you completed the above complex with 155-lbs for 3 sequences per set for 3 sets in today’s workout. Next time you perform the workout, try to do 155-lbs for 3 sequences per set for 4 sets. Once you successfully complete 5 sets with 155, increase the weight 5 or 10 lbs next time, and drop back to 3 sets. This is a great way to make improvements over time, while cycling your training volume.

Now I’m going to show you a great kettlebell complex that really kicks my butt. If you don’t have a kettlebell, you can use a dumbbell, but I’d highly recommend picking yourself up a kettlebell… very convenient to have around when you want to bang out a quick intense workout at home without going to the gym.

I’ve been training with kettlebells for a little over a year now, and can definitely say that they’ve dramatically improved my strength, body composition, and overall physical capabilities. If you’re not familiar with kettlebells, they are an old eastern European training secret that has just started to take the US by storm over the last few years. Many elite athletes are using kettlebells as their preferred training tool for serious results. Learn more info and pick up one of your own body-hardening kettlebells here.

I’d recommend just starting off with one bell and learn all of the single kettlebell drills first, before delving into the double-bell drills. Just one kettlebell coupled with some bodyweight exercises can literally be enough to comprise your own home gym, without any other equipment necessary. Or a kettlebell can just be a great alternative workout to incorporate into your routines once or twice a week. Either way, it opens up a whole new world of training for you.

Example Kettlebell Complex

1. one arm swing
2. one arm snatch, keep the bell over head;
3. one arm overhead squat;
4. bell back down to bottom, then one arm high pull;
5. bell back down to bottom, then one arm clean & press

As with the barbell complex, repeat the sequence (without rest) 2-3 times with each arm. That’s one set…and one hell of a killer set at that! Try increasing from 3 to 4 to 5 sets on subsequent workouts with a given weight before increasing your sequence reps. If you’re not drenched in sweat with your heart beating out of your chest after that complex, you either went too light, or you are a mutant freak!

Since dumbbells are more accessible to most people than kettlebells, now I’ll show you how to put together a good dumbbell complex.

Example Dumbbell Complex

1. upright row with each arm separately then both together
2. front lunge with one leg, then the other
3. back lunge with one leg, then the other
4. curl to overhead press
5. keep dumbbells at shoulders and squat

Again, the same type of sequencing and progressions explained with the barbell complexes work great with the dumbbell complexes. I think a great strategy is to alternate barbell complexes on one day with kettlebell or dumbbell complexes on alternative training days.

For example, you could do barbell complexes Monday, K-bell or D-bell complexes Wednesday, and back to barbell complexes on Friday. Maybe hit some sprints and bodyweight drills on Saturday; then Monday would be K-bell or D-bell complexes again, Wednesday would be barbells again, and so on. Give this program a try for a month (if you dare), and you will be one hardened individual!

For more killer full body training routines and a fully comprehensive nutritional analysis for developing the body you’ve always wanted, don’t miss out on my internationally best selling program with users in over 150 countries, The Truth about Six Pack Abs.

3 Functions of the Abdominal Muscles – How They Really Work!
Aaron Ivey ATC, CSCS

With so many gadgets and gismos bombarding our television, internet, and health clubs, how do you know what exercises work the best for abdominal training?  In order to understand which exercises we should do we need to understand how the abdominals really work.  This article outlines the purpose of the abdominals and what they were designed to do.

The abdominal muscles provide 3 basic functions: stabilization, rotation, and deceleration.  Let’s look at each of these individually.

1.  Stabilization:  We all know that in order for a tree to withstand powerful winds it must have a strong trunk.  This allow for the branches to move in the wind and yet the tree stands firm and rooted.  Our abdominals are no different than the trunk of a tree.  It is no wonder that we oftentimes refer to the abdominal muscles as our trunk.

When the abdominals contract it helps to stabilize and stiffen our trunk so that our arms and legs can perform their function.  With weak abdominals we run the risk of injuries to the back and the extremities.  Many times I have seen injuries to athletes that resulted from weak abdominal (core) muscles.  Once good stability was reestablished, the athlete’s injury was able to heal.

2.  Rotation:  I think this is one of the most obvious ones.  Our abdominal muscles rotate our trunk.  Forceful rotation of the trunk, shoulders and arms comes from the hips and abdominal muscles.

3.  Deceleration:  The abdominal muscles slow down rotation, side bending, and most importantly, hyperextension of the back.  For example. you are playing basketball and your team mate throws the ball above your head.  You reach up to grab the ball and are forced to bend backwards.  If your abdominals are strong enough you will be able to avoid doing a back handspring and folding in half.

Abdominal muscles also help to slow down rotation of the legs.  There is some evidence (and my personal opinion) that a strong core can help to prevent ACL injuries.

So remember, don’t waste your time with machines and exercises that don’t train the abdominal muscles the way they were designed.  Now that you have a better understanding of how the abdominal muscles truly function, it will be easier to design a training program that is effective.

Train the Movement Not the Muscle – Isolation vs. Complex Exercise in Strength Training

by Aaron Ivey – Certified Athletic Trainer, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

As a strength training specialist, I get questions from friends and clients all of the time about the best way to train.  I find that most of the questions, though genuine in their motivation, miss the most important benefits of strength training – function.  One of the most popular questions goes something like this:

“Aaron, what is the best exercise to isolate my ___________ (any variety of body parts – biceps, triceps, abs, adductors, etc)?”

No matter what body part they insert into the question my response is usually – “Why is it you want to isolate?  Do you want to be a bodybuilder?”  Most of the time the answer is no.

So the first thing that they need to understand is that our body wants to work with the greatest number of muscles possible.  It is more efficient and effective.  The complex movements that our muscles create are achieved through the contraction of multiple muscles at one time.  Some are more dominant than others with certain movements while others serve as joint stabilizers or accessory muscles.  This article is meant to show how utilizing complex (multi-joint) movements is more effective and functional for sports demands as well as every day life and activities.

Isolation exercises are meant to train the body to use only one specific muscle group.  In the long run this creates a body that works in a very non-functional way.   In other words, in a way that is not natural.  This can lead to injury and overuse type injuries because the muscles are not working together to create a movement.  Instead, you have a bunch of individual muscles that, instead of a powerful, functional movement, create a jerky motion that doesn’t work well.

I have seen many people over the years suffer an injury that was created because of an isolation exercise.  A significantly fewer number of injuries, if any, are caused by doing complex movements.  Complex movements also create a more lean, muscular, and functional body that is better able to generate power and strength by working together to produce force.

If you look at any sport that requires strength, speed, power and agility you will notice that it requires complex movement patterns.  Take a football or soccer player for example.  They don’t train with isolation exercises.  They are performing too many complex movements to waste their time doing bicep curls or leg extensions – neither of which will effectively make them more prepared for their sport.

Some examples of my least favorite isolation, non-functional exercises include:
•    crunches,
•    leg extensions,
•     hamstring curls,
•    bicep curls,
•    tricep extensions, and
•    the worst of all the abduction / adduction machine.
None of these exercises truly prepare the body for daily movements or much less athletic demands.

Some complex exercises that I like include:
•    Squats and their variations
•    Lunges (multidirectional)
•    Deadlifts
•    Step-Ups
•    Push Ups
•    Woodchoppers
A variety of different exercise routines can be created around these basic exercises.  Upper extremity movements can be added to create a total body workout.  Just 3-5 of these exercises in a circuit routine can be a real butt kicker.  Basically any exercise that trains more than one muscle group at a time is a great complex exercise.  Complex movements like these also train your abdominal muscles the way they were meant to be trained.

When you are considering what exercises are going to be best for you, remember to train movements with complex, multi-joint exercises and leave the isolation to the bodybuilders.  You will create a more functional and healthy body.  For more ideas about how to create a functional body that not only works well but looks even better, I suggest you check out the book The Truth About Six Pack Abs by Mike Geary.  He does a great job at outlining the best way to make your exercise routine effective and fun.

interval training