Highly sought after for purely
vanity reasons by many of us, but that’s okay.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to rock a nice 6-pack at the beach. In fact, that is what I get asked about most –
“How can I get abs?” or, “How can I lose this belly fat?” Well I am putting together a list of tips for
you right here – simple concepts that most Trainers will bury in a 300 page
book or DVD series and then sell it to you.
I should know, because I too have shamelessly done both of these:
Written books on how to get “Amazing Abs”, and even produced a DVD on the
subject (Now published free on Youtube). This is because through the fortunate
combination of genetics, lifestyle, timing, location and desire, I was able to
become Men’s Health magazine’s
primary abs model for a period of about 4 years from 2005 to 2009, appearing on
over 10 of their magazine and book covers.
Yes, that Men’s Health magazine.
So of course after, that I instantly felt qualified to write a book and
produce a DVD on the subject.
Seriously though, my
genetic-fortune aside, after 15 years of being a professional fitness model I
did manage to learn a few things about attaining and maintaining lean abs and a
strong core, even if only through repeated trial and error of applied Bodybuilder
Bro-Science. I was
my own physiological, guinea pig, and having shredded, cover-ready abs was
literally my bankable brand. While it’s
true that bodybuilding and its
commercial spawn of fitness modeling
is highly vain, there is one fact that is undeniable: We know how to get ripped! In fact I would argue that no other ‘athlete’ genre knows how to get
as lean as the professional fitness model. Why? -
Because the fitness model has the luxury of training for appearance
first and athletic-performance second, which I do not advocate unless you are
getting paid for your looks. Otherwise,
I believe we should all train for optimum function, mobility and health, first
and foremost.
Before I get to the coveted,
insider knowledge you are awaiting, there’s one last caveat I need to
emphasize. As much as the weight-loss industry doesn’t want you to know it, genetics
indeed play a significant role in being able to attain lean abs as well as
how they are shaped and proportioned.
The weight-loss industry is a billion dollar, never ending revenue
source, so why would they ever credit
anything to genetics? And since we have
absolutely zero control over our genetics, we may as well not worry about them
and simply focus on the lifestyle factors we can impact. I can’t quote actual statistics here, but our
genetic code plays a role in everything about us, including our body
composition, our metabolism, our muscle shape and proportion, as well as bone
structure and skeletal ratio. That can
be a lot to try and alter through training, diet and other lifestyle factors. My point is, we all have the ability to get
lean enough to reveal our 6-Pack (Rectus) Abs, but we can’t change their shape
or symmetry, or the gap (Linea Alba) that runs between them. Not all of us have the genetic potential to unveil
an ‘8-Pack’ because for most of us, that rare, last row of abs are forever sealed
under a layer of core-strengthening, muscle-encapsulating, fascia tissue. Not all of us will have the extra top row of ‘abs’
which are really our Intercostals. Some of us have a natural genetic homeostasis
set-point of 6% body fat levels without much effort, while others of us seem to
hover round 12% body fat, all else being equal. Age is also another factor that works against
us. But there is a lot we can do, all
while strengthening our core and improving our health and longevity – imagine that!
1.
You cannot
spot-reduce body fat: On average,
you must reduce your overall body fat percentage to below 8% to reveal your
6-Pack Abs, also known as the Rectus-Abs.
The ideal way (healthiest way), to reduce your body fat levels is
through a combination of consistent exercise to include both strength &
cardio, and clean-eating, to create a small calorie-deficit each day while
optimizing your metabolism.
2. Include High-Intensity workouts at
least 3 times per week: High-Intensity
exercise where you are literally reaching some sort of physiological failure,
either aerobically or anaerobically, or both, triggers a cascade of
metabolism-boosting, hormone-optimizing, blood-sugar-dysfunction-fixing magic
that takes too long to explain here but which I covered in detail last post. Health experts now agree that consistent
exercise is great, but that incorporating some high-intensity workouts is even
better. If you start training with high-intensity on a regular basis, I promise
you that your body composition will start noticeably transforming within a
matter of weeks. Aim for 20 minutes
of very high-intensity levels (after warming up) 3 times a week, along with
your other workouts.
3. If you’re over age 40, swap out your twenty-year-old
trainer, for and old guy: While
accountability is key to workout consistency and success, and all Trainers can
provide that service, age awareness matters greatly. The young Trainer, though he has good
intentions, has never experienced your old-guy physiology and fading hormones,
(also known as Andro-pause). Or your normal
age-related aches and pains for that matter.
Find a Trainer or a like-minded buddy about your age that is literally
in the shape you want to be in, and hire him or ask to workout with him. They will understand you and your physiology
much better, your recovery time, and provide the training and nutrition advice
appropriate for you. If you are over age
40, it is time to transition to the holistic-health and longevity approach and
let the get-huge, meathead mindset
finally die.
4. Limit sugar. Sugar is lurking all around you: “Sugar, glucose, fructose, corn syrup,
natural-sugar, organic sugar, cain-sugar, dextrose, soda, juice,
high-fructose-corn-syrup”…It is ALL SUGAR, don’t be fooled by the fancy
names. One form is really no better, or
worse, than the other. They all trigger
insulin. Therein lies the problem. It’s not that sugar is evil or that insulin
is a villain - if you are active and only eat it in moderation. But if you work a sedentary job, are already
over weight or age 40 or older, than you need to closely monitor your sugar
intake and eat it strategically, or at least with constant awareness. If you are going to eat a high carbohydrate
or sugary meal, it is best to do it right after you work out during the
post-exercise recovery and uptake window.
Sugar seems to turbo-charge the internal belly-fat storage process, and
causes the liver to work harder, and increases risk of insulin-resistance and
systemic inflammation. All these are collectively
known as creating metabolic dysfunction and an apple-shape abdomen, marketed in
the weight-loss industry as Syndrome-X or Metabolic-Syndrome.
5. Get a good night of sleep: Sleep is the
foundation of a healthy lifestyle and to optimizing your metabolism. Nothing fixes your metabolism like a sound
night of sleep. It is also by design, a
natural fat-burning opportunity and a chance for all your hormones to
reset. This is also when you get your
largest daily dose of Growth Hormone – the most powerful lean-body, restorative
hormone we produce.
6. Use caffeine strategically and in
moderation: Caffeine is one of nature’s most powerful body-fat mobilizers allowing us to burn more stored
body fat during our workouts, or during intermittent-fasting, by unlocking
stored fat and dumping it also from the liver.
Until it becomes abused. Then too
much caffeine serves to unnecessarily elevate your Cortisol levels all day,
(the ‘fight-or-flight stress hormone), which also is linked to turbo-charging
internal belly fat storage on the Omentum.
So consume your caffeine strategically, like right before your workout,
especially empty-stomach cardio, to maximize fat-burning and workout
focus-factor. Cortisol actually helps
you workout with more intensity and it balances melatonin to naturally wake us
up every morning. However, lay-off the
caffeine within 5 hours of your bed time, because if it interferes with your
sleep quality than you’ve just offset any benefit.
 |
| Transverse Abdominus pulls the belly IN! |
7. There is more to attaining amazing Abs than
the 6-Pack: The ‘six-pack’ or Rectus
Abs get all the credit and attention, but it is the Transversus Abs underneath them that cause a flat belly
and tight waist by pulling in the entire abdomen like a corset. The abs are also framed by the obliques which get little love even
though they are more commonly known as love
handles. The best way to exercise
the Transversus Abdominus and
therefore train for a flatter stomach, is by planking. The
plank exercise, and all its variations to include push-ups target the Transversus Abdominus. Unlike most muscle-groups, the collective abs
are almost all slow-twitch, type-1 muscle fibers. You can train them or at least isometrically
flex them every day, to maximize tone and buffness.
 |
| The Plank! |
8. Final Presentation: You need to properly present your abs by not
wearing your board-shorts too high. If
you wear them too high – above where your obliques taper in – you will give
yourself the appearance of a wider, blocky, waist and shorter torso. Your board-shorts should sit on your hips to
maximize a long, torso-tapering appearance.
This does not mean go full gangster, saggy drawers’ style. Just say “no to crack!” – the quickest way to
repel all potential beach babes. Butt
crack is wack. Some man-scaping
may be necessary depending on how low your board-shorts are sitting. Again, nobody really needs to see the jungle
of growth that might be going on down south bro. A tan to set it all off, really completes
your entire beach, board-shorts presentation.
And when in doubt, just add in a subtle bit of isometric flexion to make
your abs pop a bit. Don’t go full-flex
or you will just look like a meat-head or like you have gas!
I actually have about 10 more tips so hit me up
online if you want some more insider advice, from a self-proclaimed expert like
myself. I have easily invested about 12
years of my life learning how to attain, maintain and present amazing, strong
abs and core, and have been published dozens of time on this very subject matter. And please remember that
as vain and shallow as this article sounds, your core is involved in every
movement you make and is where your center-of-gravity is located. By training your abs to look good you will
simultaneously, inherently be strengthening them and allowing your core to
function at its optimum. Lastly, once you
get your swimsuit abs dialed in, as tempted as you might be to share your
results, please avoid the weird bathroom selfie. Again, the quickest way to repel any
potential babes. Trust me, my newsfeed
is full of ab-aficionado, selfies. While
I’m proud to have inspired all of these guys, I just can’t seem to hide them
fast enough.
 |
| Don't wear your board-shorts too high! |
 |
| There are countless ways to step-up your PLANK! |
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| Fitness Models get PAID to be lean and train for appearance and leanness above all else! But for the rest of us, function should always trump aesthetics, though they usually are synergistic:) |
1. '7-Keto' DHEA
2. Lots of vitamin C!
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