if you want abs of steel then stop doing endless situps...

Your nutrition is also just as important for you to achieve that scuplted, ripped up

physique. You need to eat small meals more often to keep your metabolism fired

up and burning calories all day. If you eat sluggish your metabolism will be sluggish.

Protein is very important as it triggers a muscle rebuilding process after a workout.

As well as protein in your diet you need a good source of essential fats which can be

found in oily fish, nuts and olive oil.

You need to replace all those boring situps with bigger compound exercises that will

give you a larger return for your efforts. Compound Exercises involve multiple

muscle groups being worked at the same time which are a lot more demanding than

situps or crunches, therefor giving a much larger calorie expenditure. Combining

these exercises with a balanced diet that promotes fat loss you will soon start to

shed those pounds and lower your body fat.

"If you want abs of steel then stop doing endless situps and

follow this structured workout plan"

Everyone wants to have a great looking midsection or six-pack, and the answer to

achieving this is through a combination of a healthy balanced diet and an effective

workout plan. There is a huge misconception that doing hundreds of situps will give

you that wash board look we all desire - Wrong!

Ok, situps will undoubtably target you abdominal region, however they will not get

rid of any fat stores you have sitting on top of your abs. Everybody has a six-pack

but for the majority of us it is hidden beneath a layer of fat that we all call the belly.

Until we burn off this fat sitting on top of our abs they will not become visible. So

doing endless situps and using fancy equipment you see demonstrated on the

infomercials by lean, ripped up models who have a fixed grin on their face is a

complete waste of your time.

Lets Get Started…

What You Should Be Doing Instead.

6 Week Ab Workout

Why Do You Need Compound Exercises?

Myths About Abs

Make use of the little time you do have by shortening your cardio workouts but

increase their intensity. Do High Intensity Interval Training to help speed up the fat

burning process, and get your metabolism lifted.

Most abdominal exercises are considered low calorie demanding movements as they

only target your abdominals which is quite a small region. In order to burn off a

kilogram of bodyweight fat, your abs would need to perform 500,000 crunches or the

equivelant of 4 weeks non stop crunching. Don't waste you time doing alot of small

energy demanding exercises like this as they will not get rid of the fat covering your

abs. Start doing heavier compound movements that use multiple muscle groups and

give you a bigger burn.

"I need to train my abs every day to get a six-pack"

Your abs are just like any other muscle in your body, they need time to refuel after

you have trained them hard. Over training your abs by working them every day will

prevent them from recovering and will not help them grow back even stronger. This

is a very common mistake and it explains why alot of people see their gains plateau.

Compound exercises are very important if you want to become leaner for two simple

reasons - To burn fat and to build muscle. Exercises such as deadlifts, squats, and

lunges are excellent for burning fat as they demand huge amounts of energy to be

able to be performed. They generate a much larger calorie burn than situps or

crunches so should be an essential part of your workout. Not only do they aid with

burning fat, but they will also stimulate muscle growth hormone which in turn will

help suppress any body fat accumulation. The more muscle you pack on, the more

calories your body will naturally burn doing your everyday tasks, making it easier to

stay lean.

It is impossible to spot reduce fat from a single part of your body. Any fat burnt off

through exercise will be taken from fat stores right across your body. Men will tend

to store excess fat around the stomach area, whereas women are more likely to store

fat around the hips and thighs.

"Doing hundreds of situps will get rid of my flabby belly"

"Situps and crunches are the number one exercise to get me a six-pack"

"I need to do hours and hours of cardio to get the best results"

6 Week Ab Workout

The Abdominal Muscles Explained

This is the group of abdominal muscles known as the six-pack. It consists of your

upper and lower abs and is responsible for carrying out any crunching movement

patterns (Bringing your ribcage closer to your pelvis).

Rectus Abdominis

Transverse Abdominis

This muscle lies beneath the Rectus Abdominis, and is the major muscle used when

engaging or tightening your abs. Its muscle fibres run horizontally unlike the rectus

abdominis that run vertically. The main function of the transverse abdominis is to

initiate abdominal compression during intense exhalation, which is extremely

important when carrying out any core exercises.

Internal / External Obliques

Also known as you’re ‘Love handles’ situated above your hips. We all have a set of

internal and external obliques which are responsible for trunk rotation and lateral

flexion of the torso. The external obliques are superficial whereas the internal

obliques are hidden deep underneath. The obliques are quite often missed from an

abdominal routine, however they should definitely be included to improve your

overall core stability.

6 Week Ab Workout

Fat is generally believed to be bad for the body, but this is not totally true. Fat is

actually an essential part of a healthy diet. However, too much Fat intake can lead to

Obesity, High Blood Pressure, Coronary Heart Disease, and Atherosclerosis (Furring of

the arteries with fats). Essential fats can be found in foods such as oily fish, and nuts.

Sources of Protein: Meat, Fish, Dairy products, Poultry

Sources of Carbohydrates: Cereals, Bread, Pasta, Potatoes, Rice, Vegetables

Sources of Fats: Vegetable oils, Wholegrain, Fish oils, Seeds, Olive oil

Protein

Proteins are essential for growth, maintenance and repair of body tissue, therefore

they play a big role for your body to make the changes needed. Protein can help you

lose fat! By increasing your muscle mass your body will be burning more calories to

supply the extra muscle even while resting. It helps suppress your appetite which

causes you to eat less calories overall and contributes to your weight loss.

Nutrition

What you eat has a huge impact on your body composition and how effective it can

burn fat stores to keep you lean. Your daily intake of food should be split into the

following levels of protein, carbs, and fats.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are an ideal source of energy for the body. They are broken down

into simple carbs and complex carbs. Carbohydrates are needed to fuel the body

with energy in order to carry out everyday functions. They are broken down into

glucose which fuels the brain. Having too much simple carbohydrates (Sugar, Jam,

Sweets) may lead to the onset of diabetes and cause dental problems.

Fats

Protein (30%)

Fat (20%)

Carbohydrate (50%)

6 Week Ab Workout

The Workouts

The Exercises

Picture of a workout example

Ab Specific Designed to target and strengthen your abdominal region which

in turn will help develop your overall core stability and tone up

your abs to make them stand out and look great.

Include alternating exercises that work the upper body and

lower body muscle groups. They flush lactic acid up and down

the body which can stimulate growth hormone. These exercises

are high energy demanding which means you will have to break

down alot of fat to produce the energy needed to perform the

exercises.

Compound

We have 9 workouts split into 6 weeks, each one is different from the last.

Stage 1 - Weeks 1-2 - Workout A, B, C

Stage 2 - Weeks 3-4 - Workout D, E, F

Stage 3 - Weeks 5-6 - Workout G, H, I

As you can see each stage has 3 workouts which contain whole body exercises

(Compound), as well as abdominal specific exercises. The exercises are performed in

a circuit fasion one after the other. Every workout follows the same format to keep

things nice and simple. At the end of each week you will also need to perform a 20

minute fat burning interval session on the treadmill. This high intensity cardio

session takes you through rest and work phases which realy gets your heart pumping,

giving you a metabolic boost and an afterburn calorie effect too increase the rate at

which you are burning fat.

6 Week Ab Workout

Stability Ball Oblique Crunch

Workout Schedule

6 Week Ab Workout

WEEK 2

MondayWorkout B

TuesdayREST

WednesdayWorkout C

ThursdayREST

FridayWorkout A

SaturdayREST

SundayCARDIO

WEEK 3

MondayWorkout D

TuesdayREST

WednesdayWorkout E

ThursdayREST

FridayWorkout F

SaturdayREST

SundayCARDIO

WEEK 4

MondayWorkout E

TuesdayREST

WednesdayWorkout F

ThursdayREST

FridayWorkout D

SaturdayREST

SundayCARDIO

WEEK 5

MondayWorkout G

TuesdayREST

WednesdayWorkout H

ThursdayREST

FridayWorkout I

SaturdayREST

SundayCARDIO

WEEK 6

MondayWorkout H

TuesdayREST

WednesdayWorkout I

ThursdayREST

FridayWorkout G

SaturdayREST

SundayCARDIO

WEEK 1

MondayWorkout A

TuesdayREST

WednesdayWorkout B

ThursdayREST

FridayWorkout C

SaturdayREST

SundayCARDIO


Reps: 14 - 16% 1RM: 60%Workout A

6 Week Ab Workout

Barbell Deadlift Barbell Bench Press

Explosive Squats Barbell Shoulder Press

Stability Ball Roll-In Stability Ball Oblique Crunch

Plank

Complete these exercises in a circuit fashion and

repeat 3 - 4 times


Workout B % 1RM: 60% Reps: 14 - 16

6 Week Ab Workout

Barbell Squats Barbell Bent Over Row

Barbell One Leg Deadlifts Narrow Grip Chin Ups

Stability Ball Roll-In With Twist Hanging Knee Raises

Side Plank


repeat 3 - 4 times


Workout C % 1RM: 60% Reps: 14 - 16

6 Week Ab Workout

Dumbell Bench Step Up T-Twist Pressups

Barbell Deadlifts Barbell Shrugs

Stability Ball / Medicine Ball Crunch Hanging Knee Raises (Medicine Ball)

Side Plank Star


repeat 3 - 4 times


Workout D % 1RM: 70% Reps: 10 -12

6 Week Ab Workout

Barbell Front Squat Barbell Incline Chest Press

Barbell One Leg Deadlift Barbell Shoulder Press

Dumbell Woodchops Lying Leg Raises

Stability Ball Plank


repeat 3 - 4 times


Workout E % 1RM: 70% Reps: 10 -12

6 Week Ab Workout

Barbell Lunges Pull Ups

Barbell Squats Plate Halo

V-Ups Stability Ball Crunches

Side Plank Star


repeat 3 - 4 times


Workout F % 1RM: 70% Reps: 10 -12

6 Week Ab Workout

Dumbell Bulgarian Squats Barbell Upright Rows

Box Jumps Barbell Bench Press

Bicycle Crunches Lying Leg Raises (Medicine Ball)

Plank


repeat 3 - 4 times


Workout G % 1RM: 80% Reps: 6 - 8

6 Week Ab Workout

Explosive Squats Chin Ups

Barbell Lunges T-Twist Pressups

Double Crunches Stability Ball Weighted Crunches

Side Plank


repeat 4 - 5 times


Workout H % 1RM: 80% Reps: 6 - 8

6 Week Ab Workout

Barbell Romanian Deadlifts Pull Ups

Barbell Squats Barbell Reverse Grip Rows

Barbell Roll Outs Hanging Leg Raises

Side Plank Star


repeat 4 - 5 times


Workout I % 1RM: 80% Reps: 6 - 8

6 Week Ab Workout

Dumbell Bench Step Up Stability Ball Roll In / Pressup

Barbell Lunges Barbell Squat Press

Medicine Ball Slams Stability Ball Trunk Rotations

Stability Ball Plank


repeat 4 - 5 times

Picture of a workout example

This will involve you setting a work and rest phase that you will contiually switch

between for the full 20 minutes. Set the speed and gradient so that you reach the

following effort levels for each phase.

Cardio Workout - Interval Training

Every Sunday you will need to complete 20 minutes of HIIT (High Intensity Interval

Training) on the treadmill.

Use the effort guide below to gage how hard you should be working.

6 Week Ab Workout

Rest PhaseEffort Level: 6/10Time: 60 Seconds

Work PhaseEffort Level: 8/10Time: 30 Seconds

if you want abs of steel then stop doing endless situps...

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