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Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Spot-On Abs Training

Perform these ab routines three times a week at the end of your regular workouts. We suggest doing them on Monday, Wednesday and Friday to allow adequate recovery between sessions. Continue training other muscle groups as you normally do; however, since you're training abs Monday, Wednesday and Friday, we also recommend that you follow a five-day, Monday through Friday training split and take the weekend off, as in "Spot-On Split" (below).

Cardio should be done on a treadmill, if possible, as this has been shown to be just about the most effective form of cardio for maximizing the amount of fat burned. Another way to get the most out of fat-melting is to perform your cardio in the following manner: After a two-minute warm-up, get into high gear and do high-intensity cardio (about 85% of your maximum heart rate, or MHR) in the first half of your workout, then reduce the intensity (about 60% MHR) during the second half. (See "Spotty Cardio" at right for a sample cardio workout following this method.) Not only does research show that this type of cardio activity burns more fat during a workout, but higher-intensity cardio has also been found to burn the most fat after training is over - and that, after all, is the ultimate goal.

Is this program grueling? Yes. But do you want abs by the time summer is here, or would you prefer spending another vacation wearing a tank top at the beach to flaunt your guns and hide your no-show abs? Thought so. M&F

SPOT-ON SPLIT

Try this sample training split for the next six weeks while following the Spot-On Abs Program (below). Perform your regular workouts for other bodyparts while following this split (or one similar).

Day Muscles Trained
Monday Chest, abs, cardio
Tuesday Legs, calves
Wednesday Shoulders, traps, abs, cardio
Thursday Back
Friday Biceps, triceps, abs, cardio

SPOT-ON ABS PROGRAM

These workouts become more challenging as the weeks go by, progressively conditioning your abs so they can handle the highest volume of training during Weeks 5 and 6. Remember, it's not about how many total sets you complete (this will vary from person to person) but rather that you're able to perform sets one after the other for the entire period specified. For all exercises, keep your technique strict and move at a medium pace - don't hurry.

Week One

Do each of the following exercises for 10 reps (or until you reach failure) in giant-set fashion (doing the exercises one after another without resting between each) for 15 minutes:

Reverse Crunch
Standard Crunch
Oblique Crunch
Rope Crunch

Week Two

Do each of the following exercises for 12 reps (or until failure) in giant-set fashion for 20 minutes:

Hanging Knee Raise
Reverse Crunch
Standard Crunch
Oblique Crunch
Rope Crunch

Weeks Three & Four

Do each of the following exercises for 15 reps (or until failure) in giant-set fashion for 25 minutes:

Hanging Knee Raise
Reverse Crunch
Standard Crunch
Oblique Crunch
Oblique Crossover Crunch
Rope Crunch

Weeks Five & Six

Do each of the following exercises for 20 reps (or until failure) in giant-set fashion for 30 minutes:

Hanging Knee Raise
Reverse Crunch
Double Crunch
Standard Crunch
Oblique Crunch
Oblique Crossover Crunch
Rope Crunch

SPOTTY CARDIO

Try this sample cardio workout immediately following the Spot-On Abs workout. It maximizes fat-burning both during and after each session, alternating high intensity in the first half with low intensity in the second.

Intensity (% Max HR) Time
50% (warm-up) 2 minutes
85% 13 minutes
60% 13 minutes
50% (cool-down) 2 minutes

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