Wednesday, April 23, 2008

6-Pack Ab Training Advice

I was talking ab training with New Jersey nutrition expert and Superman look-alike John Alvino the other day, when he shocked me with his advanced ab training recommendation.

John got pretty worked up and insisted this is one of the best ways to get ripped abs in half the time it usually would take.

So today, I'm going to let John make his case to you and you can decide whether he is wrong or right...

John has entered bodybuilding competitions with the best of them (including current Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler), and spends everyday training men, women, and young athletes in his gym in Jersey, so he knows a thing or two about training.

Here's Johnny...

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These days, every trainer teaches that the abs should never be fatigued prior to performing exercises such as squats, pressing or rowing. Everyone is told to save their ab exercises for the end of the workout. 

But here's the problem...

If you want ripped abs, the above method goes against one of the most basic workout principles: "The Priority Principle". 

The Priority Principle states that what gets trained first will get the best training effect. So why save your abs till the end if you want the best 6-pack you can get?

What if your abs are your weakest body part? What if your abs happen to be your number one priority? In these cases, they should be trained at the beginning of your workout when you are full of energy, not when you are tired.

So I suggest this alteration to your workout:

If abs are your priority, work them out first!

This simple adjustment in training sequence will make a huge difference in your results. If you are used to just throwing in a couple of abdominal sets at the end of your workout, you will literally double your rate of progress towards developing your six-pack. 

Here's a sample Ab Workout you can do right before your next regular workout.

Ab Routine

1a) Low Ball Pull In - 2 x 15-20 - rest 60 sec
1b) Side Crunch On Ball - 2 x 15-20 - rest 60 sec
2) Ab Wheel Rollouts - 1 x 15-20

[CB SAYS..."For more of John's workouts and ab exercises, Click HERE for his Complete Fat Loss program. It comes with a bonus Ab Exercise Index featuring dozens of unique ab exercises, dozens of sample Meal Plans, over 17 tasty protein shake ideas, and 68 pages of delicious fat loss recipes.]

After complete your ab routine (either A or B) begin full body workout!

The only exception to this rule is when you are truly training with maximal weights. That's when you don't want to tire your abs out, because squatting or deadlifting with a max weight needs all the ab strength you have.

But if you are training for fat loss with moderate weights, this is, as I said, a way to double your ab training results.

John Alvino
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Let me know if this works for you.

He's got abs of steel,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

PS - Don't miss John's 15 Secrets for Losing Stubborn Body Fat...

...and his amazing before and after client success stories.

You can get those for free at his site.

Click HERE for John's article & to see his client's get ripped abs

1 comment:

KaKa said...

Your article gives me another approach on the subject. Very good, I think I found the knowledge I needed.
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