Mike Geary asked: In the interview below, we talk in depth about the topic of abdominal training and the biggest myths and mistakes we see in this area of fitness.
Below is a copy of the abs training portion of the interview. We will talk about the nutrition details required for losing enough stomach fat to etch out those 6 pack abs in future article.
CB: Okay Mike, so where does the normal man or woman go wrong when it comes to training abdominals?
MG: Most people are going to be surprised at this answer. In their search for ‘six pack abs’, the biggest mistake I see most people making is wasting WAY too much of their time working their abdominals directly… pumping away with all sorts of different abdominals-specific exercises.
I’m sure you know what I’m referring to. The person is trying so hard to get those abdominals to show visibly, that they are spending almost most of their time in the gym with tons of reps of crunches, leg raises, twisting exercises, and so on. Meanwhile, that wasted time directly training the abs could have been more effectively spent on a properly designed full body training program that would produce a much better metabolic response and increase the fat-burning hormone levels in their body in addition.
After all, losing the belly fat that is covering the abdominals is the MOST important aspect to finally be able to make your abdominals visible. Unfortunately, pumping away with hundreds of crunches, sit ups, and leg raises does NOT cause much of a metabolic or fat burning hormonal response.
This is the main focus of my Truth about 6-Pack Abs book… full body training programs and proper nutrition to slash off that stubborn abdominal fat and reveal the 6-pack that is hiding underneath!
Of course it wouldn’t be an abdominals book if I didn’t focus on abs development too, but I make sure firstly that the most important concepts for lasting body fat reduction are established.
CB: Do you see any gender differences in mistakes they make? And more importantly, do you see any gender differences in the response to various types of abdominal training?
MG: To be honest, I don’t really see any need for men or women to work out differently. Bottom line… the best exercises are the best exercises regardless of gender.
However, in regards to mistakes I see between genders… Yes, I tend to see women more often are deathly afraid to use weight training with anything but really light weights. That is a shame, because THE most effective way to gain control over your body fat for life, is to maximize your lean muscle that your body carries, as well as working that muscle hard through intense resistance exercise regularly.
It’s important for women to realize that regular strength training using heavier resistance will NOT “bulk them up” (as long as caloric intake is controlled), but rather is one of the key secrets for losing body fat and staying lean year-round. As a matter of fact, some of the leanest females that I’ve trained over the years are the ones that aren’t afraid to lift heavy with the weights.
I also notice that most women (and a lot of guys too) spend way too much time with slow cardio exercises. This is simply not necessary, and the way I combine high intensity resistance training into full body programs provides enough of a “cardio” workout in itself usually. We’ll get back to this in a minute though.
CB: What about old school sit-ups? Do you use these? Are they good, bad, or does it “depend”?
MG: Sit-ups are a controversial topic. I don’t think they are good or bad per se, but rather “in between”. I didn’t include them in my programs. I simply don’t feel they are necessary, and I think there are much more effective abdominal exercises to focus on. Personally, I almost never do sit-ups except occasionally for a little variety every now and then.
CB: Give us a weekly sample abdominal training program. How many days per week? What are a couple of the best exercises you would pick? How many sets? Reps? Rest?
MG: Well, first I would like to point out that the full body exercises that make up the majority of my training programs indirectly work the abdominals and the entire “core” area to a fairly decent extent. However, I do include abdominal-specific exercises into the routines generally about twice per week. The “abdominal-specific” portion of the workouts generally only take about 5 minutes at most with very little rest between exercises.
Once people are past the beginning phase of gaining some initial abdominal strength, I try to get them away from the exercises that are too easy, where someone can do 40 or 50 reps, as is frequently common with standard crunches or sit ups. Instead, I like to focus on higher resistance exercises that actually stimulate the muscle fibers to a much greater degree.
One example of a higher resistance abs exercise is hanging leg raises with a proper “pelvic curl up”. It’s funny but usually someone that has been wasting so much time with hundreds of reps of crunches can usually only do a few solid reps when they first attempt some of these higher resistance exercises.
We also make sure not to neglect some rotational movements, as well as some work for the deeper muscles like the transversus abdominis.
CB: What do you use for fat burning, interval training or slow cardio? Or both? Any gender differences here? Or differences between fitness levels (beginner vs. advanced)?
MG: In most cases, my answer is definitely interval training… or as I like to call it “variable intensity training”. In general, I think slow steady pace cardio is a waste of time, especially if the goal is lasting body fat loss.
I think people need to get away from this mentality about “fat burning zones” and calories burned during the actual workout, and look at the bigger picture of what they are doing in their workouts to stimulate the greatest metabolic response in the body… and the best metabolic and hormonal response is achieved through variable intensity training and strength training, not slow steady-pace cardio training.
Now I will say that if someone is really deconditioned and can’t handle higher intensity training just yet, this still does not mean that they can’t simply use lower intensity routines, but still use it in a “variable intensity” fashion, by alternating between higher and lower exertion levels throughout the workout.
That wraps up the “abdominal training” portion of the interview. We will discuss the nutrition details that are necessary for losing enough belly fat to get visible 6-pack abs in a separate article.
Here’s Five Training Mistakes You Can Correct Now!
Mail this post
