CKY1’s BodyBlog

Okay, abs. As I’ve said before I have a love/hate relationship with them. They are great to have, but a pain to maintain. Anyway, below is a detailed overview of my diet and training regiment.  Hope it’s helpful.

Diet:

* Very little bread – when I do eat bread I try to only have the minimum amount (just enough to hold my sandwich together) and only wheat bread

* No pasta… at least for me this is a death sentence for my abs

* Low fat diet – in general I just try to avoid fatty foods like all deserts, fatty meats (e.g. salami), mayo, etc, etc.

* Minimize sugar intake – no soda or juice, etc.

* Get my carbs primarily from oatmeal and sweet potatos

Training:

* Train abs often – I may be in the minority camp on this one, but I train my abs 5x per week.  In my opinion I think the abs recuperate very quickly and can take a beating.  Also I don’t really count reps… just go until you can’t take it any more

* Cardio – I am trying to build muscle so I have to walk a fine line when it comes to cardio.  Too much and I burn through my muscle… too little and won’t be able to show the abs.  I’ve found doing roughly 15-20 min at a high rate of speed about 4-5x per week does the trick.  I typically do either the bike or stair machine.  As I’m doing my cardio I concentrate on keeping the core of my body tight.  Important to keep a mental connection with your abs (sounds weird but it works)

* Exercises:

- Decline Crunch — Hold 25lbs weight on my chest and try to knock out as my reps as I can (usually shakes out between 10-15). I do 3 sets. This will help to build out your abs. In order to show cut out abs they have to have some mass to protrude outward

- Exercise Ball Crunch – Sit on top of exercise ball with your feet placed firmly on the floor. Roll bottom half of your glutes off the ball by sliding forward. Your lower back should be centered on top of the ball.  Place your hands on the sides of your head, but don’t use your hands to pull. Crunch your upper body forward and roll your shoulders towards your hips. Squeeze at the top. 3 sets of ~15 reps.

- Knee / Hip Raise On Parallel Bars — You can hold a weight in between your feet to make it harder. 3 sets of ~20 reps

- Plate Twist on Decline Bench – Holding weight infront of you with your back at 45 degree angle, rotate weight to the left and right sides. Make sure to get a pretty full rotation to maximize. 3 sets as many reps as you can do (usually around 20)

- Reverse Cable Crunch — Kneeling below a high pulley and facing outward grasp cable rope attachment and place wrists against the head. Flex hips slightly and allow the weight to hyperextend the lower back. With the hips stationary, flex the waist so the elbows travel toward the middle of the thighs. 3 sets as many reps as you can do (usually around 30)

- Ab Crunch Machine – I drop set on this. Usually start at 70 lbs and just keep dropping weight until I can’t do any more. Concentrate on flexing the core and try not to pull with your arms

- Roman Chair Oblique – Using the machine for lower back muscles, angle yourself with your side facing down and bend to the right as far as you can, then bend to the left as far as possible. After finishing your reps, change to the other side and repeat.  I usually hold a 25lbs weight and do 3 sets and ~20 reps
   

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 15th, 2008 at 12:36 pm and is filed under Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.