Saturday, January 9, 2010

How To Have Low Body Fat And Rock Hard Abs


That six pack abs look you know the lean muscled, low body fat and rock hard abs look we want. There is so much information online and all the infomercial ab gadgets, celebrity diets and the latest lose your stomach fat get rock hard abs magic pill that will burn off your excess body fat overnight?

So Why Doesn't Everybody Have Flat Rock Hard Abs?

Because most people take the wrong approach. They fall for the latest hollywood diet or infomercial gadget. But mostly it is simply looking for the quick fix. After thirty years of eating the wrong foods and sitting on the couch you can have less stomach fat and rock hard abs in 3 easy workouts.

Hey it's your money but probably a bad idea.

Despite regular workouts and trying every new supplement rock hard abs? No. And that excess stomach fat still there.

Wait whats that? You spent how many hours on the treadmill this week? And you have been doing it for how long? But you are reading this article so I guess your still carrying around that excess stomach fat? And rock hard abs? still a dream.

So What's The Best Way To lose that excess stomach fat and get rock hard abs?

Build Muscle. Plain and Simple. The more muscle you have the more fat you burn. Now when I say build muscle I'm not talking about huge pro bodybuilder muscles.

I'm going to give you 3 tips to start building lean muscle, lose your stomach fat, have low body fat and get rock hard abs.

1. 95% of the exercises you use in your workouts should be compound exercises. It doesn't matter if your goal is to build muscle or lose fat.

*upper body - bench press, pushups, dips, rows 1-arm dumbbell rows, seated cable rows, bent over barbell rows, pullups, chinup, overhead dumbbell and barbell presses, barbell or kettlebell clean & presses

*Lower Body - front squats, back squats, overhead squats, bodyweight squats, regular deadlifts, sumo deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, lunges, step-ups, jump lunges.

*Core and Ab exercises (important, but are 2nd priority, abs and core will be worked with the compound exercises). You might be surprised how much work your abs get during a set of front squats.

The other 5% of your exercises can focus on single joint exercises (isolation exercises). These exercises are only accessory exercises.

2. Train hard and intensely 3-4 days/week for 45-60 minutes per workout. Max workout time is 60 minutes (45 would be best) as training too much beyond this point can trigger excess catabolism. You want to stay anabolic, but you still need to train your body hard and intensely enough to build muscle and lose fat.

Try a super-set workout to maximize the intensity. My favorite combinations are opposing upper and lower body exercises, such as squats coupled with pullups as a superset, or bench press coupled with bent over rows.

Don't underestimate the effectiveness of these types of workouts done with heavy weights and a high intensity. The first time in my life that I experienced significant muscle gains were when I started doing these types of workouts.

These are mainstays of almost any effective workout adjust caloric intake whether your goal is fat burning or to build muscle.

3. Eat clean (the real key to losing stomach fat and getting rock hard abs) with quality whole foods. REAL foods instead of highly processed over-hyped supplement powders and bars.

The quality of protein (and additional nutrition from vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants) are best assimilated by the body from real whole foods. Instead of from processed protein powders, chemical-laden bars, and meal replacements.

Okay 3 plain and simple (but effective) steps to lose that stomach fat and get rock hard abs

Forget about the hyped up workouts in the muscle mags that only work for pro bodybuilders or people on steroids. Forget about the over-hyped supplement "stacks" that pay the bills for almost every muscle mag... Instead, make these tips in this article part of your lifestyle, and you'll see muscle gains and a leaner, ripped body with trim rock hard abs like you've never seen before! Now Go Get Started Now get That Six Pack Abs Look

Saturday, January 2, 2010

6 Pack Abs And Kettlebell Exercises


6-Pack-Abs & Kettlebells


For years the so called "fitness experts” have been telling us to do endless crunches and sit ups to get great abs. Or buy the latest six pack abs gadget.

Combine that with the latest low fat diet and hours upon hours of slow boring cardio and - BANG! Instant 6-Pack Abs, right?

It’s amazing how, if you say something over and over and over again, people - even the most well-informed and educated people - will believe it as the truth.

But we know better, right?

So when I get asked, almost on a daily basis, how to lose fat and get six-pack-abs, my answer seems to confuse the “general population”…

1. Perform full-body exercises.

2. Train your abs the way they were meant to be trained (by forcing them to stabilize your torso, not move it or rotate it).

3. Use some form of interval training instead of long boring cardio.

AND THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE OF ALL…

4. Nutrition, clean food focusing on fruits & vegetables, lean protein and healthy fats limiting grains and refined carbs to a minimum.

That about sums it up in a nutshell and it doesn’t get any simpler than that.

When it comes to training with kettlebells, getting that six-pack is easy if you follow the rules above.

And one of the best exercises to get that 6-pack is the Turkish Get-Up or TGU.

Simply put, TGUs involve you laying on the ground holding a KB vertical with one arm and then performing a series of movements to get you standing upright.

It sounds simple enough, but rest assured, if you use a heavy enough kettlebell and use proper technique, it’s as hard an exercise as they come. And it will challenge you like no other KB exercise out there.

There are 2 variations on how to perform the TGU. Take a look at the video below and see which variation suits your abilities best.

Turkish Get Ups (TGUs) from Chris on Vimeo.



Remember, we train with kettlebells to simplify our lives and to give us an alternative to going to the gym and wasting the precious time it takes for us to drive, park, change, etc, etc. Time that can be spent doing more meaningful and impactful things - like spending time with our families & friends.

The truth about training to get 6 pack abs and a low % body fat is that our results aren’t so much dependant on what we do IN THE GYM, but what we do the other 23.5 hours in the day.

Are we getting enough sleep?

Are we able to handle our stress levels? (Notice how I said, “handle” and not “eliminate” stress. Fact is that stress is a part of life and it’s next to impossible to completely eliminate stress. Learning how to properly handle stress is more realistic.)

Are we eating whole, natural foods?

Don’t get me wrong, exercise plays a vital role in getting lean. After all, it’s still just a matter of calories in vs. calories out - or EAT LESS, MOVE MORE.

But if you’re using KB exercises and training at least 3 times per week, then, from an exercise standpoint, you’re on the right track!

I would like to thank Chris Lopez of the Turbulence Training Kettlebell Revolution for this article on how the TGU and kettlebell exercises can help us get a flat stomach and lose that extra body fat.