Have fun and be safe!
Brett
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Some great variations to try
Hey Fitness Friends,
Today we're going to look at a couple of variations that you can use to add a little spice to you training. Here we go:
1-1-2 lifting:
1-1-2 lifting is great for movements like bent rows, bench press, floor press, overhead press, military press, push press, jerks, non-barbell cleans, non-barbell snatches, non-barbell high-pulls, etc. I wouldn't use it on lower body based movements like your squats and deadlifts, simply because the resistance as you switch between 1's and 2's wouldn't be enough to challenge you. But, on the other lifts mentioned, this is a great variation.
Lets' say you are going to bent row and you decide to use either kettlebells or dumbbells. Grab a pretty heavy weight in each hand and set your self up to perform a 2 handed bent row. Now, for the right arm only while keeping the left arm in the starting position (not touching the ground), then row the left, then row both arms at once, then row the right, row the left, row both arms, row the right, row the left, row both arms, row the right, row the left, row both arms, row the right, row the left, row both arms. There's a simple set of 10 reps. Even though there are 15 movements in this sequence, you've only performed 10 reps with each arm (5 reps on their own and 5 reps together).
This is a great way to train a number of these lifts as it forces you to move between uni-lateral and b-lateral movements, meaning your stabilizing muscles will get a sheet-ton or work, your primary and auxiliary muscles will work hard as heck, and your nervous system will also get a great amount of work.
Give it a try and I think you'll love it.
Various Position See-Sawing:
This is a wonderful method that will pre-fatigue your muscles, give you more time under tension during the movement and make you all around tougher.
Let's use the 2-dumbbell o 2-kettlebell overhead press as an example. For a normal see-saw variation you'd bring the bell up to your shoulders. You'd press your right arm to overhead lockout while keeping the left one at the shoulder rack position, lower the right arm down and then press with your left while keeping your right in the shoulder rack position. Makes sense, I hope.
For this variation though you're going to either snatch or jerk the bells to the top lockout position. From there you will lower your right to shoulder rack and then press it back to lockout while keeping your left in the overhead lockout position. when you're finished pressing the right to overhead lockout, you'll lower the left to shoulder rack position and then press it back to overhead lockout while keeping the right locked out over head.
This will require a great isometric lockout on the non-pressing arm, varies your movement between uni-lateral an bi-lateral movement, and will basically work the sheet out of you.
Again, give it a try and I think you'll love it.
Bottom Position Starts:
Anyone that's been reading these tips for a while knows that I love bottom position squatting and bottom position bench pressing. And here's why:
Both the squat and the bench press start from the top, locked out position. You then lower down to the bottom position, building up stored elastic energy and momentum. Once you hit the bottom position you drive up to the top lock out. The stored elastic energy and momentum that you build as you lower will help to give you a boost of power as you start to return to the top position.
When you start either of these two movements from the bottom position you take away this stored elastic energy and momentum. This makes the bottom position variations of these movements that much harder. How much harder, you may ask? I currently can squat over 500 pounds when I start from the top position, however my best bottom position squat is 335 pounds. That's quite a difference.
You may now be asking, if that's true, why on earth would i want to start from the bottom if I can use so much more weight starting from the top? Great question. Because forcing yourself to be strong from the weakest part of a movement is going to make you much stronger in the long run. Plus, when you start from the top of the movement, it's very easy to cheat by not using a full range of movement. Check out most people when they squat and you'll see a lot of 1/4 squats and 1/2 squats being passed off as "full range" movements. When you start from the bottom, you can't cheat, you're already at the bottom position.
How do I do these movements? Simple, for the squat simply set the safety pins in the power rack at the point where they'd catch the bar while you were in the bottom position (or the safety bars if you're using squat stands). Now, place the bar on the pins, load it up and get your self underneath it.
for the bench press, do them in the power rack and set the pins so the bar is just brushing your chest when it's resting on the pins. Load the bar up and get underneath it.
It should go without saying that either of these moves should only be used after you have good, solid technique in the lifts. If you don't have a good squat or bench, work on your technique more before doing them.
Alright, there are some great variations. Throw them into the mix and I think you'll love them. Now, go train smart, hard and heavy and create your greatness.
Yours in strength and health,
Brett
Today we're going to look at a couple of variations that you can use to add a little spice to you training. Here we go:
1-1-2 lifting:
1-1-2 lifting is great for movements like bent rows, bench press, floor press, overhead press, military press, push press, jerks, non-barbell cleans, non-barbell snatches, non-barbell high-pulls, etc. I wouldn't use it on lower body based movements like your squats and deadlifts, simply because the resistance as you switch between 1's and 2's wouldn't be enough to challenge you. But, on the other lifts mentioned, this is a great variation.
Lets' say you are going to bent row and you decide to use either kettlebells or dumbbells. Grab a pretty heavy weight in each hand and set your self up to perform a 2 handed bent row. Now, for the right arm only while keeping the left arm in the starting position (not touching the ground), then row the left, then row both arms at once, then row the right, row the left, row both arms, row the right, row the left, row both arms, row the right, row the left, row both arms, row the right, row the left, row both arms. There's a simple set of 10 reps. Even though there are 15 movements in this sequence, you've only performed 10 reps with each arm (5 reps on their own and 5 reps together).
This is a great way to train a number of these lifts as it forces you to move between uni-lateral and b-lateral movements, meaning your stabilizing muscles will get a sheet-ton or work, your primary and auxiliary muscles will work hard as heck, and your nervous system will also get a great amount of work.
Give it a try and I think you'll love it.
Various Position See-Sawing:
This is a wonderful method that will pre-fatigue your muscles, give you more time under tension during the movement and make you all around tougher.
Let's use the 2-dumbbell o 2-kettlebell overhead press as an example. For a normal see-saw variation you'd bring the bell up to your shoulders. You'd press your right arm to overhead lockout while keeping the left one at the shoulder rack position, lower the right arm down and then press with your left while keeping your right in the shoulder rack position. Makes sense, I hope.
For this variation though you're going to either snatch or jerk the bells to the top lockout position. From there you will lower your right to shoulder rack and then press it back to lockout while keeping your left in the overhead lockout position. when you're finished pressing the right to overhead lockout, you'll lower the left to shoulder rack position and then press it back to overhead lockout while keeping the right locked out over head.
This will require a great isometric lockout on the non-pressing arm, varies your movement between uni-lateral an bi-lateral movement, and will basically work the sheet out of you.
Again, give it a try and I think you'll love it.
Bottom Position Starts:
Anyone that's been reading these tips for a while knows that I love bottom position squatting and bottom position bench pressing. And here's why:
Both the squat and the bench press start from the top, locked out position. You then lower down to the bottom position, building up stored elastic energy and momentum. Once you hit the bottom position you drive up to the top lock out. The stored elastic energy and momentum that you build as you lower will help to give you a boost of power as you start to return to the top position.
When you start either of these two movements from the bottom position you take away this stored elastic energy and momentum. This makes the bottom position variations of these movements that much harder. How much harder, you may ask? I currently can squat over 500 pounds when I start from the top position, however my best bottom position squat is 335 pounds. That's quite a difference.
You may now be asking, if that's true, why on earth would i want to start from the bottom if I can use so much more weight starting from the top? Great question. Because forcing yourself to be strong from the weakest part of a movement is going to make you much stronger in the long run. Plus, when you start from the top of the movement, it's very easy to cheat by not using a full range of movement. Check out most people when they squat and you'll see a lot of 1/4 squats and 1/2 squats being passed off as "full range" movements. When you start from the bottom, you can't cheat, you're already at the bottom position.
How do I do these movements? Simple, for the squat simply set the safety pins in the power rack at the point where they'd catch the bar while you were in the bottom position (or the safety bars if you're using squat stands). Now, place the bar on the pins, load it up and get your self underneath it.
for the bench press, do them in the power rack and set the pins so the bar is just brushing your chest when it's resting on the pins. Load the bar up and get underneath it.
It should go without saying that either of these moves should only be used after you have good, solid technique in the lifts. If you don't have a good squat or bench, work on your technique more before doing them.
Alright, there are some great variations. Throw them into the mix and I think you'll love them. Now, go train smart, hard and heavy and create your greatness.
Yours in strength and health,
Brett
Thursday, October 17, 2013
A little more on ab training
Today I thought I'd share one of the greatest abdominal training movements that I've ever found with you all. But first, let's talk a little bit about abdominal training for a second.
As you all should know by now, there is no such thing as upper abs, lower abs, etc. There's only one muscle there and it's called the rectis abdominus. If you want to see a great anatomy chart picture of it I did a post titled, "Abs, abs and more abs," or something like that a few posts ago, check it out and you can find a great picture showing the fact that there's only one muscle that makes up your abdominal wall. That being said, anything that you do to train that muscle will train the entire thing, from the bottom of your sternum to your pelvis. Especially if you do the move correctly.
And correctly is where we're going to begin.
It's funny. Many people now get that going in and hitting some hard and heavy squats or deadlifts for, let's say 6-10 sets of 1-5 reps, is a good thing. They get it. People are also starting to get that the same is true for bench presses, military presses, bent rows, etc. And that's awesome. So why then do people think that you need to hit your abdominal wall with 100's or even 1,000's of reps? Your rectis abdominus is no different than your quadriceps, your traps, your biceps, your delts, or any other muscle groups. If training those other muscles with heavy weights and low reps for multiple sets is effective, why wouldn't it be the same thing for your abs?
And the answer is obvious. It is the same thing for your abs. Your abs are going to respond the same way that any other muscle groups will. They'll develop more strength, more tone, more density, more stability. more fitness/conditioning and be better at their job.
I know some people might be saying, "But Brett, so and so does 3,000 reps every day and they have a six pack." Big deal, having a six pack has absolutely nothing to do with how fit, strong, stable and functional your abs are. You can head down to any ghetto and find a number of junkies that have six pack abs, but are they strong, fit and healthy? Nope! Check out pictures of the atrocities of Auschwitz or Datchow and you'll see plenty of innocent people that were dying, but many of them had six pack abs. Were they healthy, fit and strong? Nope!
Having a six pack is a cool thing, but everyone, whether you work out or not, will have one if you cut enough body fat off of your body. It doesn't mean that you have any strength, fitness or health.
Now, having truly strong and conditioned abs will help you out with every other aspect of your strength and fitness training. And the other aspects will help you develop truly strong and fit abs. For example: you cannot deadlift or squat a ton of weigh unless your core an your abs are insanely strong. And, by training your deadlifts and squats hard you'll develop some insanely strong abs. These big movements; which also include standing overhead presses, push presses, jerks, bent rows, cleans, snatches, high pulls, etc; will train your abs harder than almost any typical abdominal training movement. Hit these hard and you'll be on the road to truly strong and fit abs.
Also, properly training your abs with hard and heavy abdominal movements will not only create truly strong and fit abs, it'll also help you to put up more weight and perform better at the above mentioned big movements. It's a nice synergistic circle.
With that all being said, let's now talk about an incredible abdominal training movement. The sit-up. Now, before you stop reading and yell out, "Brett, the sit-up! Really?" hear me out. I know most people have been told that the sit-up is pointless and many have been told that it's dangerous. These statements aren't true by a long shot. It's all in how you perform the movement.
Do how do we go about performing a good sit-up?
Easy, lay with your back flat on the ground, your legs will be out with a slight bend in them and they'll be spread pretty wide (you'll see why in a second). Have a partner load a bunch of 45 pound weight plates (or 100 pounders, they'll do the job as well) onto your torso. When they've loaded you up with your working weight, wrap your arms around the plates tightly so they won't slide off of you. Have your partner hold your ankles down. Now perform a set of 1-6 reps of sit-ups. When you finish, have your partner unload the weight plates off of your torso. Rest for a little bit and repeat. Try adding weight as often as you can.
Personally, at the end of my training on Tuesday, I cranked out 4 sets of 5 reps with a 20 pound weight vest on and 4- 45 pound weight plates (a total of 200 pounds). Next Tuesday my goal is to hit 4 sets of 5 reps with 5- 45 pound plates on my torso (or 225 pounds).
Give them a try and I think you'll love the results. Also, when you're training your abs this way feel free to only train them directly once or twice a week. There's no need to train them everyday. After all, do you squat heavy every day, or deadlift heavy every day? Now, go out and train heavy, hard and smart and create your greatness.
Yours in strength and health,
Brett
Also remember to check out www.empowernetwork.com/bstepan for a great home based business.
Monday, October 14, 2013
Fit and healthy meals, my ass!
Having started up training people professionally some 19 years ago I've been around my share of fit and healthy people. I've trained numerous people that would fit into this category, been coached by many that also would, and been friends with many that also would. And I can honestly say, ain't none of them ever going to be eating a meal that you're typical restaurant would put on their "fit and healthy" menu.
And yes, I did purposely use bad grammar in that last sentence.
Let's look at they typical "fit and healthy" meal that you'd find at a typical restaurant: You'll find something like a 4 ounce chicken breast or 4 ounce lean cut of fish. This will sit on top of a rice pilaf. On the side you'll have a small amount of either fruit or veggies (usually broccoli). And you'll usually have some other source of grain or starch. The selling point that the menu tells you is: Low fat and 550 calories of less.
And this spit is supposed to be healthy.
Let's break it down for a second. Our hear alone needs 50 grams of protein a day in order to produce enough nitrous oxide to fuel it. Small amounts of protein don't cut it if you want to actually be fit and healthy. You need large amounts on a daily basis. Also, dietary fats are very important to both fitness and health. You need them to optimize your hormones, optimize your immune system and your lymphatic system, slow your aging, absorb and utilize most vitamins, for brain fuel and much more.
Second, rice sucks! Grains and starches, for the most part suck! They spike insulin, force you to gain body fat, create auto-immune problems, create leaky gut disease, and have been linked to strokes, heart disease, cancer, diabetes and more.
While veggies and fruits are important, let's actually give people a real serving of them.
550 calories or less, huh. Every single truly fit person and healthy person that I know takes in between 3000 and 6000 calories a day. Why, because they're fit and healthy. They have muscle tissue, very little body fat, they're hormones are kicking booty, their metabolism is jacked through the sky and they train hard as hell! 550 calories isn't even a snack.
Now, I realize that these menu items aren't being put on there for the truly fit and healthy. I realize that they're put on the menu for the obese, the out of shape and the unhealthy to make them believe that they're making a "better choice." But come on, at least make it a real fit and healthy choice.
What would I put on these menus as a fit and healthy choice.
I'd start with a 16 ounce steak. Loaded with protein, good fats, and tons of vitamins and minerals this would be a great start. It would also lead to a feeling of satiety for the eater, rather than a feeling of deprivation and starvation.
Then I'd add a mess of spinach, broccoli, cauliflower and red and yellow peppers. Why, because all of these are nutritional bad asses. Great forms of vitamins, minerals, fiber and phyto-nutrients.
Then I'd add in a glass of water and a cup of hot green tea.
For dessert I'd throw in a tasty protein shake from either Labrada nutrition or Carnivore.
This meal would load you up with tons of good protein, fats, fiber, vitamins, minerals, nutrients and phyto-nutrients. It would be tasty as hell. It would leave you feeling good and satisfied. And it would help to fuel both your training and your recovery.
Now, there's a truly fit and healthy meal.
Now, go train hard, heavy and smart.
Brett
And yes, I did purposely use bad grammar in that last sentence.
Let's look at they typical "fit and healthy" meal that you'd find at a typical restaurant: You'll find something like a 4 ounce chicken breast or 4 ounce lean cut of fish. This will sit on top of a rice pilaf. On the side you'll have a small amount of either fruit or veggies (usually broccoli). And you'll usually have some other source of grain or starch. The selling point that the menu tells you is: Low fat and 550 calories of less.
And this spit is supposed to be healthy.
Let's break it down for a second. Our hear alone needs 50 grams of protein a day in order to produce enough nitrous oxide to fuel it. Small amounts of protein don't cut it if you want to actually be fit and healthy. You need large amounts on a daily basis. Also, dietary fats are very important to both fitness and health. You need them to optimize your hormones, optimize your immune system and your lymphatic system, slow your aging, absorb and utilize most vitamins, for brain fuel and much more.
Second, rice sucks! Grains and starches, for the most part suck! They spike insulin, force you to gain body fat, create auto-immune problems, create leaky gut disease, and have been linked to strokes, heart disease, cancer, diabetes and more.
While veggies and fruits are important, let's actually give people a real serving of them.
550 calories or less, huh. Every single truly fit person and healthy person that I know takes in between 3000 and 6000 calories a day. Why, because they're fit and healthy. They have muscle tissue, very little body fat, they're hormones are kicking booty, their metabolism is jacked through the sky and they train hard as hell! 550 calories isn't even a snack.
Now, I realize that these menu items aren't being put on there for the truly fit and healthy. I realize that they're put on the menu for the obese, the out of shape and the unhealthy to make them believe that they're making a "better choice." But come on, at least make it a real fit and healthy choice.
What would I put on these menus as a fit and healthy choice.
I'd start with a 16 ounce steak. Loaded with protein, good fats, and tons of vitamins and minerals this would be a great start. It would also lead to a feeling of satiety for the eater, rather than a feeling of deprivation and starvation.
Then I'd add a mess of spinach, broccoli, cauliflower and red and yellow peppers. Why, because all of these are nutritional bad asses. Great forms of vitamins, minerals, fiber and phyto-nutrients.
Then I'd add in a glass of water and a cup of hot green tea.
For dessert I'd throw in a tasty protein shake from either Labrada nutrition or Carnivore.
This meal would load you up with tons of good protein, fats, fiber, vitamins, minerals, nutrients and phyto-nutrients. It would be tasty as hell. It would leave you feeling good and satisfied. And it would help to fuel both your training and your recovery.
Now, there's a truly fit and healthy meal.
Now, go train hard, heavy and smart.
Brett
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Today I'm going to talk a little about one of the best things that you can do to start your physical transformation off on the right foot.
Over the years I've talked about the difference in physique between a marathon runner and a sprinter. But there's more here. Look at the physiques of the vast majority of kettlebell sport athletes, then look at the physiques of hybrid kettlebell lifters. Now, look at the physiques of the average person in the gym and then look at the average Olympic style weightlifter (not a competitor, but a hobbyist). What have you noticed?
Let's take a look. The average and vast majority of marathon runners have a pretty lousy looking physique. Rail thin arms and legs and soft and gushy bellies. The average and majority of kettlebell sport athletes have a very similar body type. The average person that just heads out to the gym with no guidance, or under the eye of a typical gym trainer, usually fairs no better in the physique department.
Yet, the average sprinter, the average hybrid kettlebell lifter, and the average Olympic lifting hobbyist are chiseled, strong and impressive.
Why is that?
Don't sprinters and marathon runners perform a similar activity? They both run, right. Don't kettlebell sport athletes and hybrid kettlebellers perform the k-bell long cycle, snatches and jerks? Don't both the average gym goer and the average Olympic lifting hobbyist both lift weights?
Why then is there such a different in the quality of their physiques?
One of the biggest differences is the speed of the movement that they use.
Sprinters, by definition are going all out, we're talking 95-100% o their maximum effort. Marathoners are jut trying to finish the race, and they plod along at moderate to slow paces to make sure that they have enough gas left to finish.
Kettlebell sport athletes pace themselves and move at moderate to slow paces. For instance, they'll set a pace for 12 snatches a minute for the 10 minute round. This way they make sure they have gas left in the tank to finish the 10 minutes. Kettlebell hybrid people try to bang out 300 snatches in the same time, no pacing, just 95-100% balls out speed.
The average gym goer will hit the machines and lift at a controlled cadence. Let's say two seconds for the concentric (lifting) phase, a pause at the top of the movement followed by a slow and controlled 4 second eccentric phase (lowering). Even the hobbyist in Olympic Lifting has to explode the weight from the ground to overhead as quickly as humanly possible, hitting that95-100% all out speed.
That's right, the speed that you exercise at will play a huge role in determining how much muscle you build, how much fat you burn and how much you stimulate your good hormones. I'm not talking about rushing through your warm-up and then having no control and sloppy technique. I'm talking about lifting with good form, but as fast and as explosive as possible.
Try it for yourself. Replace your run with sprint intervals. Grab your k-bell and hit your movements with as much speed as you can. Hit some hard barbell cleans, jerks, snatches, high pulls and clean and jerks. Keep it up for a few months and see the difference it makes in your body.
Now, go train smart, hard and heave and create your greatness.
Yours in strength and health,
Brett
P.S. huge deals and awesome things happening at www.empowernetwork.com/almostasecretphp?Id=bstepan or check out www.empowernetwork.com/bstepan
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Some Fun Variations For Your Training
I'm hoping by now that everyone reading has an understanding that the basic exercises are your most productive way to train. Training on a regimen of Squats, Deadlifts, Cleans, Snatches, Presses, and Rows will do far more for you than trying to load yourself up with spider curls, triceps kickbacks, lateral raises and the likes.
But, how can you add some variety to your training and still get the great results from the basics?
Great question.
Now, I love the barbell, and think that it's one of the greatest tools that one can employ, but these variations will not work with the bar.
Instead focus on heavy dumbbells, heavy kettlebells or heavy sandbags.
You'll need a pair of which ever tool that you're going to use.
Variation 1: The 1-1-2 method.
Let's say that you're going to perform some Bent Rows with two heavy kettlebells. You'd use the 1-1-2 method like this.
Row once with the left arm, once with the right arm, then row with both arms at the same time, then again row once with the left, once with the right, then once with both arms at the same time. This would equal 4 reps because you've performed 4 reps with each side. Keep it up in that fashion for however many reps you are working towards.
You'll get the unilateral and bilateral benefits of training with this method.
Variation 2: The Loaded 1-arm method.
Again, let's say you're going to perform some Bent Rows with two heavy kettlebells. This is how you'd use this method.
Start with both bells at the top of the movement, tucked up into your body rather than at arms length away. This gives you a nice isometric contraction and increases your time-under-tension.
Now, let one bell down to the arms length bottom position while keeping the other in the top position. Row the first bell and repeat on the other side.
Basically you are doing the reverse of a normal set of 1-arm alternating rows. Instead of keeping the non-working bell in the bottom position while you work the other bell, you are keeping the non-working bell in the top contracted position.
Both of these variations can be used with dumbbell, kettlebell, or sandbag presses or rows, as well as high pulls, snatches, cleans, clean and press/jerk, or many other great movements. Give them a try and I think you'll like it.
Now, go train hard.
Yours in strength,
Brett
P.S. check out www.empowernetwork.com/almostasecretphp?Id=bstepan for a great home money making opportunity.
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Abs, Abs, and more about Abs
Ah, "six packs," "eight packs," "tight and toned," "flat and firm," or however else you want to talk about it; Abs have been the crowd favorite of muscles for a few decades now. Yet most people's way of training them sucks.
First, let's talk some science.
There is no such thing as upper abs and lower abs!
There's one muscle, The Rectus Abdominis, and it stretches from the bottom of your sternum to the top of your pelvis. As seen below.
Notice that there's only one muscle there, highlighted in red. There is no upper, mid, or lower part. Just one part.
The reason why it appears to have more than one muscle is because of the tendons that stretch across it and connect it to your body. These tendons make your six-pack or eight-pack, not separate muscles.
Why is this important?
Simple, really. Because if you truly are working your rectus abdominis, you don't need to do an exercise for the upper part and an exercise for the lower part. You only have one muscle to work.
You may feel "the burn" in the top portion or lower portion of the muscle, but that doesn't mean shit. What matters is that you're are forcing your muscles to generate force against a particular resistance.
Alright, I'm off of that soapbox.
Second thing about ab training is this: You won't carve your abs through exercise. Being able to see your abs is all about having a low body fat percentage. The lower your body fat, the more you'll see your abs.
Now, if you build up your rectus abdominis you'll see your abs at a higher body fat percentage than if you don't work them. But you need to get rid of the fat in order to see them.
Also, just because someone has visible abs doesn't mean that they're in shape, fit, strong or healthy. I've seen junkies at a methadone clinic that have eaten away enough of their body that their abs stand out in bold relief, but it doesn't mean that they're fit or healthy.
Third, your abs are just like any muscle group around. It's funny that people can see the point of doing heavy weight, low rep sets for benching, squatting, deadlifting, etc. But almost everyone feels the need to do ultra light, hugely high rep sets for their abs. Guess what? It doesn't work, if it did, everyone would be walking around with killer abs.
If you overload the rectus abdominis with, let's say, 5 sets of 5 reps of weighted sit-ups using 300 pounds, they'll develop incredibly well. Much better than if you sit in a boat pose and wag your arms up and down 100 times.
Don't believe me, check out Kirk's abs. He built them up doing 1,000+ squats and heavy ass deads, not hundreds of crunches. And he didn't even try for a ripped tummy, he trained for strength:
Yet, he's shredded.
So, what I'm trying to say in this post is this:
Stop trying to work your upper and lower abs, just hit a heavy and hard movement.
Stop trying to work your abs everyday, treat them like any other part of your body.
Stop hitting 1,000 reps for them, instead focus on heavy ass movements for lower reps. Strengthen those abs for damn sake.
Stop trying to
There is no such thing as upper abs and lower abs!
There's one muscle, The Rectus Abdominis, and it stretches from the bottom of your sternum to the top of your pelvis. As seen below.
Notice that there's only one muscle there, highlighted in red. There is no upper, mid, or lower part. Just one part.
The reason why it appears to have more than one muscle is because of the tendons that stretch across it and connect it to your body. These tendons make your six-pack or eight-pack, not separate muscles.
Why is this important?
Simple, really. Because if you truly are working your rectus abdominis, you don't need to do an exercise for the upper part and an exercise for the lower part. You only have one muscle to work.
You may feel "the burn" in the top portion or lower portion of the muscle, but that doesn't mean shit. What matters is that you're are forcing your muscles to generate force against a particular resistance.
Alright, I'm off of that soapbox.
Second thing about ab training is this: You won't carve your abs through exercise. Being able to see your abs is all about having a low body fat percentage. The lower your body fat, the more you'll see your abs.
Now, if you build up your rectus abdominis you'll see your abs at a higher body fat percentage than if you don't work them. But you need to get rid of the fat in order to see them.
Also, just because someone has visible abs doesn't mean that they're in shape, fit, strong or healthy. I've seen junkies at a methadone clinic that have eaten away enough of their body that their abs stand out in bold relief, but it doesn't mean that they're fit or healthy.
Third, your abs are just like any muscle group around. It's funny that people can see the point of doing heavy weight, low rep sets for benching, squatting, deadlifting, etc. But almost everyone feels the need to do ultra light, hugely high rep sets for their abs. Guess what? It doesn't work, if it did, everyone would be walking around with killer abs.
If you overload the rectus abdominis with, let's say, 5 sets of 5 reps of weighted sit-ups using 300 pounds, they'll develop incredibly well. Much better than if you sit in a boat pose and wag your arms up and down 100 times.
Don't believe me, check out Kirk's abs. He built them up doing 1,000+ squats and heavy ass deads, not hundreds of crunches. And he didn't even try for a ripped tummy, he trained for strength:
Yet, he's shredded.
So, what I'm trying to say in this post is this:
Stop trying to work your upper and lower abs, just hit a heavy and hard movement.
Stop trying to work your abs everyday, treat them like any other part of your body.
Stop hitting 1,000 reps for them, instead focus on heavy ass movements for lower reps. Strengthen those abs for damn sake.
Stop trying to
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