"There are so many myths about the abdominal muscles. I am happy to put this one to rest" - Ben Stiller in Heavyweights

Ah...good old Uncle Tony... always knows best. He's just...so wise. Anyways as for the mystical abs everyone so badly craves. I will start by saying Please, PLEASE don’t waste your time doing hundreds of crunches every day. The keys to revealing your abs are cardiovascular exercise and nutrition. Everyone has abs you just have to burn the fat around your gut to show them. You can do abdominal exercises to ensure your abs are pumped and ready when you have burned enough fat to reveal them however, keep in mind that you are working your abs in most of the exercises you are performing in your weight lifting routine. This is especially the case with exercises such as squats and dead lifts which work your entire body including your core (your core includes your abs). I would recommend working your abs two to three times per week making sure to hit every muscle of the abdominals. These include upper abs, lower abs, transverse abdominus, oblique’s, and lower back. (see abs circuit sample below) Leave at least 48 hours between your ab workouts. Just like any other muscle your abs need rest and recovery in order to grow. (I learned all this information by reading the Abs Diet book). The abs routine I use is David Zinczenko’s abs circuit which can be found in the Abs Diet book. I cannot stress enough how much this book changed my life and helped me learn how to live and eat healthy. Do yourself a favor and buy this book. You will thank me later.



Hitting all your abdominal muscles: google these and other ab exercises for each muscle group to see how they are performed.

Upper abs - crunches, you can do these on your back, sitting, standing, or kneeling. To make them harder you can also hold a weighted plate, dumbbell, or perform them on a decline.

Lower abs - hanging knee raise, flutter kicks, leg v –ups…

Transverse abdominus – the plank, side plank, negative crunch…

Oblique’s – saxon side bend, oblique crunches, medicine ball twists, speed rotation…

Lower back – back extension, twisting back extension, superman…