Question: I saw an article you posted about abs that talked about training your abs like a sprinter vs. a marathon runner. Is this the truth? Have I been training my abs wrong all along? What should I do? Kay
I’ll leave this to my pal, Tyler Bramlett…
Answer: Hey Kay, first of all great question 🙂
Let me start by saying that doing something is generally better then doing nothing, so if you were already finishing up your regular workouts with a bit of ab training good for you. Now onto the meat and veggies of the question…
Is there a better way to train your abs? The answer is a resounding yes.
In fact if you do the research you will find that in the know physiologists and therapists have long understood the importance of “functional” ab training. Where most people go wrong is 2 ways… First they never establish a solid foundation. Things like deep core activation while doing an alternating leg raise can expose fundamental flaws in your core development that if unaddressed will limit your ability to grow stronger and produce awesome results.
In addition the other way most people go wrong is like you mentioned, they train like an endurance athlete when training their abs. If you’ve been in the gym for any period of time you should notice that people doing high rep ab training generally have a wimpy looking midsection. If you really wanna accelerate the results you get in your waistline, then instead of repping away on the old standby exercises like situps and crunches, try making the exercises harder and harder.
You can make a plank harder by doing it on a swiss ball, you can make a leg raise harder by moving from the ground to hanging from a pullup bar. In either case you are focusing on building strength which will produce better results in the long run.
So… To sum up, do exercises that address imbalances in your core muscles and once you’ve mastered that, continue to make the basics harder and harder for as long as you are capable. This way your abs never get stagnant and continue to develop strength and coordination. This will keep your body safer during your workouts and give you awesome looking abs that look as good as they perform.
Tyler has a way to train smarter instead of longer. He has a plan to progressively intensify exercises rather than do hundreds of reps in an effort to do more work. We know that this just doesn’t work.
Take a look at his program HERE, it’s a steal of a deal for the content that he delivers.
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Question: How much fun is a renovation? Will my kitchen ever be done? Shawna when did you become a hoarder?
Answer: I have nothing to complain about, but living without a kitchen has it’s challenges.
First of all, a big shout out to my dad. Wow, I don’t know what I’d do without him. I see where I get my energy and stubbornness (being stubborn is a good thing since he’s subcontracting for me 😉 )
Things are on schedule and going well from what I can tell and the ETA of a workable kitchen is only a week or so away. My dad is an action taker and is on top of all the trades to get in and get their job done. He’s done it all before so he knows quality work too.
Of course the biggest challenge is finding a way to eat. My dad will go home a little leaner since I have him eating salads and microwaved egg whites. We’re washing dishes in the bathroom sink with the coffee pot right beside the toilet. Being able to pee and pour a cup of coffee at the same time…wow, that’s an added bonus don’t you think?
I can’t get my dad to sit down, he’s always up puttering around, helping out. Last night I caught him in the bathroom starting the dishes before I could get to them. He had the dish sponge and and a salad bowl over the toilet and I had to yell, ‘Dad, don’t wash the dishes in the toilet!’ Turned out he was just using the toilet as a garborator to scape out the bowl 😉
As much as I’m looking forward to my kitchen being done, I sure am enjoying having my pops here. I may have to sabotage the end of the project in a small way so I can keep him around for a little longer. I’ll definitely consider this as a very special time with my dad, even if my house is a happy disaster until the job is done.
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Ps. Just a head’s up that I’ve been reviewing my friend and fitness superstar, Craig Ballantyne’s latest program called TT Home Workout Revolution. It’s all bodyweight and video based home workouts. It’s amazing. He may be releasing it next week, so stay tuned for that.
