"He Was Doing One Thousand Crunches And Sit Ups A Day..But Still NO Abs!!!

After 18 years in the fitness business,
“How do I get great abs” is still BY FAR the most
frequently asked question I receive out of the 30,000+ emails that come
into my office every month. No doubt, it's because abs are the one body
part that most people are the most frustrated with. Although their
questions are often phrased differently and each person’s
situation seems unique, my answer to
“how do I get
great abs” is almost always the same…
and you’re about to hear it...

"1,000 Sit-Ups And Crunches A Day and Still No Abs!"

One question I received recently REALLY got my
attention because a young guy told me he was doing 1,000 crunches and
sit ups a day and said he still couldn’t see his abdominals.
He wrote:

“Tom: I have been working out
for around a year now and I cannot get my lower abs into any type of
shape. I'm starting to see my upper abs a little bit, which is great,
but despite doing 900 various crunches, ab roller, and 100 sit-ups four
days a week, along with my regular workout on the weights, I still have
a tire around my waist. What else can I do?”

What did I tell him? Well, I gave him the same
answer I’ve given thousands of people over the years, which
is the only true “Secret” to great abs...

It takes training to increase strength, build
endurance and DEVELOP the abdominals, but to SEE the definition in your
abdominals - or any other muscle group for that matter - is almost
entirely the result of low body fat levels.

This may sound counter-intuitive, but if you can't
see your abs, it's not an issue of “muscle
development” at all. You simply have too much body fat
covering up the ab muscles. The lower abdominal area also happens to be
the one place that most people - especially men - store the body fat
first.

There's a Scientific Reason Why Lower Ab Flab Is The Last Place To Go:

Belly Fat - A Big Problem

Most people don't have their fat distributed
evenly throughout their bodies. Each of us inherits a genetically
determined and hormonally-influenced pattern of fat storage just as we
inherit our eye or hair color. In other words, the fat seems to "stick"
to certain areas more than others.

There's a scientific reason for this. Your fat
cells are not just inert "storage tanks" for excess fuel. They are
actually endocrine glands which send and receive signals from the rest
of the body. You could say that your fat cells "talk to your body" and
your body "talks to your fat cells." This occurs through a hormone and
receptor system.

For body fat loss to occur, you must first get the
fat cell (adipocyte) to release the fat into the bloodstream. THEN, the
free fatty acids must be delivered to the working muscles where they
are burned for energy.

For fat to be released, the hormone adrenaline
(epinephrine) must be secreted and send a signal to your fat cells.
Your fat cells receive this hormonal signal via adrenaline receptors
called adrenoreceptors.

Fat cells have Beta 1 (B1) and Alpha 2 (A2)
receptors. B1 receptors are the good guys. They activate hormone
sensitive lipase, the enzyme that breaks down the fat and allows it to
be released into the bloodstream to be burned. A2 receptors are the bad
guys. They block the fat-releasing enzymes in the fat cell and
encourage body fat formation.

How Body Fat Storage Patterns Affect You And Keep Your Abs From Showing

What's the point of all the physiology? Well, it
turns out that in men, the lower abdominal region has a higher
concentration of A2 receptors, so this gives us one possible
explanation of why the lower abdominal region is often the first place
the fat goes when you gain it, and the last place it comes off when
you're losing it. (Incidentally, the fat in women's hips and thighs is
also higher in A2 receptors). This situation is dictated by genetics
and by the hormonal and enzymatic pathways we discussed.

Think of ab fat like the deep end of the swimming
pool. No matter how much you protest, there is no way you can drain the
deep end before the shallow end. However, don't let this discourage
you. Lower ab fat WILL come off, it will simply be the last place to
come off. First place on - Last place off.

This helps to explain why abdominal exercises have
little impact on body fat loss. It's a huge mistake to think that
hundreds or thousands of reps of ab exercises will remove lower
abdominal fat, except to the degree that it burns calories and
contributes to the calorie deficit. What removes the fat - all over
your body - is a calorie deficit and that comes from decreasing food
intake, increasing activity, or a combination of both.

What I suggested to this young man was cutting
back the ab training, spending the time he was wasting on excess ab
exercises for more intense, calorie-burning cardio and weight training
for the rest of the body. I also suggested he do an accounting of his
food intake, get his nutrition in order and decrease his calories
slightly if necessary.

As it turned out, his diet was a mess, and as
nutrition experts like to say,

"You can’t out-train a lousy diet."

It's a monumental error to think that 1,000 reps
of ab work a day will make your abs finally "pop" when your diet is a
disaster and that's leading to fat storage. It’s not that ab
exercises aren’t important. But all the ab exercises in the
world won't help as long as you still have body fat covering the
muscles. You can't "spot reduce" with abdominal exercise and YOU CAN'T
SEE YOUR ABS THROUGH A LAYER OF BODY FAT!

My Championship-Winning Ab Workout Routine

Personally, I only do about 15 minutes of ab work
two times per week, with anywhere from two to four exercises for about
10-25 reps per exercise. Forget about thousands of reps of sit ups
– it’s a waste of time. The reason my abs look the
way they do is not from endless repetitions, but because I get my body
fat down into the single digits with a highly specialized fat-burning diet program.

Here’s a recent ab routine that I've
used (for bodybuilding/ ab-development purposes). I do this routine
only twice a week and I change the exercises approximately every month
so my body doesn't adapt. I prefer slightly higher rep range than other
muscle groups, but as you can see, it is far from doing a thousand reps
a day.

A1 Hanging leg raises
3 sets, 15-20 reps

Superset to:

A2 Hanging knee ups (bent-knee leg raises)
3 sets, 15-20 reps
(no rest between supersetted exercises A1 & A2, 60 sec between
supersets)

B1 Weighted swiss ball crunches (or
weighted cable crunches)
3 sets, 15-20 reps

Superset to:

B2 Incline Bench Reverse crunches
3 sets, 15-20 reps
(no rest between supersetted exercises B1 & B2, 60 sec between
supersets)

How To Use Cardio
For MAXIMUM Fat-Burning

Times have changed since the Aerobics revolution
of the 1970's and 1980's. For years, aerobics was the darling of the
fitness world. Then scientists began to acknowledge the benefits of
weight training - for everyone, not just for bodybuilders.

Recently, the pendulum has swung the other
direction and we've actually started hearing fitness "experts"
suggesting that cardio should be kept to a minimum or even avoided
completely. That's the way things tend to go in the fitness world -
they swing back and forth in trends, from one extreme to another. Lots
of cardio or no cardio.

I suggest you avoid trend-hopping and pay close
attention to what actually works, by people who know what they are
talking about (such as bodybuilders, who are the leanest muscular
athletes in the world). Doing nothing but cardio is a mistake. But
cutting our cardio completely is also a mistake. The truth lies in the
middle. Maximum fat burning occurs when you combine
cardio training and weight training together.

Those who are genetically gifted with above
average metabolisms will find that a slight drop in food intake and
just a few days a week of cardio will usually do the trick. However,
most people who are struggling with fat loss (sometimes referred to as
"endomorph" body type) are simply NOT burning enough calories to get
the results they want. The answer for them is more activity to burn
more calories.

For health and weight maintenance, I would suggest
3 short cardio workouts per week, about 20-30 minutes per session. But
for maximum fat loss, I recommend 4-7 days per week
of cardio or other physical activity for 30-45 minutes (based on
results), at a moderate pace. You can mix up the type of cardio you do,
or choose the type you enjoy the most - stationary cycling,
stairclimbing, elliptical machines, aerobic classes and other
continuous activities are all excellent fat burners (it doesn't have to
be indoors or on a cardio machine).

If time efficiency is a concern for you, you could
do 2-3 of those cardio workouts as high intensity interval training and
you'll achieve very good results even with briefer workouts. Even as
little as 20-25 minutes per session can get great results IF your
intensity level is high enough. Remember, seeing your abs is about low
body fat. Low body fat is about burning calories and creating a calorie
deficit. The calorie deficit is created by increasing the number of
calories you burn and or decreasing the amount of calories you take in
from food. Increasing intensity is one way to burn more calories in
less time.

NOTE: To reach the "ripped"
3.7% body fat level you see in my photos, I do cardio 7 days a week for
30-45 minutes per session, in addition to my 4 weight training workouts
per week.

7 Nutrition Secrets
For Great Abs

That leads us to nutrition. Many people say that "abdominals
are made in the kitchen, not in the gym," and
there's a lot of truth to that. You can do thousands of reps of ab work
every week, but if your nutrition is not in order, you can forget about
getting a great set of 6-pack abs.

1. Eat about 15-20% below your calorie maintenance
   level. If you use a more aggressive calorie deficit of 25-30%, then do
   not keep calories too low for too long; increase calories to
   maintenance or maintenance +10-15% 1-2 days per week.
2. Spread your calories into 5-6 smaller meals
   instead of 2-3 big ones. Be very conscious of portion size. If you eat
   too much of anything (even "healthy" food), you can say goodbye to your
   abs. Period.
3. Eat a source of complete, high quality lean
   protein with each meal (egg whites, lean meat, fish, protein powder,
   etc)
4. Choose natural, complex carbs such as
   vegetables, oatmeal, yams, potatoes, beans, brown rice and whole
   grains. Start with aprox. 50% of your calories from natural carbs and
   reduce carbs slightly (esp. late in the day) if you are not losing fat.
5. Avoid refined, simple carbs that contain white
   flour or white sugar
6. Keep total fats low and saturated fats low. Aim
   for 20% of your total calories from fat (and no more than 30%). A
   little bit of "good fat" like flax oil, fish fat, nuts & seeds,
   etc is better than a no fat diet. Essential fatty acids actually assist
   the fat burning process.
7. Drink plenty of water - a gallon is a good
   ballpark to shoot for if you are physically active.

1000+ reps of daily ab work is an amazing feat of
endurance, but that’s not how you get visible, 6-pack abs! If
you were to do 1,000 reps of ab exercises every day, you would have
outstanding development in your abdominal muscles and you would
definitely have great muscular endurance. Unfortunately, if your abs
are covered up with a layer of fat, you will never see them even if you
do 10,000 reps a day!

You Condition
and Strengthen Your Abs With Specific Ab Exercises...
But The Secret To Seeing Your Abs Is Reducing Your
Body Fat!

I once saw a photo of a man who broke one of the
Guiness World Records for sit ups. It was the most paradoxical thing,
but this man did not have any abdominal muscle definition. He was not
obese or overweight at all, mind you, but he had a small enough layer
of body fat that the muscular defintion did not show through. I've
never seen a better real life example which demonstrates the basic
principle discussed in this article:

You get great abs from reducing your body fat, and
you reduce your body fat by creating a caloric deficit through
nutrition and metabolism-stimulating and calorie-burning exercise.

I've spent my entire career - through more than 18
years and 28 bodybuilding competitions - studying the science and
practicing the art of body fat reduction. I speak from experience and I
walk my talk as you can see from my pictures.

If you'd like to learn for yourself, what I've
learned about fat burning nutrition and getting your body fat level low
enough so that you can finally see a "6 pack rack" of abs, then be sure
to take a look at the Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle program.

Thousands of men and women call this their "fat loss bible."

For all the details,
click here: www.BurnTheFat.com

Train hard and expect
success,

Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
Fat Loss Coach
www.BurnTheFat.com

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder, certified personal
trainer and freelance fitness writer. Tom is the author of "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without
drugs or supplements using secrets of the world's best bodybuilders and
fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your
metabolism by visiting: www.BurnTheFat.com