HARDCORE ABDOMINAL TIPS AND EXERCISES

Since spring time is almost nearing, I know everybody/spring breakers are getting ready to get those summer abs showing! How many times have you said to yourself that you want to have visible abs showing by the summer time and it seemed like a dead end road? You said to yourself, “But I’ve done countless reps of every abdominal exercise possible and I have even used the new revolutionary abdominal machine that my gym just purchased!” Yes, we’ve all been there at one time or another; unfortunately, many people don’t know how key one’s diet is to showing off that hard earned muscle underneath all of that fat. For my tip this month I’m going to give some advice on what you can do to help get an early start and having those abs show by summertime.

Ok, we are obviously going to start with the diet, because that is very important. Now you will need to eat clean, not “last 2 weeks before a show bodybuilder clean,” but relatively clean so we can burn that stubborn layer of fat right off your stomach. I would go in your pantry (matter of fact have someone go in your pantry for you) and dispose of anything bad that you know will barricade your progress, because if you don’t temptation will be there and more then likely you will eat it. Therefore it’s better that it’s not there then there, right? YES! Now use your common sense, you should know by now that anything that is processed or that comes in a pre-packaged plastic bag is bad for you. Why, you ask? Because it’s not natural, there are preservatives and a lot of sodium and unnecessary contents in there that will hinder your gains. Start with buying everything that is fresh and natural, e.g. fresh fish, chicken, lean cuts of beef, turkey, tofu, egg whites, wheat pasta, wheat bread, legumes, fat free yogurt, grapefruits, sweet potatoes, extra virgin olive oil, oats, nuts etc these are all excellent sources of complex carbohydrates, proteins, and good fats.

Myself I usually will start my morning off with some whey protein shake mixed with oats and natural peanut butter, this is yummy! Second, I’ll have a chicken breast 4oz. with half a cup of brown rice. Third, I’ll have 1serving of fresh fruit, 4oz turkey and 1oz of wheat pasta. And for my fourth meal I’ll have a whey protein shake, with oats and a table spoon of flax or olive oil. And If I’m hungry after 7pm, I’ll just eat strictly protein and fats, I don’t eat carbohydrates after 7pm because I want my body to use my stored fat as energy instead of carbohydrates, that way I’m burning fat while I’m sleeping! Ok now you have an idea of what I eat, and what your diet should look like, note , you do not see popcorn, potato chips, twizzlers, sodas etc on there, why, because that will hinder my gains. Now sometimes I allow myself to have a cheat meal once a week, perhaps on the weekend I’ll have whatever I want to eat for one meal. Remember this takes discipline, I didn’t get like this at 22 years old as one of the top amateur level competitors without sacrifices/discipline! Do this for your health as well as your longevity, don’t you want to live longer and be complication/disease/cancer free? Of course you should, so start now, you will thank yourself!

My last topic will be abdominal/cardio exercises. I usually do non-weighted movements solely because I don’t want my abs bulging out, I want a flat toned look, so try to stay away from weighted exercises is my suggestion if you want that look. I do mostly lower abdominal exercises because the upper ones tend to come in once your body fat is low; the lower ones are the tough ones to get rid of that last piece of fat. I like to do a lot of twists on a decline bench with a stick behind my neck, these are excellent and will get you a tight midsection and burn off those love handles that us women have a problem with more then men, go figure! A second exercise is hanging knee raises, now most people you see doing this only stop at 90 degrees, this only works your hip flexors, don’t waste your time doing that, you might as well not do them. Instead go past 90 degrees until your knees are touching your chest (or as comfortably far you can go), then all the way back down, don’t relax though and repeat, aim for as many reps as you can do until you get that burning sensation! The third exercise I love to do is side crunches on an exercise ball, exercise balls not only minimize stress to your lower lumbar but are great for core exercises as well, I have one in my house and I’m on it more then my couch, jk! But you get the idea; whenever I’m free in the house I’ll go and do some crunches, just to keep my metabolism up. Also I do a lot of vacuum exercises; Arnold was a big fan of these, these help with making your stomach wall flat. You ever see girls on stage and they got a little belly, but they are ripped? Well, if you do vacuum exercises these should help prevent that! All you do is suck your stomach in and hold it as long as you can and repeat for as many times as you want. I usually do 5 sets of 45 seconds each. The above mentioned exercises are great samples to give your abdominals some serious work!

Cardio time everybody! I can not stress this enough, cardio is one of my main staples when I get ready for a show, I’m doing cardio about 2 sessions a day for the last 6 weeks at 45 minute intervals. I’ll usually do the elliptical for half of the 45 minutes followed by walking at a fast pace on a treadmill. I would suggest taking a fat burner like Redline, Endorush, Spike, these supplements give you that extra edge when your really need it especially when dieting, plus they turn your body heat up, make you sweat more and let you be focused to what task you are doing! Remember these are an aid to your workout, there’s no miracle pill that will give you abs, but with the right diet and workout regimen they will help you reach your goal much smoother.

Love you all,
Danielle

co-authored by Nejim Sharbek