Six Pack Abs Blog | Tips on Abs Exercises, Nutrition, and Cardio

77 Little-Known Exercises to Surprise Your Abs

Carl — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 11:03:12 +0000

Using the right ab exercises can mean the difference between “training your abs” and “getting rock-hard six-pack abs that turn girls’ head and wow your friends.”

I this video, I review the book The Best Abdominal Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of, by Nick Nilsson.

The Best Abdominal Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of contains 77 little-known exercises that are guaranteed to help you get six pack abs faster than crunches and sit-ups.

Here’s what you’ll discover in the video:

2 little-known exercises that work out the upper, lower, and oblique abs from angles they don’t expect. This lets you vary your training and keep your muscles “guessing”, speeds up progress… and gets you six pack abs faster!
A unique twist on the Cable Crunch that doubles its effectiveness (and how using a dip belt around your knees helps you target your lower abs)
How to get 5 more of Nick’s little-known exercises absolutely FREE!

Please turn your speakers up (best viewed full screen):

[See post to watch Flash video]

Limited-Time Special Offer!

The Best Abdominal Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of contains 77 little-known exercises that are guaranteed to help you get six pack abs faster than crunches and sit-ups.

I got Nick to give you a $10 discount on The Best Abdominal Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of. Since he doesn’t want to discount his book forever, this discount is valid only until this Friday, June 11, 2010.

Follow this link to read more about the book and claim your $10 discount.

Let me know if you get the book and which of the 77 exercises you like best.

New abs video on YouTube

Carl — Sat, 15 May 2010 08:54:16 +0000

Just a quick note to let you know I’ve posted a new abs video on YouTube that should help you get six pack abs.

In a few shorts moments, you’ll discover why a new abdominal exercise – the Bench Crunch – is going to help you get six pack abs, and why it might be one of the best abs exercises you’ll ever learn.

Here’s the video:

I hope you like it. This is truly my favorite abs exercise, and I’ve been doing it for years. It works.

Talk soon,

-CJ

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An advanced drill that makes your abs training more effective

Carl — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 06:38:14 +0000

An Advanced Drill That Fixes a Common Problem

Today I’d like to share with you an advanced drill that will make your abs training more effective. It’s meant to fix a problem 90% of my new clients have. It makes their abs training less effective, and it sure doesn’t help them get six pack abs.

Here it is:

They can’t dissociate the muscles of their hips from those of their abs.

Can you?

Abs vs. hip flexors

During most abs exercises, two groups of muscles will contract: the abdominal muscles and the hip flexors.

The “six pack abs” muscle, the rectus abdominis, is attached to the bottom of your sternum and to the front of your pelvis (the hip bone). When you flex it, it curls your torso in.

The hip flexors (the psoas muscle and the iliacus muscle) are attached to your femur (the thigh bone) and to the last few vertebras of your spine (psoas) or to the back of your hip bone (iliacus). When they contract, they raise your thigh, or, if your thighs are anchored, they lift your trunk.

If you’re not careful, when you train your abs, your hip flexors will do most of the work. This isn’t good, unless you want strong hip flexors and flabby abs.

The 5×5x5 Drill

So how can you fix this?

Try this drill. It will take you 10 minutes. Do it every day for 5 days, and you’ll control your abs like never before.

5×5x5 Drill: Exercise 1

Practice doing crunches: this isn’t an exercise I would normally recommend, but it’ll help you learn to dissociate your abs from your help flexors.

Do 5 sets of 5, with 1:00 in between. Keep your lower back in contact with the floor at all times. Don’t anchor your feet. Curl your torso up as high as you can: most people can’t go higher than 30° off the floor. Focus on contracting your abs, and your abs only. If you already train, this exercise shouldn’t be hard.

5×5x5 Drill: Exercise 2

Practice doing sit-ups. Again, this isn’t an exercise I usually recommend, but for this drill we’ll make an exception.

Had to fetch a YouTube video [not of me] for this one. Her form is great, but the trainer is dead wrong–sit-ups train the hip flexors, not the abs.

Do 5 sets of 5, with 1:00 in between. Anchor your feet. Lift your trunk as one, without curling in. Keep the form, and lower yourself down. This one might be a tad harder.

As you might have guessed, this exercise trains your hip flexors. Once you get good at contracting them, you’ll be one step closer to dissociating your them from your abs.

Wrapping up

After doing this drill for 5 days, you should be able to distinguish your abs from your hip flexors. From this point on, when you work out your abs, focus on contracting your abs only, and keeping your hip flexors as relaxed as you can. This should make your abs work more, and should help you get them strong and defined.

A question for you: would you like me to shoot a video of this drill? If you would, let me know by leaving a comment below.

The “Perfect” Abs Training Program Survey Video Report

Carl — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 01:48:08 +0000

Two week ago, I surveyed my readers to find out what they expected from the “perfect” abs training program.

I was astonished by their answers, so I’ve posted a short video to follow up. Check it out:

Fill Out The Follow-up Survey

Basically, I need you to give me a few more details so I can create the perfect abs training program for you. You can do so by answering the follow-up survey.

Thanks a lot,

-Carl Juneau

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The Paleolithic Diet

Carl — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 23:13:16 +0000

Confused about how to eat? Just follow Charles Poliquin’s tip: “If it does not fly, swim, or run and it’s not green, don’t eat it!”

Coach Charles Poliquin, who has trained over 600 Olympic athletes, says: “When I begin working with new clients, I tell them to eat only those foods that fit into this guideline. If you have any doubts about putting a certain food in your mouth, ask yourself this question: ‘Would a caveman have had access to this food?’ If the answer is no, don’t eat it!”

His advice comes from the book The Paleo Diet, written by Dr. Loren Cordain.

This has to be the most simple yet effective eating guideline I’ve come across. It restricts your choices to foods that are healthy, and eliminates the junk that keeps you fat.

So, if you’re confused about how to eat, remember this dead simple advice: if it does not fly, swim, or run and it’s not green, don’t eat it!

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The Crash Course On Dieting

More Russian Secrets for Six Pack Abs

Carl — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:55:56 +0000

In part 1 of Russian Secrets for Six Pack Abs, I revealed (with his publisher’s permission) one of Pavel Tsatsouline’s best tricks for rock-hard abs: the scissor sit-up.

Never heard of Pavel Tsatsouline? Pavel’s a former physical training instructor for the Soviet Special Forces and he has been spreading the unique training methods of the USSR into the US since 1998. He’s written 15 books (mostly on strength training) and has worked with the US Marine Corps, the National Nuclear Security Administration, and the US Secret Service.

Luckily for us, he’s also written a book on abs training, titled Bullet-Proof Abs. With his publisher’s permission, I am thrilled to reproduce another of his best tricks: The Stretch Crunch.

The Stretch Crunch

Recall that crunches are worthless because the movement is too subtle to generate sufficient tension in the abs. It is a different ball game if you double the range of motion of the crunch by placing some sort of a pad under your lower back and glutes.

Dr. Fred Hatfield, the first man to squat over 1,000 pounds in competition, swears by these ‘pre-stretch crunches’. Stretching the abs amplified the intensity of their contraction and made the movement harder to confuse with head bobbing and spine yanking. Another plus is strengthening the abdominals in a stretched position—where they are often called to perform in sports. Last but not least, performing at least some of your abdominal strength training in the stretched position helps your posture: you prevent the abs from shortening and giving you a hump.

Now it should not surprise you that Russians, Olympic champions, health superstar Academician Amosov, and my aunt Inna, have been doggedly performing extreme stretch situps over a stool or some gymnastic apparatus for decades, totally uninfluenced by Western paranoia over this movement.

The stretch crunch is not a beginner exercise. A person with weak abs will just jerk on his spine with his hip flexors, even worse than in a conventional crunch. The best tool for stretch crunches is the Swiss ball, an inflatable ball two feet or so in diameter and a $30 price tag. Unlike a rigid pad, the Swiss ball follows the curves of your back and opens up the spaces between vertebrae.

Sit on the ball a bit lower than its top, so your lower back would hit the high point when you lie back. (Fig. 42) Plant your feet slightly wider than your shoulders. You may hook them underneath your couch or have your training partner hold them down, especially if you use additional resistance.

Fold your hands on your chest—eventually with a weight—inhale and wrap yourself around the ball. (Fig. 43) Do not jam your back in one spot; sort of ‘make your spine longer’ and wrap it around the deceptively innocent looking ball. You should not experience any discomfort in your lower back if you do the drill right. Make sure to keep your entire midsection tight, your feet secure, and not move too fast—it is hard to stay on the ball!

Incidentally, because of lack of stability the Swiss ball crunch overloads the obliques more than other kinds of situps or crunches. You will feel it! At your own risk, try this drill with your feet close together for an even more brutal love handle muscle workout! When you have reached the bottom exhale with relief and let your spine stretch even longer.

Inhale, and roll back up, one vertebra at a time starting with your neck. (Fig. 44) Tucking your butt under will help. Once you have reached the top, exhale, inhale, and start over.

I’ve been using this exercise ever since I found out about it and it’s defined my six pack through and through. I highly recommend you use it (3 sets of 4-6 reps should be good to begin with). As Pavel pointed out, it’s not for beginners, so leave it for later if your lower back hurts when you crunch, or if you can’t do 20 crunches with your arms crossed over your chest yet.

For more Russian secrets for six pack abs, check out Pavel Tsatsouline’s book, Bullet-Proof Abs.

For a free (32-page PDF) course on super-strong abs by Pavel, head over to this page and enter your first name and email address in the form to your right.

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Russian Secrets for Six Pack Abs

Russian Secrets for Six Pack Abs

Carl — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:28:19 +0000

Ever heard of Pavel Tsatsouline? Pavel’s a former physical training instructor for the Soviet Special Forces and he has been spreading the unique training methods of the USSR into the US since 1998. He’s written 15 books (mostly on strength training) and has worked with the US Marine Corps, the National Nuclear Security Administration, and the US Secret Service.

Luckily for us, he’s also written a book on abs training, titled Bullet-Proof Abs. With his publisher’s permission, I am thrilled to reproduce one of his best tricks: the scissor sit-up.

Scissor sit-up

Try an experiment. Sit in a chair with your hands on your knees and flex your abs as hard as possible. (Fig. 37)

Now put your fists inside your knees and do the same while squeezing your fists hard with your knees. (Fig. 38) You will see that your abs contract much stronger when you are trying to close your legs. Martial artists have been taking advantage of this phenomenon for centuries with strong stances like Okinawan karate’s sanchin-dachi.

This neat phenomenon, later rediscovered by the East Germans, enables us to design a state of the art situp.

Lie down on a bench with your knees bent to relieve your back. (Fig. 39) Follow every direction given for the regular situps, plus pinch the bench with your knees. Keep the muscles surrounding your knees tight.

Can you feel your abs contract harder when you pinch the bench? In my abs programs, I use this trick with the squeeze crunch, where you squeeze a stability ball between your knees while your crunch.

For more Russian secrets for six pack abs, check out Pavel Tsatsouline’s book, Bullet-Proof Abs. For a free (32-page PDF) course on super-strong abs by Pavel, head over to this page and enter your first name and email address in the form to your right.

Get The Full Version of The Six Pack Abs Workouts

More Russian Secrets for Six Pack Abs

Which Abs Training Zone Helps You Get Six Pack Abs the Fastest?

Carl — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 06:14:47 +0000

(If you don’t know what a training zone is, watch the first abs training zones video clip.)

In this clip, you’ll find out which abs training zone helps you get six pack abs the fastest. You’ll also discover exactly how it does that, and why it’s superior to other training zones.

Win a free copy of the full presentation

Congratulations to David Rios, who won a copy of the full presentation by answering last post’s question.

To win a copy for yourself (a $27 value), simply comment below and tell me why you’d like to get six pack abs. I’ll email the best comment’s author (make sure to enter a valid email address).

Looking forward to hear from ya,

-CJ

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Abs Training Zones Video Clip

Carl — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 21:41:46 +0000

I’ve posted a short clip of the abs training zones webinar on YouTube. You can watch it here if you couldn’t make it last Wednesday.

Video Giveaway

I plan to sell the full video with a summary checklist for $27. If you’d like to win a free copy, post a comment below telling me why and how you think this video on abs training would help you get six pack abs.

I’ll contact the author of the best comment with instructions on how to download the video and the checklist. Make sure you use a valid email address with your comment.

Talk soon,

2 Quick Tips for Fat Loss

Carl — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 19:02:01 +0000

Browsing the web randomly, I just found this excellent video by Steve Turano of BodyPerformanceTV (didn’t know about him).

It recaps how fat loss works and what you need to do to lose fat. This applies 100 % to you if you’re looking to get six pack abs, but you still have some fat covering your abs. Enjoy.

You can watch more of Steve’s videos at his YouTube channel.

Steve also has a weight loss membership site where he answers all your questions.