5 Steps for Defined Abs by Memorial Day...And No Crunches Involved!
By Lauren Cascio, IFBB Figure Pro
www.laurencascio.com
I hate doing ab work. I train my abs dir
ectly just one time a week, if I’m lucky. The reason being, it’s a body part that should get so much activation through other exercises, and the need for thousands of crunches or rotations just isn’t necessary. You can read all of the articles you like about the best circuit for your abs, or the must-do move for your six-pack, but what I have found is that you can develop a solid core with minimal ab training involved.
Don’t get me wrong, you still want to hit your abdominal muscles with targeted exercises; but, this can be limited to three exercises performed one to two times per week. I will finish my article with a few different circuits that I believe are effective for total core strengthening; but, what I am about to share with you is far more conducive to that elusive six-pack.
Step 1: Hydrate!*
Proper hydration is key if you want to have a properly functioning body and, ultimately, a slimmer waistline. When we don’t take in enough water, our body can confuse thirst for hunger. Before your next snack, drink 8 to 16 ounces of water, and wait 15 minutes. If you are still hungry, go for that healthy snack or meal. Additionally, if you are dehydrated, your physical performance suffers. Losing just 2% of your body weight in fluid translates into a 25% decrease in performance. Poor performance = lower intensity = less calories burned = less fat loss.
The minimum amount of water a person should drink is half of their body weight in ounces (meaning, if you weigh 140 lbs, you need to consume at least 70 oz of water, which equates to about nine glasses of water). However, if you are physically active, which I know you are, you need to increase that amount to compensate for water lost during your activities.
Here are some guidelines:
o 1-2 hours before your workout, drink 16 oz of water
o 15 minutes before you start, drink another 8 oz of water
o Drink 8 oz for every 15 minutes of activity
Water makes you feel full, increases your performance intensity, and helps to rid your body of toxins by maintaining proper body system functions, among many other benefits. Drinking a gallon of water seems to be the gold standard in our bodybuilding world, but if you can consume 2-3 liters of water each day (two liters on non-workout days, and three on workout days), you should be hitting your mark. But, for me, a gallon tends to be my average daily intake.
Step 2: Cut out the sugar and processed foods!
Slowly start eliminating sugar, alcohol, and processed foods from your diet. Take away added sodium, and you will instantly see changes. Processed foods tend to be super-high in sodium and refined sugars, while also being low-to-nil in fiber. None of which help you to lose belly fat and bloat, as you will see in step three.
Additionally, as you hopefully know by now, sugar adds zero nutritional benefit; your body has no use for it. The calories add up fast, and when you consume more calories from sugar than your body needs, it is stored as fat. High sugar intake will also cause you to have spikes in energy, but a crash follows that spike. So if you consume a high-sugar meal before your worko
ut, you might start out feeling like you will have an amazing workout ahead of you, but quickly your energy will drop, and your workout intensity will suffer (which means less calories burned during that training session). Simple sugars have a different effect post-workout, but I’ll save that for another article.
Step 3: Eat More Protein and Fiber!
Women are notorious for not consuming enough protein, and most Americans do not take in enough fiber, either. Both of these help to make you feel fuller, longer. Protein is essential for the repair and growth of body tissue. You must eat to grow, so if you want to increase your lean muscle mass, then you have to consume enough protein to support your body’s recovery and growth.
If you are physically active, and performing resistance training three or more times per week, you likely need about one gram of protein per pound of your body weight in pounds. You can find formulas to calculate your protein needs based on activity level and weight, but I find the easiest way to estimate it is to eat your weight in grams of protein. Again, everyone’s body responds differently to foods and macronutrients, so I’m using the 1 gram per pound of body weight as a starting and/or reference point.
As for fiber, you should aim for 25-30 grams per day. Fiber will help move your food through your system, which in turn will make you feel less bloated. While fiber helps to move food along, it also slows down the digestion process, which keeps you satisfied longer, staving off hunger. But pay attention to how your body reacts to different fiber sources, as some may cause you to feel more bloated, which is not our goal here. Add a serving a vegetables to your lunch and dinner; eat oatmeal, oat bran, wheat bran, or buckwheat with your breakfast; and your carbohydrate sources with your mid-day meals should consist of things like brown rice and sweet potatoes.
Step 4: Do more Squats!
Yes! You 
need to work those legs and glutes if you want sexy abs, ladies and gentlemen! The more lean muscle mass you carry, the higher your metabolism will be. That means you will be burning more fat while at rest. Your body doesn’t pick and choose where you lose fat. Our bodies are all unique, and unfortunately, if you carry weight around your midsection, no matter how many crunches you do, you will not lose the fat sooner in that area with a million crunches. Your largest muscles are in your glutes, so the more you work that fine muscle group, the more lean mass you will have, and thus, the higher your metabolism will be.
Step 5: Sweat it Out!
Whether you choose to do fasted cardio in the morning, or take a hot yoga class to end your day, you need to sweat it out! Arguments go either way on whether or not it’s better to do fasted cardio, and here are both sides: Doing cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach causes your body to rely stored fat for energy. Your glycogen levels have been depleted during your overnight fast, and you do not have any food in your stomach to burn off, so the next plan of attack for energy is to tap into your fat stores. The other side of the coin argues that you will perform your cardio at a much higher intensity if you wait until after you’ve had a meal in your system. The belief being that regardless of when you burn off the calories, you are still burning off the calories.
Now, as someone who has done cardio at all times of day (anywhere between 2 am...yes, I said AM...and up to 8 pm), I will say that I enjoy doing my cardio fasted, and I believe that my intensity is quite alright first thing in the morning without food. However, I would not wait longer than 20 minutes after waking to do this, because then your hunger may start to kick in and energy levels may quickly wane.
Another fabulous option (as I’ve written about before), is hot yoga. I am a fan and advocate of this practice; and if you don’t leave this class drenched in sweat and feeling like you’ve just purified your body while ridding yourself of excess water, then clearly you stepped foot in the wrong studio.
Just as with any other body part, your abdominal muscles need time to recover. Whenever you are training other muscle groups, you should always be engaging your core muscles to protect your spine. Many weight lifters out there have developed ab muscles that others aspire to have...all without a single crunch. So keep that in mind before you decide to dedicate hours a week to crunches and leg raises!
Here are some great ab circuits that you can incorporate into your workout program, but only add them in one to two times per week. Choose one circuit for your workout. Repeat each circuit three times. Each move is performed back-to-back without rest. Rest for one minute between each full set.
Circuit Option A
· Body Bar V-up: Ho
lding a body bar, lie flat on your back with arms and legs extended. Crunch up, keeping your arms and legs straight, so that the body bar meets your shins. Perform 15-20 repetitions. (Modification is to bend your knees toward the body bar.)
· Cable Torso rotation: Using a D-bar handle attachment, set the cable at shoulder height. Keep your arms straight as your rotate across your midline and return to starting position. Think of your arms as the lever, and your core is doing the work to rotate your arms. Perform 15 repetitions, and repeat facing the other direction.
· Plank: Set yourself up in a push up position, then lower yourself so that you are resting on your forearms, rather than your hands. Draw your navel to your spine and keep your hips down. Your body should be a straight line (hence the name plank), and your entire body should be active during this exercise. Do not let your head hang. You want to protect your cervical spine, so everything should be in proper alignment. Hold this for 30 seconds if you are a beginner, and up to one minute-plus for intermediate/advanced.
Circuit Option B
· Star crunch on B
osu Ball: Lying with your back on the bosu ball, and your butt about two inches from the bottom, you will keep your left foot planted on the ground and your right leg will be fully extended. Your right arm will be extended to your side, touching the ground for support. Your left arm is extended overhead. Crunch up and bring your left arm across your midline while lifting your right leg up so that your left hand touches your right leg (either at the knee, shin or foot, depending on your flexibility). Perform 15 repetitions and then repeat on the other side.
· Jackknife: Using a Stability Ball, begin with the tops of your feet on the Stability Ball and support yourself on your hands, as in a push up position. Using your core strength, you will roll the Stability ball while lifting your hips in the air so that you form an upside-down V with your body, and your toes remain on the Stability Ball. Perform 15-20 repetitions. (Modification is to bring your knees in toward your chest, rather than forming an inverted V).
· Side plank with pulse: Lying on your left side, support your upper body on your forearm. Raise your hips so that you form a straight line from shoulder to foot. If you see yourself in the mirror, the space between your left arm, torso, and floor should look like a right triangle. Hold for 30 seconds, then pulse for 10 repetitions, lowering your left hip to the ground and then lifting back up to create that right triangle. Repeat on other side.
Circuit Option C
· Ab wheel roll out: Position yourself on your knees while holding the handles of the ab wheel. Roll out your arms as far out in front of you as you can control, aiming to extend your hips, creating a near-straight line from hands to knees. Pause for one second before pulling back to the starting position. Repeat for 15 repetitions.
· Hanging leg raises: Using a captains chair (or for an advanced option, you can hang from a pull-up bar), raise your straight legs so that your feet are just above hip level. For the more advanced individual, you can raise your legs higher up as long as you control the movement, and do not use any momentum to perform the leg raise. If you are a beginner, you can modify with bent knees - simply bring your knees up, tucking in toward your chest. Perform 15-20 repetitions.
· Kettlebell windmill: Raise kettlebell overhead in your left hand. Your left arm should be fully extended upward, supporting the kettlebell, while your right arm is extended out to your side. Legs should be a little more than shoulder-width apart. Bend over reaching your right arm toward your left knee, while keeping the kettlebell balanced over your left shoulder. Continue to reach downward towards your left foot, and then raise back up to the original position. Perform 15 repetitions and then repeat on the other side. (Of course, a dumbbell works just fine for this exercise.)
You will also work your core while doing back exercises like back extensions and deadlifts, because your back muscles also incorporate your core musculature. Follow the above steps for “6-pack ab” program, and each week alternate between one of the circuits I’ve provided. With less than four months to go until Memorial Day, my recommendations will get you moving in the right direction so you can sport a stomach you will be proud of this summer!
(*Note: People can consume too much water, which has led to a condition called hyponatremia. This is a rare condition in which the water becomes severely diluted with water and sodium levels drop. But, this happens after consuming gallons of water - enough so that you actually are gaining weight during your workout. However, I still feel that it is important to note.)
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