Yesterday we dispelled some myths that, unfortunately, still get passed around out there a lot. Below is an abdominal complex (three very effective ab exercises in a row) that we use here in Athlon Elite all the time to help people not only get a "six-pack" but also have a high performance core. Perform one set of each of the three exercises in a row. Then rest a minute and repeat two more times for a total of three sets through the complex.
1.) First stretch and contract your abs through a greater range of motion with HANGING KNEES TO ELBOWS
This is a very tough exercise but a great one that requires nothing more than a pull-up bar. Perform 12 repetitions. (video courtesy of CrossFit)
2.) Second, follow-up with an exercise that works your obliques with heavy acceleration/deceleration components with MEDICINE BALL WOODCHOPPERS
You can use any 6 to 10 pound weight in place of the medicine ball (but I like medicine balls for the grip requirements). Move from one position to the other with "maximum speed and intensity." Perform 12 repitions.
3.) Finish with an exercise that works your six-pack and all of the small muscles that keep your low back safe, FORWARD PLANK
Hold this position for 1 minute keep your back completely straight.
Why Hundreds of Crunches and Sit-ups Are the WORST Fat Burning Program to Lose Stomach Fat, Build Your Trunk Muscles, and Give You Six Pack Abs
Few people really understand how the trunk musculature works and, frankly, I don’t blame them for not wanting to know as the trunk muscular system is a very complicated system. But if you want a flatter stomach… a six-pack that makes people stand up and notice your waisteline, then you need to at least follow an exercise program that does understand the complicated trunk musculature…
Let’s dispel some myths:
Myth #1 - You Have to Do Hundreds of Crunches and Sit ups To Lose Belly Fat and Get Flat Abs
If you rely on boring, back-breaking abdominal crunches and sit-ups to burn belly fat, you’ll never lose the ugly belly fat covering your abs. To get more fat burning results in less workout time, use fat burning interval training like we do at Athlon Elite and total-body abdominal exercises instead.
Myth #2 - In Just Four Easy Payments of $29.99, You Can Buy a Miracle-Working Six Pack Ab Machine From a Late-Night informercial
Ha! I wish one of those abdominal exercise contraptions worked half as good as the so-called "experts" say, but infomercial gadgets don’t burn belly fat or flatten your abs (they only burn your money and flatten your wallet!).
Myth #3 - You Have to do Ab Workouts Everyday to Get Six Pack Abs
Not true! In fact, one of the secrets of top fat loss trainers is to drop boring, repetitive ab exercises and replace them with total-body abdominal exercises you only need to do for a few minutes three times per week.
Myth #4 - You Have to Do Cardio in the Fat Burning Zone Everyday to Burn Belly Fat
Long, slow boring cardio in the fat burning "Zone" is not the best way to lose ugly belly fat. In fact, in a recent study, subjects did 40 minutes of slow cardio three times per week for 15 weeks but didn’t lose a single inch of stomach fat. However, only 20 minutes of interval training helped subjects reduce their belly fat.
Check back tomorrow for three very effective "total-body ab exercises" that will get you started toward a high-performance six-pack mid-section.
(Normally I don’t post commercials on our blog but this one’s good, and relevant)
It’s only a minute… Watch this to the end, its very powerful!
After 15 years in this business I’ve discovered what the biggest problem with being fit and healthy is… it’s MOTIVATION.
You can say that it’s because:
you have the kids for the summer, or
you can say that it’s because work is really hard right now, or
you can say that it’s not in your budget, or, (my personal excuse right now),
you can say that you don’t have time,
but these are all saying the same thing… I don’t have the "MOTIVATION" for it right now.
And that’s ok… we all have our ups and downs, it’s a natural part of being human.
…just be sure one thing, that you’re not in DENIAL of the CONSEQUENCES. Because there are very serious consequences to being out-of-shape…
When you’re ready, we have the #1 way to stay motivated and on track to be the fit person that you want to be…
Do you know what that is?…
Having to hold yourself accountable to someone else. For most people this is the best way to stay motivated. We have the system that works and we’ll hold you accountable to completing the 7-steps.
A couple of Athlon Elite athletes were victorious this weekend. Scott Lighty and Jason Von Flu both won their mixed martial arts fights in Visalia, CA. Scott Lighty pounded his apponent for three rounds winning him a unanimous decision (note: the athlonelite.com on his shorts!)
Jason Von Flu, after entering the arena like a rockstar, went to work on his opponent wrapping up a very crafty knee-bar submission to end it in the first round.
Former stand-out Cal Poly baseball player and Athlon Elite athlete, Jimmy VanOstrand, debuted yesterday in the Beijing Olympics for the Canadian baseball team, and he had a great game! Playing the position of designated hitter (DH) he went 2 for 4 with an RBI as Team Canada put the Beatdown on Team China, 10 to 1.
Jimmy’s the second person in the video clip below.
Here’s the "official" write-up on him from the Olympics’ Athletes Profile page:
Career Highlights
Played for Canada at the 2008 Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Taiwan, finishing second in the tournament with a .556 (10-for-18) average with a home run, two doubles, a triple and eight RBI in five games – he also drove in the game-winning run in the top of the tenth inning with a double in a must-win game vs. Chinese Taipei
Selected by the Houston Astros in the eighth round of the 2006 MLB First Year Player Draft
Four-time city champion with the McMath Wildcats High School basketball team
We’ve been talking the last couple days about perseverance and having discipline towards your fitness plan and goals… well, how’s this for tenacity?…
John Dane is 58 years old and has been trying out for the Olympic sailing team for almost 40 years. Dane missed qualifying for the Olympics four separate times, each by a few minutes. He didn’t give up after each loss, he just improved his sailing skills. It would have been too easy to give up after losing one or two qualifying races. John Dane took the more difficult route and persevered.
In 1968, at age 18, he arrived at the U.S. Trials in a borrowed Dragon class boat and finished a close second. He sailed more Olympic Trials—in the Soling class (1972 Games), the Finn class (1974) and the Star class (1984)—coming close to victory at each event. His campaign for the 2008 Games, racing with son-in-law Austin Sperry as crew, finally proved to be his charm.
“Austin’s youth, athleticism and enthusiasm coupled with my racing experience and never-say-die attitude make us a great team,” says Dane.
You can watch him sail with his son-in-law to hopeful victory August 15-20.
And here’s a cool video of some of their preparation…
I’m sure that John Dane did not do this alone. I’m sure he had a coach and I’m sure that coach helped him to create his training plan, practice plan, boat mapping… whatever it is that you do in sailing racing that makes you succeed. If you want to do something right the first time consult a coach or a trainer. It’s an investment, not a cost! Just ask Dane after what he’s gone through to get into the Olympics… his investment is about to pay off baby!!!
Did you watch the men’s 4×100 freestyle relay last night at the Beijing Olympics?! What an incredible finish! If you missed it you can watch it at the end of this post.
It was one of the most exciting finishes ever! As I watched it, as well as the rest of the Olympics last night, I couldn’t help but think about all the hard work these athletes have put into their training over the last few months as they prepared for their big moment. They all have natural talent (more than you or I for sure) but they have also sacrificed and worked hard to develop that talent. They have stayed disciplined to their program, they have drug themselves out of bed and made it to their training sessions on time, they have avoided the "cheat" foods that they knew would hold them back from achieving their goals, etc., etc.,
And now, guess what… they are reaping the benefits, having the time of their lives! They are reveling in the fact that their discipline has paid off… they are on top of the world!
What are you working hard to develop right now??
What are you training for??
So many of us want something more but when it comes time for the discipline and hard work to achieve it we find an excuse to not follow through. If the picture above and video below don’t motivate you to push through and strive for your dreams, (your fitness dreams of course), then I don’t know what will.
Get into the gym today and get to where you want to be (on top of the world)!!
(To watch click on the link below then scroll down to the videos and click on the Men’s 4×100 Relay, sorry about the stupid commercials… it’s NBC).
You hear it all the time - from your mom, from dietitians, from doctors, from coaches, heck, even from your uncle Jimmy.
Just eat a “balanced diet” and you should be fine.
Of course, the fact that no one ever mentions what actually constitutes a “balanced diet” only adds to the mystique and allure of this mythical creature.
To your mom, a balanced diet pretty much means whatever she puts on your plate. To your dietitian and doctor, it pretty much means to eat less saturated fat and cholesterol. To your coach, it means whatever keeps you from getting fatter. And to your uncle Jimmy, it means skipping breakfast, having fries and a burger for lunch, and having a 6-pack of beer after work.
For most people, a balanced diet is simply a buzz word for “eating whatever I want to eat.” The phrase is beautifully vague enough to be able to justify their own personal choices with amazing vehemence and rationalization. It’s vague enough to convince folks that no changes are necessary in their daily intake. It’s vague enough for dietitians to suggest that no supplements are required to meet our daily needs.
Yet it’s also vague enough to be utterly useless and void of all utility or meaning. And it’s vague enough to ensure that the rates of diabetes, heart disease and obesity consistently increase.
Let’s look at some interesting research on a “balanced” diet…
Here’s the reference if you want to look it up yourself:
J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2006; 3(1): 51–55.
Food Alone May Not Provide Sufficient Micronutrients for Preventing Deficiency
Bill Misner
Before we look at the study though, the ADA, (American Dietetic Association), establishes nutrition standards for the population at large, (I guess trying to outline what a “balanced” diet is):
Assuming a 2000kcal diet, the average person should be getting the following macronutrients each day:
Total Fat 65 g
Saturated fatty acids 20 g
Cholesterol 300 mg
Sodium 2400 mg
Potassium 4700 mg
Total carbohydrate 300 g
Fiber 25 g
Protein 50 g And in terms of micronutrients:
Vitamin A 5000 IU
Vitamin C 60 mg
Calcium 1000 mg
Iron 18 mg
Vitamin D 400 IU
Vitamin E 30 IU
Vitamin K 80 μg
Thiamin 1.5 mg
Riboflavin 1.7 mg
Niacin 20 mg
Vitamin B6 2 mg
Folate 400 μg
Vitamin B12 6 μg
Biotin 300 μg
Pantothenic acid 10 mg
Phosphorus 1000 mg
Iodine 150 μg
Magnesium 400 mg
Zinc 15 mg
Selenium 70 μg
Copper 2 mg
Manganese 2 mg
Chromium 120 μg
Molybdenum 75 μg
Chloride 3400 mg
Again, these numbers are very conservative. They’ve been established by the ADA as rock-bottom minimums required to prevent us from contracting diseases, they say nothing about optimization of your body, or metabolism.
So, to the study… The researchers analyzed 70 diets of exercisers and non-exercisers who were “trying” to improve their nutritional intake… (hence eat a “balanced” diet as best they could).
They found that not a single one met all of the “minimum micronutrient levels suggested by the ADA!”
Specifically, the deficiencies were:
Iodine - 100% of the diets were deficient in iodine
Vitamin D - 95% of the diets were deficient in vitamin D
Zinc - 80% of the diets were deficient in zinc
Vitamin E - 65% of the diets were deficient in vitamin E
Calories - 50% of the diets were deficient in calories
Calcium - 50% of the diets were deficient in calcium
So what does this mean? Well, exactly what you already know… a “balanced diet” is not so easy to do in this society. You need a little help!!! Therefore, you should be:
one, taking a multivitamin like the one Athlon Elite provides its members as a part of their membership (free) everyday, two, you should be considering other supplementation that is shown in the literature to have a significant effect on your metabolism, and various diseases like cardiovascular disease (like EFA’s, Green Tea Extract, Quercitin and Vitamin C, etc… products recommended in many of Athlon Elite’s programs),
and three, consult a professional and have your diet analyzed (or do it yourself at www.CalorieKing.com).
For a little help analyzing your diet, or any other fitness issue, call today for a free consult with one of Athlon Elite’s lead trainers. You might be surprised at what you’ll learn!
