When it comes to getting a solid six pack, doing the right ab exercises is crucial. You can spend hours doing needless sit-ups that aren’t really going to have all that much benefit, much to your disappointment. Taking the time to choose smart ab exercises will save you not only gym time, but a great deal of frustration as well. In this article we will discuss the best lower ab exercises and the best home ab exercises as well.

The best movements for the abdominal muscles are going to be ones that reduce your overall stability. The reason for this is because this will require all your muscle tissues, even the ones deep within the core, to contract in order to maintain balance. When you perform regular sit-ups, for example, they are really only going to target the more superficial muscles; one that will still help, but not get you near the results you could be seeing.

So what ab exercises are ones that reduce your balance?

Basically, anything done on an unstable surface is going to get the job done. This would include movements such as walking across a balance beam, performing one leg squats, one arm shoulder presses, or bent over dumbbell rows standing on one leg and of course, utilizing an exercise ball for any laying abdominal movement you perform. Working on a BOSU ball and stability ball ab exercises are also excellent options. As long as you have a set of free weights and stability ball then these would qualify as your best home ab exercises as well.

By far the most effective lower ab exercises are hanging leg raises while you use your lower abs to rotate your pelvis which is the secret to performing this effectively. Lying leg raises, lying leg raises on a 45 degree incline and cable crunches are also rock hard ab exercises.

Another area you might want to venture into with your ab exercises are those that utilize heavy weights.

While this will not necessarily get you ‘cut’ so that all your individual muscles are showing – that takes having low levels of body fat, what weighted movements will do is help further build the muscle tissue and make your abs “pop”.

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Everywhere you turn, someone’s promising the next secret to getting 6 pack abs. Some of these so called ’secrets’ have some degree of accuracy, while others, not so much. Deciphering which are the best methods to getting 6 pack abs is going to be critical to your having success with this goal.

The biggest area you need to focus on when trying to obtain 6 pack abs is going to be on your diet. Like it or not, the old saying that ‘abs are made in the kitchen’, is probably one of the most truthful statements in the fitness industry. If your diet isn’t in line, your stomach is going to show it.

So, what should you be doing with your diet?

First, ensure you are getting enough protein. Not only is protein going to form the key building blocks you need to build muscle tissue, but it’s also going to provide you with a better feeling of fullness than eating just carbohydrates alone would for example. Protein is more “expensive” than any other macronutrient meaning that your body will burn more calories breaking down protein compared to carbs and fats.

Next, don’t be afraid of dietary fat that comes from primarily monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats such as olive oils, fish oils, a mix of nuts, natural peanut butter and avocado. While it’s true that eating fat will increase your calories fast, as long as you keep it between 20-30% it can be one of the best things to get 6 pack abs fast. The important point here is that dietary fat helps keep your insulin level stable, which, when high enough can actually cause fat gain itself.

Furthermore, dietary fat will keep you feeling the fullest for the longest duration in time; longer than both protein or carbohydrates would. Interestingly, some diets high in fat can get you 6 pack abs fast because your body learn to metabolize fat for energy.

So, while you do need to watch it, be sure you are getting some in your diet.

Finally, when it comes to carbohydrate intake and getting 6 pack abs, you want to focus most of your carbohydrate intake around the post workout period.

Why?

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Here’s my buddy Vince, he will show you the best way to get killer abs with these lower abs workout that will guarantee the best ab workout ever!

The past two years I’ve really worked hard at building big shoulders and maintain an X frame by really working my deltoid muscles (anatomical name for shoulders) to make them round, dense and thick.

My favorite delt exercise for building big shoulders is Seated Dumbbell Presses and got up to 4 sets of 6 last summer with 90 lbs.

Anybody who has done Vince’s No-Nonsense Muscle Building program knows he likes stacking exercises as an advanced technique to build big shoulders.  One of the circuits is demonstrated below by Joey Vaillancourt who is one of the Biggest Gainer Competitors.

Check out Joey’s shoulder routine in this video… it’s a pretty brutal shoulder routine.

One of my favorite ways to train shoulder is with an old school shoulder blaster that you can watch in the next video below.  It’s pretty fun and very effective especially if you don’t have a lot of time to train.

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Supplement discussion, specifically bodybuilding supplements, is a touchy subject for a guy like me.

I didn’t realize how much “abuse” I would take when I exposed the “supplement industry” a few years ago and then went on to recommend some of the “basic” bodybuilding supplements I DO use.

LOL

I guess this can be perceived as “hypocritical.”
Fair enough. I’m like you and can get easily frusturated with the conflicting supplement advice and advertisements out there and it’s hard for ME to find people I should trust too.

The supplement industry is loaded with fraudulent claims, bogus products that sometimes aren’t even what they claim to be, and lots of ineffective products (even when they ARE what they claim to be).

Despite these problems, I’ve always contended that there ARE a handful of useful products out there, and certainly some honest companies mixed in with the abundant scam artists.
Today’s discussion will be around Prograde Nutrition, the one company I’ve found that is actually honest and sells only research-proven products.

This company has been in the making for about 4 years now, and was built by a group of fitness professionals whose main goal was to try to fight against the problems in the supplement industry and offer an honest solution without the hype and without the loads of products that have no research behind
them and don’t work.

Let’s discuss some of the typical problems with supplements, and how to avoid them and choose the right products that will actually get you results.

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When I was younger, around 22 years old, and first getting into bodybuilding and trying to get as big as possible I was the guy buying every single new powder, pill and potion that promised miracles.

I was spending $200 a month on stuff like:

• Creatine powders, pills and liquids…
• Pre and post workout protein powders
• Pre bed protein powders
• Weight gain protein powders
• Testosterone boosters
• Branch chain amino acids
• Glutamine
• NO2 formulas (which were just new on the scene)

And probably some other ones I’m forgetting…

I won’t lie.  At first, it was really exciting buying the latest “breakthrough” bodybuilding supplement.

I remember one ad promising “7 pounds of solid muscle in 7 days” and that was one of the tame ones so it sounded more believable.

My Mom always said I was gullible.

Maybe you can relate?

After dedicating myself to a strict supplement routine and choking back mysterious mixtures and drinks that were supposed to give the physique of my dreams I noticed the only thing changing was the amount of money adding up on my credit card.

I didn’t notice a single friggin difference in muscle size.

That’s when it stopped getting exciting and started becoming very frustrating.

Eventually I ran Vince Delmote’s Muscle Gaining Guide which showed me how to eat and train and I gained 19 pounds of lean muscle mass in the very first month I took his advice.

And his advice didn’t include any magical bodybuilding supplements.

I was getting ripped and muscular without supplements.  Go figure.

Vince Delmonte revealed to me that some Utah Senator, Orrin Hatch, is the guy to thank for all the wasted money I flushed down the toilet because he chose not to regulate the supplement industry so that bodybuilding companies (and any supplement company can put anything they want in the bottle without FDA approval).

The God’s Honest,
No Nonsense Truth is this…

90% of the bodybuilding supplements on the market Don’t Work!

In this next video I’m going to share with you from the Bigger, Faster, Stronger documentary you’re going to discover that most supplements cost LESS than three dollars to produce.

Want to know their dirty little secrets?

Watch this video to find out how they are getting away with blatantly lying to you and robbing you out of your hard earned money.

As you’ll see, the supplement company does not care about you.  Sure, maybe a  small handful of companies have half-decent products but why look for a solution from an industry that has failed to earn our trust over and over?

In my Inbox, I get a lot of feedback defending the “good guys” in the supplement industry and I would like to believe there are some really high quality products out there but when I see a video like this, I really lose all my trust and hope.

After watching that video, I have 3 questions for you…

1. How do you feel about supplement companies being able to make products for $1-2 and than selling them to you for $60?

2. What do you think of the supplement industry being unregulated and not needing FDA approval?

3. Why do you justify buying supplements when you know that supplement companies can easily put out low quality products?

It’s no wonder the supplement industry is a 24 BILLION dollar industry – anybody can make them and we keep buying them because we’re pathetically desperate!

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Should you do cardio if you’re trying to build muscle?

If so, how much?

If so, what kind?

Sick and tired of trying to bulk up but only adding more fat to your midsection?

Check out this 4 minute video lesson on how I incorporate cardio into a muscle building routine and answer all these questions.

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Recovery is your secret weapon to making consistent muscular gains.

Yes, you know that but nobody shows you specifically HOW to recovery.

Typically, after almost all of my upper body workouts, I am so tight and gorged with blood I can barely take my shirt off and bring my hands to my hair while showering!

Not good, because when you have a 12 hour shift up next!

How Muscle Soreness Occurs

If you have had a similar experience than I applaud your workout intensity. If you have NOT had this experience than I have to question your workout intensity!

There are three main theories that result in muscle soreness.

Most muscle soreness occurs immediately following an activity and than has a delayed onset effect. Immediate muscle soreness is due to a buildup of metabolic by-products such as lactic acid and a lack of sufficient oxygen (ischemia).

Delayed onset muscle soreness (D.O.M.S.), which begins 24-72 hours after an activity, is not yet determined.

There are three theories which will have an impact on the degree of muscle soreness:

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Everyone wants six pack abs. Duh!

Watch me train my abs through this killer circuit I do for conditioning and muscular endurance…

…it’s normal if it feels like you’re abs are ripping after trying this killer ab workout.

Watch this next video:

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Body weight training can be used for strength training, building muscle or getting six-pack abs.  I am going to show you a body weight training program that involves minimal equipment and consistent progress to build a first-rate body.

If you think body weight training is under rated when it comes to building muscle then I suggest you give it a second chance after watching this body weight training program.

FYI, performing 50 reps on the chin ups and pull ups is extremely advanced.  I have done 50 pull ups and 50 chin ups in 4 mini-sets (about 30-60 sec rest) and that is STILL very challenging.  The name of the game, when it comes time to building new head turning muscle is PROGRESS.

Focusing on increasing reps or doing the same number of reps in less time is an easy way to monitor progress for a body weight training routine.

If you need something new and are getting bored then try out this 5 exercise body weight training program, when you hit the gym tonight or tomorrow, which will test your muscular endurance, conditioning and mental toughness.

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