Summer’s around the corner. Ready to show off your chiseled muscles at the beach or pool? Unfortunately, a winter sitting on the couch watching football, drinking beer and eating comfort food has taken a toll on your waistline. The washboard is gone and has been replaced by a marshmallow. Time to torch fat and sculpt muscle with this killer abdominal and anaerobic cardio circuit. Getting ripped, six pack abs takes more than just countless crunches.
Firstly, the abdominals are comprised of several muscle groups: transverse abdominus (deep core stabilizers), rectus abdominus, internal and external obliques. All of these separate muscles must be targeted to fully develop a flat and toned midsection. Secondly, no matter how toned the muscles of the stomach are, six pack abs will not be viewable unless body fat is reduced. This needs to be done by combining correct dieting with a fat busting anaerobic cardio workout like the one presented below. When combined, these elements will result in washboard abs that will be the envy of everyone this summer.
Ab Routine
1A – Elbows Plank with Press Up to Push Up Position – 60 seconds 1B – Side Planks with Rotation – Hold 10-15 seconds on each side before rotating (3 / side).
2A – BOSU Plank with Knee Crunch & Cross (knee to elbow, extend leg back to hip height, then cross under to opposite elbow repeat all reps on that side). 8-10 reps per side 2B – Hanging Leg Raises – 15 reps (Don’t swing)
3A – Cross Crunch on BOSU/Stability Ball – 15 reps per side 3B – Crunch on Stability Ball – 20 reps
4A – Curl Up with Trunk Extension – 15 reps 4B – Penguin – 60 seconds (Lay on back, arms at sides palms down, knees bent, feet flat. Curl forward until shoulder blades clear floor – you’ll stay in this horizontal plane whole exercise. Using obliques only, bring right hand towards right heel. Repeat on left. Continue alternating sides. Do not let knees/hips rock).
5A – Weighted Russian Twists – 30 reps 5B – Oblique Crunches on SB/Bosu – 15 reps per side
*Repeat workout sets 3 times
Anaerobic Cardio Routine
Interval training for 30 minutes with 5 minute warm-up and cool-down. Pick your poison: stairs, treadmill, bike or elliptical.
Stairs – Sprint 1 flight, walk 1 flight
Treadmill – 30 seconds sprint max speed, 30 seconds rest
Bike – Medium resistance. Alternate 30 seconds medium pace with 30 seconds maximum speed
Elliptical – Medium resistance. Alternate 30 seconds 80-90 RPM with 30 seconds 130-140 RPM
Exercise Physiologist, and Sports Conditioning Coach, Byron Paidoussi sculpts athletes, as well as average Joes, into superheroes. Certified Personal Trainer, Pilates Instructor and Nutrition Counselor, Whitney Cole is a triple-threat in the fight against fat. Together they own and operate FITNESS and FUEL LA in West Hollywood, California, where they inspire clients to exceed their fitness potential by developing no-fail, holistic total-body conditioning and performance nutrition plans.
