Prelude : Mr Six Pack
It’s lunchtime so I’m heading out of the office to get some rays. I catch the lift just in time to get in with some of my female colleagues. Now I don’t know if it’s my cologne but one of them is definitely giving me that look. It seems as though once again my cover as a regular guy is blown. They let it be known that the ladies in the office call me “Mr Six Pack”, and it sounds as though they want a demonstration of my powers. But forget them, I want to tell you about the ab workout routine that made it happen.
The quest for great abs
Who didn’t see the movie 300 and want the kind of ab workout routine to get Spartan abs? After all, abs are never too far from our thoughts when it comes to a great looking, fit and functional body.
"It's safe to say this guy's ab workout routine is doing the job!"
There are plenty of ab workout routines. I’ve tried many and been bored to tears trying to crunch my way to results. Remember that guy in the gym who does 1000 half sit-ups on that weird looking plastic piece of equipment? I never wanted that to be me! I’m all about something different to get the job done; a rock hard set of abs, with no b.s to bother with.
My superhero ab workout routine
I don’t train my abs all the time. OK that’s not the whole truth, the fact is I hardly train my abs at all. By that I’m talking like, 10 sessions this year, tops. Diet is the key to seeing a six pack, so eating right is the main aim, but that means when it’s ab time, it’s on. I want something that gets the job done. That means “go hard or go home”.
Since back in the day I have followed the Spartan health regimen of the Spartan warlord Bova (I did have a link to his site here, but he seems to have gone underground again! I’ll update you when I track him down). I often return to it when I want the kind of no excuses workouts and attitude he describes. It delivers.
Here is one of the best exercises I’ve picked up (you do need to be in a gym for it though). It’s a modified version of the hanging leg raise. All I will say is that it’s not easy, and that is why it’s so effective.
I don’t have these fancy straps they use in the video, but it’s no biggie: just grip the bar with your hands.
One bonus of this exercise aside from developing that six pack is that I found it seemed to zap the aching lower back I used to suffer from (you know the kind you get from carrying a “man bag”? Beware of that by the way. I’m thinking a backpack may be the way to go). This is likely because a stronger core shores up weaknesses. It’s either that or the routine did actually turn me into a real life superhero who feels no pain! What dya think?
To the good life
Michael
(P.S – Rusty Moore over at Fitness Black Book recently released his Abs Blueprint. You can waste a lot of time and effort on abs but this is a good find. Some top tips worth a read….. and it’s free at the moment too.)
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Looks like tough exercise, it’s the sort of thing we did as kids in the park on rings but never thought they could be used for abs! I might give it a go when I head into the gym tomorrow as I was going to work on muscle ups .. I’m sure I will be swinging around too much to do it properly.
300 movie was excellent, coincidence I showed a spoof of it yesterday to the sales team, on youtube there is a funny titled 300 sales meeting.
But more importantly there is the 300 workout is sure to get those Abs happening for the record I did it in about 21 minutes, the some of the actors did it under 19 mins!
Raymond,
yeah it’s tough, but when you can do them you do literally start to feel like Superman (or maybe that is just me!). Like you say minimizing the swinging is the challenge, but if you stick with it and don’t cheat the results are worth it. An analogy I like is that of the surfer who turns into the wave that could overcome him; that’s how you have to be with a difficult exercise, go into the pain/challenge. It’s where the action is.
I love 300, will look up that spoof right away.
I’ve heard of that 300 workout too. Whoa, I doff my cap to you for doing that one. That is serious stuff. You may just be becoming my hero!
Cheers
Michael
I have been a fan of hanging leg raises for a long time. It is pretty difficult bringing your legs to touch the bar but it definitely gives a good contraction if you keep good form.
Pair this with planks and plank variations and it makes for a balanced ab workout.
-Sam
Sam,
yeah, touching the bar is where the magic happens. I’m a huge fan of the plank and it’s variations, though I don’t think you need to do them all in one session. I find that the more exercises you do, the more you have to hold something back to get through the workout. Abs don’t need a great deal of work, just for the work you do to be as effective as possible. Maximum results in minimum time is the mantra.
Cheers
Michael