CB:
Mike, give us a brief background about yourself
AR:
Sure Craig. Well, I'm currently a Certified Nutrition Specialist
and a Certified Personal Trainer. I've been dedicated to
improving my knowledge of fitness, both training techniques
and nutrition aspects, for over 15 years now, and I never
stop trying to learn more each and every day. I've also
been a contributing writer for Muscle & Fitness Hers
Magazine, and I'm the author of the popular internationally-selling
book, "The Truth about Six Pack Abs" which has
had hundreds of thousands of readers in over 150 countries
currently.
I just
love helping people with this area of their lives, as not
only does it improve their outward appearance and confidence,
but more importantly, improves how they feel and their internal
health, helping them to live longer and healthier lives.
It's something I'm very passionate about.
CB:
Okay, so where does the average man or woman go wrong when
it comes to training abs?
AR:
Ok, most people are probably going to be surprised with
this answer. In their quest for 'six pack abs', the biggest
mistake I see people making is wasting WAY too much of their
time training their abs directly... pumping away with all
kinds of different abs-specific exercises.
I'm
sure you know what I'm referring to. The person is trying
so hard to get those abs to show, that they're spending
almost all of their time in the gym with hundreds of reps
of various crunches, leg raises, twisting exercises, etc.
Meanwhile, all of that wasted time directly training the
abs could have been better spent on a properly designed
full body workout program that would elicit a much better
metabolic response and increase the fat-burning hormone
levels in their body as well.
After
all, losing the stomach fat that is covering the abs is
the MOST important aspect for most people to finally be
able to make their abs visible. Unfortunately, pumping away
with hundreds of crunches and leg raises does NOT cause
much of a metabolic or fat burning hormonal response. This
is the main focus of my Truth about Six Pack Abs book...
full body training programs and proper nutrition to strip
off that stubborn belly fat and reveal the six pack that's
hiding underneath!
Of course
it wouldn't be an abs book if I didn't focus on ab development
too, but I make sure firstly that the most important concepts
for lasting body fat reduction are understood.
CB:
Do you see any gender differences in mistakes they make?
And more importantly, do you see any gender differences
in the response to various types of ab training?
AR:
To be honest, I don't really see any need for men or women
to train differently. Bottom line... the best exercises
are the best exercises regardless of gender.
However,
in regards to mistakes I see between genders... Yes, I tend
to see women more often are deathly afraid to use weight
training with anything but really light weights. That is
a shame, because THE most effective way to gain control
over your body fat for life, is to maximize your lean muscle
that your body carries, as well as working that muscle hard
through intense resistance exercise regularly.
It's
important for women to realize that regular strength training
using heavier resistance will NOT "bulk them up"
(as long as caloric intake is controlled), but rather is
one of the key secrets for losing body fat and staying lean
year-round. As a matter of fact, some of the leanest females
that I've trained over the years are the ones that aren't
afraid to work hard with the weights.
I also
notice that most women (and a lot of guys too) spend way
too much time with slow cardio exercise. This is simply
not necessary, and the way I combine high intensity resistance
training into full body routines provides enough of a "cardio"
workout in itself usually. We'll get back to this in a minute
though.
| 
$17.99
value. Free for you |
Free
Ebook about Losing Stomach Fat & Eating Healthier
*
Discover the top 12 fat burning foods you didn't know
* Exercises that burn more fat than
cardio
* Also get a free metabolic rate
calculator to determine your personal metabolism |
CB:
What about ol' school sit-ups? Do you use these? Are they
good, bad, or does it "depend"?
AR:
Sit-ups are a controversial topic. I don't think they're
good or bad per se, but rather "in between". I
didn't include them in my program. I simply don't feel they
are necessary, and I think there are much more effective
abs exercises to focus on. Personally, I almost never do
sit-ups except occasionally for a little variety every now
and then.
CB:
Give us a weekly sample ab training program. How many days
per week? What are a couple of the best exercises you'd
pick? How many sets? Reps? Rest?
AR:
Well, first I'd like to point out that the full body movements
that make up the majority of my programs indirectly work
the abs and the entire "core" area to a fairly
decent extent. However, I do include abs-specific exercises
into the routines generally about twice per week. The "abs-specific"
portion of the workouts generally only take about 5 minutes
at most with very little rest between exercises.
Once
people are past the beginning phase of gaining some initial
ab strength, I try to get them away from the exercises that
are too easy, where someone can do 50 or 100 reps, as is
frequently common with standard crunches. Instead, I like
to focus on higher resistance exercises that actually stimulate
the muscle fibers to a much greater degree. One example
of a higher resistance abs exercise is hanging leg raises
with a proper "pelvic curl up".
It's
funny but usually someone that has been wasting so much
time with hundreds of reps of crunches can usually only
do a few solid reps when they first attempt some of these
higher resistance exercises. We also make sure not to neglect
some rotational movements, as well as some work for the
deeper muscles like the transversus abdominis.
CB:
What do you use for burning fat, intervals or slow cardio?
Or both? Any gender differences here? Or differences between
fitness levels (beginner vs. advanced)?
AR:
In most cases, my answer is definitely intervals... or as
I like to call it "variable intensity training".
In general, I think slow steady pace cardio is a waste of
time, especially if the goal is lasting fat loss.
I think
people need to get away from this thinking about "fat
burning zones" and calories burned during the actual
workout, and look at the bigger picture of what you're doing
in your workout to stimulate the greatest metabolic response
in your body... and the best metabolic and hormonal response
is achieved through variable intensity training and strength
training, not slow steady-pace cardio.
Now
I will say that if someone is really deconditioned and can't
handle higher intensity exercise routines just yet, this
still doesn't mean that they can't simply use lower intensity
routines, but still use it in a "variable intensity"
fashion, by alternating between higher and lower exertion
levels throughout the workout.
CB:
And finally Mike, 1 or 2 of your top secret nutrition tips
for carving out those abs. Open your vault of info!
AR:
Well Craig, I think you'd agree that there has never been
a more confusing time regarding proper nutrition for consumers.
Every so called "expert" out there seems to disagree
and contradict each other on what's the best way to eat
for fat loss and overall good health.
One
of the most important messages I try to teach my readers
in this world of heavy confusion is that your diet doesn't
need to conform to any of the fad diets... you don't need
to go "low carb" or "low fat", or high
or low anything for that matter to be successful in losing
enough body fat to get lean enough to be able to see your
abs. I like to try to simplify things for my readers. I
think that balance is the key to success along with eating
a diet that is made up of nutrient dense foods in their
natural state (as unprocessed as possible).
In general,
it is the heavy processing of foods that makes it wreak
havoc inside our bodies. Most foods in their natural unprocessed
state are inherently good for us. Of course there are always
exceptions... a salad of poison ivy leaves is "natural
and unprocessed" but certainly would not be good for
us!
I'll
leave your readers with a couple of the most important aspects
of nutrition that help to get you lean for life...
1. Get
enough quality protein in the daily diet - not only does
it have a higher thermic effect than carbs and fat (so you
burn more calories digesting it), but it also creates satiety
so your hunger is satisfied longer. Plus it's a building
block for maintaining and building lean muscle... And remember
that the amount of lean muscle you carry is one of the main
factors for controlling your metabolism.
2. Think
fiber! When it comes to carbs, make sure that almost all
of your carbohydrate intake is from higher fiber sources
like vegetables, fruits, and high fiber unrefined grains.
Try to avoid refined sugars and refined grains as that is
one of the main reasons so many people struggle with body
fat. I personally don't eat many grains as I prefer to get
most of my carbs from veggies and fruits, but I do use sprouted
grain breads fairly regularly too.
I generally
recommend looking for carbohydrate sources that have at
least 2-3 grams of fiber per each 10 grams of total carbs.
Remember that fiber helps fill you up and also slows down
the glycemic response of the foods you eat, all beneficial
for getting lean.
3. Don't
be afraid to eat fat! Many people try to go way too low
on their fat intake and this can negatively affect hormone
levels in your body as well as causing more cravings. Try
to eat enough healthy fats daily.
Good
sources are all nuts and seeds, nut butters, avocados, olive
oil, organic meats and eggs, coconuts and virgin coconut
oil. On that note, saturated fats from tropical oils are
VERY misunderstood, even by many nutritionists and other
health professionals. Yes they are composed highly of saturated
fats, but are actually beneficial (but that's way beyond
the scope of this article).
4. Avoid
the two worst things in our food supply at ALL COSTS:
* artificial
trans fats from margarines, shortening, and hydrogenated
oils that are in most processed foods and deep fried foods
* high fructose corn syrup, which is in almost all sweetened
products on the market
Again,
if you avoid processed foods, it becomes easy to avoid these
two worst offenders in our food supply.
I always
contend that once you get a handle on these 4 main points
of your diet detailed above, the rest starts to take care
of itself as you gain control over your appetite, blood
sugar levels, hormone levels, etc. It all falls into place,
and you eventually gain total control over how lean you
want to get.
CB:
Thanks Mike! Check out the results that some of Mike's readers
from over 150 countries are getting using the Truth about
Six Pack Abs program
