Training for a Six Pack
I get a lot of e-mails and questions about the best ab exercise and how to train for a six pack. First, if you want to see your abs you need to focus on diet; more specifically, you will have to get your body fat below 12%. So start focusing on dropping your body fat through proper nutrition.
Beyond nutrition, I can tell you right now that you will not get a six pack by doing hundreds of sit ups a day. Your abs respond well to variety. If you do the same movements and exercises all of the time, your body will plateau and you will not see results.
When I work with elite athletes on their abs at Pat’s Gym, we use dynamic movements, isometric holds, and balance. I like dynamic movements such as knees-to-elbows, medicine ball roll-outs and medicine ball sit-ups the best because you can always load the exercise with more weight (to really strengthen your abs you must add resistance).
Some isometric holds we use are planks, V-sits, ring holds and GHD holds. Balance moves can include one-leg medicine ball throws, overhead lunges, and the slosh pipe, which is a PVC pipe half-filled with water.
To be clear: We never spend hours in the gym isolating abs by doing sit ups. We teach our highly motivated individuals how to engage their abs in every exercise they do. People tend to be surprised by how much they work their abs doing powerful movements such as dead lifts or front squats.
So next time you think about doing 100 sit-ups, focus your energy instead on putting down that piece of cake and learn how to engage your core in every day activities.
