The 3 Best Abdominal Exercises that Are NOT Your "Normal" Ab Exercises

A unique ab workout that doesn't contain your typical boring stomach exercises - no crunches or situps here!


by Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
Author of best-seller:  The Truth about Six Pack Abs

Instead of the typical ab routines that we see so often with crunches, situps, leg lifts, etc... I like to give my readers better options for metabolism-boosting high intensity workouts that work their entire body while also working their abs... thus building rock hard abs & core, but also creating a much better fat-burning workout than a typical ab workout.
I'm going to show you an example today of one of my favorite "ab workouts" that doesn't include any direct "ab exercises" at all. This is actually a full body workout that works your abs pretty hard indirectly, and stimulates a good metabolism boost!  It's in a tri-set format (similar to a super-set but alternating between 3 exercises instead of 2).
Here goes:
1a. Renegade Dumbbell Rows
1b. Front Squats with Barbell
1c. Mountain Climbers on Floor
A good rep scheme to use with this could be 3-4 sets of 8 reps for each exercise, or more sets for less reps, such as 5 sets of 5 reps of each exercise. Mountain climbers can be done for a time interval (such as 30 seconds) instead of "reps".
Exercise Pics & Descriptions:
Renegade dumbbell rows are done starting in a pushup position with the hands on 2 owdumbbells. You then row one dumbbell up while stabilizing your body with the other arm. Bring the dumbbell back to the ground and alternate the rowing arm while stabilizing with the opposite arm. This stabilizing effect during the rows creates incredible work for your entire midsection core area. Trust me... you'll feel it in the abs!

 

Renegade Rows shown above
Front squats are done similar to back squats, however with the barbell in front of your body on the front of your shoulders instead of resting on the upper back as in back squats. You stabilize the barbell on your shoulders by crossing your arms and pushing your fists into the bar against your shoulders while keeping your elbows out in front of the body.
This takes a little practice at first, so you will want to seek a professional trainer at your gym to help you with the form. Front squats require extreme stabilization strength from the abs due to the barbell weight being shifted to the front of the body instead of the back. Even though this is mostly a leg exercise, you'll feel this one in the abs big time!  Any time I do front squats after not having done them for a while, I get a really deep soreness in my abs the next day.

 

Front squats shown above
Mountain climbers are done by starting in a pushup position and then shuffling your feet in and out so that your knees are moving in under your chest and then back out to starting position. It sort of resembles climbing a mountain but flat on the floor. If you want an advanced version, you can also shuffle your hands 8-10 inches forward and backward in addition to the leg movements. This really makes it a full body exercise and MUCH more difficult than standard mountain climbers.



Mountain Climbers shown above
After finishing each exercise, try to move to the next exercise with very minimal rest (no more than 15-20 seconds).  Rest about 1-2 minutes after completing each "tri-set" before repeating the sequence.

This will give you one of the best ab workouts you've ever had without even doing any direct ab exercises.... and with a LOT more fat-burning metabolic effect compared to standard ab exercises...  You'll see what I mean after you try it!  This can be used as a stand-alone workout (as it can be very intense if you use challenging weights), or you can incorporate it as a portion of your full body workout.

 This is just a sampling of some of the killer ideas you'll discover in my internationally best-selling ebook program, The Truth about Six Pack Abs, currently the #1 most popular abs program on the internet (as ranked by clickbank.com) with over 439,000 users in over 163 countries.  If you don't already have a copy be sure to pick one up today...
Not only will you receive a complete blue-print for challenging full-body workouts that will thoroughly define your entire body in addition to your abs (can be adjusted to beginners or advanced levels), but you'll also gain a thorough understanding of what types of nutritional strategies and other lifestyle aspects that it takes to reduce your belly fat to the level where your abs are visible.  Remember, nutrition and mindset are MORE important than just the workouts!
Check out what other users are saying about their results with the Truth about Six Pack Abs program
Don't be lazy... Be lean.
Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

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How to do Great Ab Workouts at Home: The Best 5 Crunch-less Abs Exercises for a Flatter Stomach in Less Time

by Craig Ballantyne, Men's Health Training Advisor, Author -  

Best Home Abdominal Workouts for Six Pack Abs

If you never do another crunch again, you will end up saving a lot of time and you’ll still lose stomach fat and be able to get six pack abs. Why? Because crunches don’t work very well for building 6-pack abs.
There are many better exercises, and you’re going to discover the best 5 bodyweight exercises for a crunch-free six pack ab workout program. After all, if they did work, you wouldn’t have to do them for 30 minutes like the bodybuilder magazines suggest.
Instead of wasting your life lying on your back doing an exercise that you can do hundreds of times, you need to replace crunches and all those other aerobics-era exercises with better, total-body ab exercises to get more results in less time.
There's a downside to standard crunches!
The other dark side of crunches, aside from them being useless for getting six pack abs, is that the crunch movement itself is actually HARMFUL to your spine and low-back. Every single time you perform a crunch, you are doing what the world’s leading experts on back pain describe as a dangerous motion.
You see, every time you crunch, you do what is called spinal flexion, and spinal flexion compresses the disks between your vertebrae. If you do that too much, you could end up with a herniated disc. After all, it’s the same motion as rounding your back to pick up something off the floor, and you probably know someone who has hurt their back that way!
 So you don’t need to do crunches, and you don’t even need to go to a gym, if you have the right total body ab exercises in your home abdominal workout program. In fact, with the right program, your entire fat burning resistance training workout will take less time than most bodybuilders spend on crunches every day! Yet you’ll still be able to get a flat stomach and six packs abs with this fast at-home workout.
Plus, you won’t be doing long, slow boring cardio. Actually, your entire workout (resistance training plus abs plus interval training) will take less time (less than 45 minutes) than most people spend on slow boring cardio.
And you only have to workout three times per week, not six days per week like the bodybuilding magazines suggest. So you save time in each workout, and workout fewer times per week. That will give you more time to spend showing off your abs at the beach or anywhere else you please.
Here are the top 5 exercise replacements for ineffective aerobics-era crunches…

1. Replace Crunches with Stability Ball Rollouts. You’ll get a more powerful stretch in the Rollout exercise, and a more powerful contraction, all without doing excessive and dangerous spinal flexion.
2. Replace Crunches on the Ball with a Plank with Arms on the Ball. According to the Men’s Health magazine, research shows that a Plank with Arms on the Ball is 30% more effective in working your abs.
3. Replace Bicycle Crunches with X-Body Mountain Climbers. This unique total-body ab exercise still works your obliques, but without repetitive crunching. Plus, it helps build invaluable abdominal endurance and stability to keep your low back healthy.
4. Replace Reverse Crunches with Stability ball Jackknives. You will still be able to work the lower area of your abdominal muscles, as well as your obliques with this Stability Ball exercise, but you also get the benefit of building back-protecting abdominal endurance.
5. Replace Sit-ups with Hanging Knee-ups or the advanced Pull-up Plus Knee-ups. Your abs will have never experienced anything like this exercise! You can also do a Chin-up Plus Knee-up for the same effect on your abs, and Chin-ups are a little easier. This is one of my current favorite exercises.
By getting rid of crunches you’ll lose nothing, while gaining time to work on better exercises to build your six pack abs and flat stomach, plus you’ll avoid exercises that are hard on your back.
Combine these total-body ab exercises (that burn more calories than crunches anyways) with superset resistance training and belly-fat burning interval training and you’ll get more ab results in less workout time!
For more detailed descriptions of all of these home ab exercises as well as more techniques for losing abdominal fat, click here for more great abs training secrets

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The Ultimate Muscle Meal... a Salad on Roids

Today, I just wanted to share with you my special muscle meal of the week, and it actually comes in the form of a salad.

by Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author of best-selling program:  The Truth about Six-Pack Abs

I know the ladies will love this idea, but for all of you guys out there that think eating a salad makes you less of a man... Well, you haven't tried the ultimate "salad on roids" yet!
Keep in mind that this salad is not low in calories. It's not low in fat. It's not low in carbs.
And guess what...that's the whole point!
It's not low in anything, but it sure as hell is HIGH in everything under the sun that's good for your body... just about every vitamin, mineral, antioxidant, and phytonutrient on the planet! And that means your body will receive all the nutrition it needs to maintain optimal hormonal balance, function at it's highest capacity, keep your appetite satisfied for hours, and prevent any unwanted cravings.
Keep in mind that last point... when you fill your body with all of the nutrients it needs on a daily basis, you pretty much totally eliminate cravings! This happens because your body is satisfied and doesn't need to crave any more food, because it has all of the nutrients it needs.
I've experienced this myself. Years ago, I used to crave sweets ALL THE TIME. But now that I eat the balanced diet that I do these days, I can't say that I've had a craving in at least 5 years! No joke.
Alright, here's the recipe:
The Ultimate Muscle Salad

• approx 1 cup spinach leaves
• approx 1 cup mixed leaf lettuce
• shredded carrots
• 1/2 of a ripe avocado, diced
• 2 hard boiled eggs, diced (preferrably organic, cage free)
• 3 Tbsp chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• top with homemade dressing made of balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and Udo's Choice Oil Blend (3/4 of total liquid should come from the vinegar) - read this article about the type of salad dressing to NEVER eat

Mix it all together and you've got one delicious and ridiculously nutritious salad. For an extra shot of antioxidants, wash it all down with some homemade iced green/white/oolong tea lightly sweetened with the natural sweetener Stevia or a little touch of raw honey.
Alright, now let's look at the approx macronutrient breakdown:
Prot: 23 g., Carbs: 46 g., Fiber: 12 g., Fat: 45 g., Calories: 640
Now before you throw your arms up in disgust and call me crazy for recommending such a high fat, high calorie meal, keep in mind to scale back the portion sizes for your own caloric goal. The portions above are simply the portions that I use considering that my maintenance caloric intake is around 3000 calories/day. If your maintenance is 2000 calories/day, then scale back the portions accordingly.
Also, I don't care about the high fat content of this meal... because every last gram of the fat in this meal is VERY healthy... from the pecans, the olive oil, the Udo's oil, the fresh avocado... and yes, even the fat from the egg yolks is good for you!
All of this healthy fat makes it a very hunger-satisfying meal, causing you to eat less for the remainder of the day (that's right... no cravings later that night!).
How about the carbs? Well, out of a total of 46 grams, you've got approx 12 grams of fiber. That's a pretty good ratio. Also, the healthy fats and protein in this meal will slow down the carbohydrate digestion, giving you a healthy glycemic response and steady controlled blood sugar.
Alright, so you're probably also wondering why there isn't a larger amount of protein. After all, protein is all the rage with bodybuilders, right.
Well, actually 23 grams isn't too shabby, especially considering 14 grams of that comes from the highly bioavailable protein from the hard boiled eggs. Also consider that this meal has a whole lot of healthy fats, which increases the utilization of your protein. This happens because your body does not need to use your protein for energy, and can instead use it for muscle building & maintenance, and all of the other various functions that amino acids are needed for in the body.
Overall, with this meal, you've got a great mix of healthy fats, good fibrous carbs, quality protein, and a huge diversity of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other trace nutrients.
If you enjoyed this idea today, feel free to share this link to your friends, family, and coworkers that might enjoy it.

If you liked this healthy lean-body meal idea, there are 84 other healthy and quick meal ideas in my popular Truth about Six Pack Abs Manual. If you don't already have a copy, check out some of the Truth About Abs reader reviews right now.
I'll be back in touch soon. In the meantime... train hard, eat smart, have fun, and enjoy life!



Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Founder - TruthAboutAbs.com

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Excess Abdominal Fat is Not Only Ugly, but Extremely Dangerous to Your Health - This is More Than a Vanity Issue!

The difference between subcutaneous fat and the more deadly "visceral fat"... Plus the simple steps to REMOVE this fat permanently
by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
author of best-selling program:  The Truth about Six-Pack Abs

Although this picture depicts an extremely overweight man, this article applies to dangerous types of fat inside the bodies of both men and women... and this discussion also applies even if you only have a slight amount of excess stomach fat.
Did you know that the vast majority of people in this day and age have excess abdominal fat?  It's true -- as much as 70% of the population in some "westernized" countries such as the US and Australia are now considered either overweight or obese.  The first thing that most people think of is that their extra abdominal fat is simply ugly, is covering up their abs from being visible, and makes them self conscious about showing off their body.
However, what most people don't realize is that excess abdominal fat in particular, is not only ugly, but is also a dangerous risk factor to your health. Scientific research has clearly determined that although it is unhealthy in general to have excess body fat throughout your body, it is also particularly dangerous to have excess abdominal fat.
There are two types of fat that you have in your abdominal area. The first type that covers up your abs from being visible is called subcutaneous fat and lies directly beneath the skin and on top of the abdominal muscles.
The second type of fat that you have in your abdominal area is called visceral fat, and that lies deeper in the abdomen beneath your muscle and surrounding your organs. Visceral fat also plays a role in giving certain men that "beer belly" appearance where their abdomen protrudes excessively but at the same time, also feels sort of hard if you push on it.
Both subcutaneous fat and visceral fat in the abdominal area are serious health risk factors, but science has shown that having excessive visceral fat is even more dangerous than subcutaneous fat.  Both types of fat greatly increase your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, sleep apnea, various forms of cancer, and other degenerative diseases. 
Excess stomach fat has also been associated in studies with higher levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), an indicator of inflammation within the body that can lead to heart disease and other health issues.
Part of the reason visceral fat is particularly dangerous is that studies show that it releases more inflammatory molecules into your system on a consistent basis.
One of the major reasons that some people accumulate more visceral fat than others can be from a high carbohydrate diet that leads to insulin resistance over time (years of bombarding your system with too much sugars and starches for your pancreas to properly handle the constant excess blood sugar) ... and studies show that high fructose intake particularly from high-fructose corn syrup can be a major contributor to excess visceral fat.
If you care about the quality of your life and your loved ones, reducing your abdominal fat (including reducing visceral fat) should be one of your TOP priorities! There's just no way around it. Besides, a side effect of finally getting rid of all of that excessive abdominal fat is that your stomach will flatten out, and if you lose enough stomach fat, you will be able to visibly see those attractive six pack abs that everyone wants.
So what gets rid of extra abdominal fat, including visceral fat? 
Is there actually a REAL solution beyond all of the gimmicks and hype that you see in ads and on commercials for "miracle" fat loss products?
The first thing you must understand is that there is absolutely NO quick fix solution. There are no pills or supplements of any sort that will help you lose your abdominal fat faster.  Also, none of the gimmicky ab rockers, rollers, or ab belts will help get rid of abdominal fat either. You can't spot reduce your stomach fat by using any of these worthless contraptions. It simply doesn't work that way.
The only solution to consistently lose your abdominal fat and keep it off for good is to combine a sound nutritious diet full of unprocessed natural foods with a properly designed strategic exercise program that stimulates the necessary hormonal and metabolic response within your body. Both your food intake as well as your training program are important if you are to get this right.
I've actually even seen a particular study that divided thousands of participants into a diet-only group and an exercise & diet combined group. While both groups in this study made good progress, the diet-only group lost significantly LESS abdominal fat than the diet & exercise combined group.
Now the important thing to realize is that just any old exercise program will not necessarily do the trick. The majority of people that attempt getting into a good exercise routine are NOT working out effectively enough to really stimulate the loss of stubborn abdominal fat.  I see this every day at the gym.
Most people will do your typical boring ineffective cardio routines, throw in a little outdated body-part style weight training, and pump away with some crunches and side bends, and think that they are doing something useful for reducing their abdominal fat. Then they become frustrated after weeks or months of no results and wonder where they went wrong.
Well, the good news is that I've spent over a decade researching this topic, analyzing the science, and applying it "in the trenches" with myself as well as thousands of my clients from all over the world to see what works to really stimulate abdominal fat loss.

From my research, two of the most important aspects to getting rid of visceral fat are:
1. The use of high intensity forms of exercise and full-body resistance training.  Low intensity cardio exercise simply isn't as effective for removing visceral fat in particular.  High intensity exercise such as interval training, sprints (bike sprints or running sprints), AND full-body weight training are very effective at helping to improve your body's ability to manage glucose and increases insulin sensitivity, a crucial step in removing visceral fat. 
These types of high intensity exercise routines are also very effective at increasing your fat-burning hormones and creating a hormonal environment conducive to burning off abdominal fat, including visceral fat.
2.  In addition, it's vitally important to get blood sugar under control to help restore insulin sensitivity through the right nutrition.  This means greatly reducing sugars and refined starches in your diet (including fully eliminating any use of harmful high fructose corn syrup!), and focusing more of your diet on healthy fats (such as avocados, nuts, seeds, coconut fat, olive oil, grass-fed butter, free-range eggs, fatty fish and fish oils, etc), as well as increasing protein and fiber intake.  The standard diet recommended by the government, which contains an unnaturally high grain intake is NOT conducive to controlling blood sugar and reducing visceral fat! 
Reducing grain-based foods in your diet and getting more of your carbs from veggies and high fiber fruits such as berries can go a long way to helping to solve this problem.

Learn the Truth about Losing Your Stomach Fat Permanently
You may not realize this, but the entire basis of my Truth about Six Pack Abs program is NOT about abs exercises... instead, it's actually about detailed strategies for both nutrition and exercise that maximize your ability to lose abdominal fat.  The entire solution... all of the nutritional strategies, as well as training sequences, exercise combinations, and more have all been compiled in my Truth About Six Pack Abs Program in order to help you to burn stomach fat faster.
Keep in mind that the whole point of this program is NOT abdominal exercises (that is only a very small portion of it). The main point of this program is showing you the absolute most effective nutritional strategies for losing your stubborn abdominal fat, and maximizing a fat-burning hormonal environment in your body so you can get rid of that dangerous health risk, as well as get a flatter more defined midsection.
If you follow the guidelines, you WILL lose your belly fat that has been plaguing you for years. This is not guesswork... it is a proven system that works time and time again for all of my clients on every corner of the globe that actually apply these strategies. If you apply it, the results will come. It's really that simple.
One of the main reasons that most people fail in their fitness goals is that they have good intentions at first to adopt a new lifestyle, yet after a few weeks or months, they abandon their good intentions and slip right back into their old bad habits that gave them the excess body fat in the first place.
I want to help you succeed in finally getting rid of that extra abdominal fat that is not only UGLY, but also DANGEROUS. A lot of people have emailed my support team with questions about whether they need any special equipment for these workouts, if they're too old or too young for this program, if the diet tips will apply to them, etc.  I've made a page that should answer all of your questions...
FAQ - Questions about the Truth about Six Pack Abs abdominal fat loss program
Also, I completely understand that you're skeptical if this will actually work for you... so I think you'll want to see some of the reader reviews from people just like you that are using the system and getting killer results...
Reader Reviews of the Truth about Six Pack Abs abdominal fat loss program
Don't waste another day allowing that nasty abdominal fat to kill your confidence as well as contribute to your risk for MAJOR diseases.
Get the solution to rid yourself for life of this problem by reading more details about this unique workout and diet program at the home page -- Losing Dangerous Abdominal Fat
It's time to exercise the CORRECT way, eat smart, and enjoy your life to the fullest!

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