THE BLUEPRINT
ABS, NOW!
THE
HARDGAINER
The exercises and focus you need to craft the eye-popping abs you want.
By Adam Clark, CPT
S
ummer is gone. But, do the
memories still linger? Are
you one of those people who
always wore a T-shir t to the
beach? Were you uncomfort-
able because of your stomach?
You weren’t the only one. The
good thing is a few simple steps
combined with some hard work can leave
you feeling good about your body and
developing those abdominals that you
always wanted. Next year will be different!
Getting Focused
First, take your focus off your abs and
place it more on your core. Abdominals
are just one piece of your core and for
them to become stronger you need to get
with the bigger picture. Your core is what
connects your upper and lower halves.
If you have a weak core, you’re more
susceptible to injury and you won’t be as
strong in the upper and lower halves. If
you want to develop a carved out midsec-
tion, start with nutrition. Ever heard of the
expression, “You can’t out exercise a bad
diet?” Well, it’s true.
Cut out the junk. Forget fast food, pro-
cessed foods, canned foods and all that
junk. Feed your body premium fuel with
lean meats such as chicken, healthy fats
such as salmon and nuts, good carbohy-
drates like fruit and vegetables and plenty
of water. This is your first step.
Second, how’s your cardio game? You can
do crunches all day, but you still aren’t go-
ing to get a six-pack. There’s no such thing
as spot-reduction fat loss so you need to
have something in your workout regimen
that gets your heart rate up. The best way
possible is interval training. This includes
short bursts of high-intensity work such as
sprinting followed by short periods of rest.
It’s efficient, has strength benefits and is
proven to crush body fat.
70 SEPTEMBER 2017 | ironmanmagazine.com