ABS training by Craig Ballantyne

**P-funk** · 12-05-2006, 09:52 PM

Pretty good little article. Snatched it off a blog site. He is the writer of turbulance training and here is his web site. Enjoy:

Ab Workouts Slow Fat Loss!
Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

Not only are most traditional ab workouts a waste of time, but they also slow your fat loss efforts. Each workout you spend crunching takes time away from more effective fat loss methods - such as interval training.

That's right, the common man's (and woman's) ab workout taken from Shape magazine or Muscle'n'Fitness often hurts their fat loss program more than it helps it.

Remember - I'm in the business of getting you the most fat loss in the least amount of exercise time...so I have little room in myprogram for traditional ab crunches (with the exception of usingbasic ab exercises for beginners who need to learn to use their ab muscles after a lifetime of inactivity).

Instead, I focus on exercises that build a 6-pack AND burn a lot of calories at the same time. That's why I'm a big fan of making EVERY exercise an ab exercise (by bracing the abs in every movement), as well as using total body ab exercises (such as Mountain Climbers, the Spiderman Lunge/Climb, and the Stability Ball Jackknife).

These exercises use far more muscle mass than a traditional crunch. In fact, some of the total body ab exercises are "interval-like" in nature, helping to put more metabolic turbulence on the body, and as you know, that's what burns calories during AND after the workout.

Now of course you know that you can't spot reduce the fat on your body - so doing an endless number of crunches not only does little for you in terms of losing fat, it also wastes your time in your quest for a 6-pack.

Here are a couple of strategies to maximize your workout time when your goal is to get lean, and get down to a low-enough body fat percentage to see your abs in as little workout time as possible:

(If you've got 2 hours a day to workout, by all means, do whatever your heart desires...but I don't think many of us that live in the real world have that kind of time.)

A) First, simply cut back on your ab training - If your goal is tosimply lose fat, gain a little muscle, and just look as goodpossible, then you can't spend 30 minutes on abs everyday. You can build your 6-pack by doing less than 30 minutes of ab exercise per week.

I'm convinced that no one (not even a fitness model or probodybuilder) needs more than 30 minutes of ab training per week.

In fact, at the photoshoots I supervise for the fitness magazines,I get to talk to a lot of fitness models and what they tell meabout their training routines might shock you. Most of them don't train nearly as frequently as you or I might think.

Instead, they've worked hard over the years with the basic lifts to build their body, and now many of them simply use nutrition and maintenance workouts to keep their abs showing.

B) Second, replace your crunches with the total body ab exercises I mentioned earlier. Also, if you have access to a cable machine, you can do weighted ab exercises such as kneeling cable crunches.

C) And finally, if you are doing intervals for fat loss as Irecommend, you can use the following approach to increase thedifficulty of your ab and interval training. However, this is anadvanced method only. Beginners should stick to the TT guidelines in their manual.

During your interval workout, perform an ab exercise during your active recovery period. For example, if you are doing running intervals on a treadmill...

Run for 60 seconds at your work interval speed. Immediately stop the treadmill, get off, and go into a set of 20 Mountain Climbers. Climb back on the treadmill and start it up for your next interval. Repeat for 3-6 intervals.

You can also use basic spinal stabilization "ab exercises" such as the plank, side plank, or advanced plank versions (i.e. plank with your arms on the ball) to train your spinal stabilization while under heavy breathing stress. I learned this technique from Dr. Stuart McGill.

Remember: Always train safe, with good form, and be conservative. Don't try to be a hero in the gym, but you should safely challenge yourself in each workout.

Stick to the Turbulence Training Guidelines if you don't know where to start.

**CowPimp** · 12-05-2006, 10:33 PM

Compound lifts and diet for the win.

**Gazhole** · 12-06-2006, 12:28 AM

Finally, i have an article to actually prove this to some people. Good find!

Witchblade · 12-06-2006, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gazhole

Finally, i have an article to actually prove this to some people. Good find!

There are like 10.000 articles saying this.

Some people just can't grasp it.

TheCurse · 12-06-2006, 11:41 AM

is the ball jacknife the one where you have your chest area on the ball and toes on the ground, then kind of push your ass up as high in the air as you can by bending at the waist ?

**P-funk** · 12-06-2006, 11:45 AM

Jack Knives

**Gazhole** · 12-06-2006, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Witchblade

There are like 10.000 articles saying this.

Some people just can't grasp it.

Its rather humourous sometimes.

"You look pretty ripped, how many crunches do you do a day?"

"About ten every few months..."

"What...? Ah, so you're on steroids!!"

"Sigh."

TheCurse · 12-06-2006, 02:20 PM

thanks P, i had it wrong. might be a good one for me on my post-hernia recovery trip.

StanUk · 12-06-2006, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gazhole

Its rather humourous sometimes.

"You look pretty ripped, how many crunches do you do a day?"

"About ten every few months..."

"What...? Ah, so you're on steroids!!"

"Sigh."

Yeh I've had similar kinds of conversations, some people are totally convinced that you can only achieve a 6pack / good midsection through loads of crunches and hissy shit.

**Gazhole** · 12-06-2006, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StanUk

Yeh I've had similar kinds of conversations, some people are totally convinced that you can only achieve a 6pack / good midsection through loads of crunches and hissy shit.

I had a guy today asking if a fat burner supplement was good for getting a 6 pack. I said to get his diet sorted first and see the wonders that can do for bodyfat. His reply was a furrowing of the brow, a pause, then he asked me about another supplement...

StanUk · 12-06-2006, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gazhole

I had a guy today asking if a fat burner supplement was good for getting a 6 pack. I said to get his diet sorted first and see the wonders that can do for bodyfat. His reply was a furrowing of the brow, a pause, then he asked me about another supplement...

lol, some people just don't listen eh.

**Gazhole** · 12-06-2006, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StanUk

lol, some people just don't listen eh.

Its terrifying.

fufu · 12-06-2006, 08:30 PM

What does this guy have a MS in? I hate seeing that credential when it doesn't specify.

BTW, this is off-topic. But I cited Chris Street in a research paper and noted him as CSCS and MS. However, my instructor is vary particular about sources and needs to know what he has an MS in. I mean, it really makes sense to know what it is. He could be preaching about strength and fitness training yadda yadda and have an MS in...something completely unrelated.

**P-funk** · 12-06-2006, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fufu

What does this guy have a MS in? I hate seeing that credential when it doesn't specify.

I don't know. He has a masters of science in something though.

why don't you email him and ask.

Does it matter though? The information is still good.

Louie Simmons dropped out of high school.....I would still say that when it comes to organization of training he is probably one of the smartest people out there.

fufu · 12-06-2006, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P-funk

I don't know. He has a masters of science in something though.

why don't you email him and ask.

Does it matter though? The information is still good.

Louie Simmons dropped out of high school.....I would still say that when it comes to organization of training he is probably one of the smartest people out there.

Well I like to know, just seeing the MS makes me suspicious. I'm not saying you don't need to have a degree to know your shit, but as long as your are noting yourself as having a MS, might as well specify what exactly it is in. I mean, you spent 6+ years completing a degree like that.

**P-funk** · 12-06-2006, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fufu

Well I like to know, just seeing the MS makes me suspicious. I'm not saying you don't need to have a degree to know your shit, but as long as your are noting yourself as having a MS, might as well specify what exactly it is in. I mean, you spent 6+ years completing a degree like that.

I have never seen anyone note what they have the degree in.....

Usually it is always something like

FuFu Meow, MS, CSCS

or

FuFU Meow, PhD

or

FuFU Meow, MS, RD,

no one ever says

FuFU Meow, MS Nutrional Science

fufu · 12-06-2006, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P-funk

I have never seen anyone note what they have the degree in.....

Usually it is always something like

FuFu Meow, MS, CSCS

or

FuFU Meow, PhD

or

FuFU Meow, MS, RD,

no one ever says

FuFU Meow, MS Nutrional Science

Well why the fuck not???

Hmmm...FuFu Meow, MS, CSCS, I like the sound of that.

**P-funk** · 12-06-2006, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fufu

Well why the fuck not???

Hmmm...FuFu Meow, MS, CSCS, I like the sound of that.

I don't know. it just doesn't happen. People only have letters after their names.

fufu · 12-06-2006, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P-funk

I don't know. it just doesn't happen. People only have letters after their names.

grrrrofolous. Oh well, I guess this requires more research. Research...dah!

12-05-2006, 09:52 PM	#1
P-funk Patrick Super Moderator Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: AZ Posts: 30,136	ABS training by Craig Ballantyne BODYBUILDING SUPPLEMENTS High Quality Supplements For Bodybuilders and Athletes. www.ironmaglabs.com Pretty good little article. Snatched it off a blog site. He is the writer of turbulance training and here is his web site. Enjoy: Ab Workouts Slow Fat Loss! Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS Not only are most traditional ab workouts a waste of time, but they also slow your fat loss efforts. Each workout you spend crunching takes time away from more effective fat loss methods - such as interval training. That's right, the common man's (and woman's) ab workout taken from Shape magazine or Muscle'n'Fitness often hurts their fat loss program more than it helps it. Remember - I'm in the business of getting you the most fat loss in the least amount of exercise time...so I have little room in myprogram for traditional ab crunches (with the exception of usingbasic ab exercises for beginners who need to learn to use their ab muscles after a lifetime of inactivity). Instead, I focus on exercises that build a 6-pack AND burn a lot of calories at the same time. That's why I'm a big fan of making EVERY exercise an ab exercise (by bracing the abs in every movement), as well as using total body ab exercises (such as Mountain Climbers, the Spiderman Lunge/Climb, and the Stability Ball Jackknife). These exercises use far more muscle mass than a traditional crunch. In fact, some of the total body ab exercises are "interval-like" in nature, helping to put more metabolic turbulence on the body, and as you know, that's what burns calories during AND after the workout. Now of course you know that you can't spot reduce the fat on your body - so doing an endless number of crunches not only does little for you in terms of losing fat, it also wastes your time in your quest for a 6-pack. Here are a couple of strategies to maximize your workout time when your goal is to get lean, and get down to a low-enough body fat percentage to see your abs in as little workout time as possible: (If you've got 2 hours a day to workout, by all means, do whatever your heart desires...but I don't think many of us that live in the real world have that kind of time.) A) First, simply cut back on your ab training - If your goal is tosimply lose fat, gain a little muscle, and just look as goodpossible, then you can't spend 30 minutes on abs everyday. You can build your 6-pack by doing less than 30 minutes of ab exercise per week. I'm convinced that no one (not even a fitness model or probodybuilder) needs more than 30 minutes of ab training per week. In fact, at the photoshoots I supervise for the fitness magazines,I get to talk to a lot of fitness models and what they tell meabout their training routines might shock you. Most of them don't train nearly as frequently as you or I might think. Instead, they've worked hard over the years with the basic lifts to build their body, and now many of them simply use nutrition and maintenance workouts to keep their abs showing. B) Second, replace your crunches with the total body ab exercises I mentioned earlier. Also, if you have access to a cable machine, you can do weighted ab exercises such as kneeling cable crunches. C) And finally, if you are doing intervals for fat loss as Irecommend, you can use the following approach to increase thedifficulty of your ab and interval training. However, this is anadvanced method only. Beginners should stick to the TT guidelines in their manual. During your interval workout, perform an ab exercise during your active recovery period. For example, if you are doing running intervals on a treadmill... Run for 60 seconds at your work interval speed. Immediately stop the treadmill, get off, and go into a set of 20 Mountain Climbers. Climb back on the treadmill and start it up for your next interval. Repeat for 3-6 intervals. You can also use basic spinal stabilization "ab exercises" such as the plank, side plank, or advanced plank versions (i.e. plank with your arms on the ball) to train your spinal stabilization while under heavy breathing stress. I learned this technique from Dr. Stuart McGill. Remember: Always train safe, with good form, and be conservative. Don't try to be a hero in the gym, but you should safely challenge yourself in each workout. Stick to the Turbulence Training Guidelines if you don't know where to start.
	http://pwtraining.blogspot.com/.....come and see what is on my mind! http://ivonneberkowitz.blogspot.com/....check out Ivonne's new blog! Optimum Sports Performance "In the beginners mind there are many possibilities, in the experts there are few." -Buddha's Little Instruction Book

12-05-2006, 10:33 PM	#2
CowPimp Fueled by Testosterone Moderator Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Silver Spring, MD Posts: 15,375	Compound lifts and diet for the win.
	The only time it's bad to feel the burn is when you're peeing... CowPimp Picks Up Heavy Shit MySpace

12-06-2006, 11:41 AM	#5
TheCurse Barbell Ninja Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Dago Posts: 762 Photos: 5	is the ball jacknife the one where you have your chest area on the ball and toes on the ground, then kind of push your ass up as high in the air as you can by bending at the waist ?
	Thread killer.

12-06-2006, 11:45 AM	#6
P-funk Patrick Super Moderator Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: AZ Posts: 30,136	Jack Knives
	http://pwtraining.blogspot.com/.....come and see what is on my mind! http://ivonneberkowitz.blogspot.com/....check out Ivonne's new blog! Optimum Sports Performance "In the beginners mind there are many possibilities, in the experts there are few." -Buddha's Little Instruction Book

12-06-2006, 02:20 PM	#8
TheCurse Barbell Ninja Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Dago Posts: 762 Photos: 5	thanks P, i had it wrong. might be a good one for me on my post-hernia recovery trip.
	Thread killer.

12-06-2006, 08:30 PM	#13
fufu fiendish thingy Elite Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 15,476 Photos: 3	What does this guy have a MS in? I hate seeing that credential when it doesn't specify. BTW, this is off-topic. But I cited Chris Street in a research paper and noted him as CSCS and MS. However, my instructor is vary particular about sources and needs to know what he has an MS in. I mean, it really makes sense to know what it is. He could be preaching about strength and fitness training yadda yadda and have an MS in...something completely unrelated.
	fufu's 1337 Journal Your diet will set you free.

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