Optimum Anabolics - Day 83/3D Abs??

Here is some great information from my good friend, Jeff Anderson, talking about how to do some good ab sculpting while working out. It's important to note that while endless sets of crunches are definitely NOT necessary for excellent abs, it is beneficial to work them out as part of your routine.

Read on!

Check out any local gym and you'll see inexperienced members training their abs with endless sets of situps and crunches, right?

While the abs are predominantly made of Type 1 (endurance) muscle fibers and respond to slightly higher repetition ranges,your abs are made up of muscle just like any other part of your body.

Therefore the best abs exercises to get that "cut" look are those that are resistance-based and treat them like any other muscle.

But there's a special little trick you must know in order to maximize your abs training on your way to having a stacked 6-pack.

In fact, ignoring this principle, could force you to develop "lopsided" abs that are so common among beginner bodybuilders.

Let me share this secret with you now...

The main abdominal muscle you want to be working when training your abs is your "rectus abdominis", that sheet of rippled muscle that goes from your rib cage all the way down the front of your body to your pelvis.

What's unique about this abdominal muscle group is that the upper abs can work separately from the lower abs (to some extent)...BUT when you work your lower abs exercises, your upper abs are ALWAYS working as well.

This is why most people (including myself from years of military training focusing on upper abs) had overdeveloped upper abs but underdeveloped lower abs.

Here's how to correct this...

Make sure you train your LOWER ABS first in your abs workout (ALWAYS!) which brings both upper and lower abs into the workload!

If you don't work your lower abs first, you exhaust your upper abs too soon and when you DO target your lower abs, your upper abs will fatigue too fast and you'll end up with under-targeted lower abs.

So the best exercises for lower abs are:

* Incline Leg Raises
* Incline Knee Ups
* Hanging Leg Raises
* Flat Bench Leg Raises

And then follow up with the best upper abs exercises:

* Crunches
* Weighted Crunches
* Situps
* Hanging Knee Raises

WORKOUT - CARDIO (HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING)

This morning's intervals were done on the stationary bike for 28 minutes.

Flying Romans were done for time (30 seconds) today rather than repetitions.

Here are today's Flying Roman results (3 intervals):

• 31 (16 one leg, 15 the other)
  
• 34 (17 per leg)
  
• 35 (18 one leg, 17 the other)

Comments:

Sore in my chest today. Sweet!

Just a some stiffness here and there elsewhere.

Left heel is still sore and I'm still favoring it but it does seem to be progressing...slowly. There are times when walking that I completely forget anything is going on down there. Mornings right out of bed are the worst. Walking behind the mower last night seemed fairly normal for the first time in several weeks.

Calves and feet got stretched for 1 minute per side today. I'm continuing to incorporate some hamstring stretches by sitting on the floor with legs straight out and grabbing my feet. The objective is to try and loosen up my entire leg musculature.


DIET - HIGH PROTEIN (PLUS 1)

After my interval workout this morning, it was Tex Mex omelet time. First, I cooked up a red jalapeno, half a red bell pepper, and some red onion in coconut oil. To that, I added 2 egg whites and 1 whole egg along with several shakes of the Louisiana Hot Sauce bottle. Once firm in the pan, I folded it in half with 1oz of raw milk cheddar and about 1/4 C of leftover chili in the middle and topped it with medium salsa. My mouth was on fire (pronounced "far!" when eating a Tex Mex omelet)!

I went with the usual 1/2C of yogurt, 4 tsp milled flax seed, and 1/3 scoop of whey protein isolate powder as a snack around 9:45.

Lunch was spent with my buddy, Hugh Jass (salad), and the last bit of lamb roast that was trying to hide in the fridge. The salad was just a salad but the dressing was most excellent:

• 2 TBS sesame oil
• 1 TBS Udo's Oil Blend
• 2 TBS rice wine vinegar
• 1 TBS lime juice
• 1 TBS Bragg's Liquid Aminos
• 2 TBS chopped fresh cilantro (stirred in after all other ingredients)

This afternoon, I snacked on a 1/2C of cottage cheese and raw cashews, almonds, Brazils, and walnuts.

Right before bed I sloshed down 30g of whey protein isolate powder mixed in about a cup of water.