The truth about abs
If the infomercials are any indication, people spend more money to work their abs than they do on any other muscle group. And why wouldn’t they? Your abs play a role in nearly all your movements. But you don’t need a credit card to reveal them. You need a smart diet – along with this boot camp workout, which will torch your belly fat and work your entire core. Abs still a mystery to you? Here’s a blueprint of your midsection muscles.
1 RECTUS ABDOMINIS
The rectus abdominis – six-pack – is the best-known abs muscle. Despite the nickname, it’s actually eight segments separated by dense connective tissue called fascia. By helping counteract the pull of the muscles that extend your lower back, the rectus abdominis helps your spine stay stable. Its other main duty is to pull your torso towards your hips.
2 FASCIA
This tough tissue weaves in and around all your body’s muscles to create an interconnective web. In terms of your abs, it’s what separates and connects each of the eight segments of your rectus abdominis, giving them their regimented appearance.
3 EXTERNAL OBLIQUES
Running vertically and diagonally, these muscles originate at your rib cage and connect at your hip bone and linea alba (see No.5 below). They help bend your torso to the sides and rotate it to the left and right. Perhaps most important, they also act to prevent your torso from rotating.
4 INTERNAL OBLIQUES
These lie beneath your external obliques. They assist in bending to the side and rotating your torso, as well as in resisting rotation.
5 LINEA ALBA
This long strip of fascia forms a line of separation down the centre of your abdominals. It helps prevent your rectus abdominis from being ripped apart by your obliques.
If you’re looking to firebomb fat, pack on muscle and sweat your way to a six-pack, we have your call to duty: this cutting-edge boot camp workout, designed by certified strength and conditioning specialist B.J. Gaddour. By moving you through a series of intense exercises at a fast pace, it’ll help you burn more kilojoules per minute than a typical weight-training or aerobic workout. Plus, it works every one of your muscles, from head to toe. The best part: whether you want bigger muscles or faster fat loss, Gaddour shows you how to tweak this workout to achieve your most pressing goal. Now get to work – that’s an order, soldier!
1 RECTUS ABDOMINIS
The rectus abdominis – six-pack – is the best-known abs muscle. Despite the nickname, it’s actually eight segments separated by dense connective tissue called fascia. By helping counteract the pull of the muscles that extend your lower back, the rectus abdominis helps your spine stay stable. Its other main duty is to pull your torso towards your hips.
2 FASCIA
This tough tissue weaves in and around all your body’s muscles to create an interconnective web. In terms of your abs, it’s what separates and connects each of the eight segments of your rectus abdominis, giving them their regimented appearance.
3 EXTERNAL OBLIQUES
Running vertically and diagonally, these muscles originate at your rib cage and connect at your hip bone and linea alba (see No.5 below). They help bend your torso to the sides and rotate it to the left and right. Perhaps most important, they also act to prevent your torso from rotating.
4 INTERNAL OBLIQUES
These lie beneath your external obliques. They assist in bending to the side and rotating your torso, as well as in resisting rotation.
5 LINEA ALBA
This long strip of fascia forms a line of separation down the centre of your abdominals. It helps prevent your rectus abdominis from being ripped apart by your obliques.
If you’re looking to firebomb fat, pack on muscle and sweat your way to a six-pack, we have your call to duty: this cutting-edge boot camp workout, designed by certified strength and conditioning specialist B.J. Gaddour. By moving you through a series of intense exercises at a fast pace, it’ll help you burn more kilojoules per minute than a typical weight-training or aerobic workout. Plus, it works every one of your muscles, from head to toe. The best part: whether you want bigger muscles or faster fat loss, Gaddour shows you how to tweak this workout to achieve your most pressing goal. Now get to work – that’s an order, soldier!
Directions
Perform this workout as a circuit, completing each exercise in succession.
To blast more fat: starting with exercise 1, do as many reps as you can in 50 seconds. Then rest for 10 seconds as you transition to the next exercise. After you’ve done all 10 exercises, rest for 60 seconds. Then repeat the circuit one more time.
To build more muscle: do as many repetitions as you can in 30 seconds. (You’ll need to use a heavier weight than you would for the fat-loss version.) Then rest for 30 seconds as you transition to the next exercise. Do all 10 exercises and rest for 60 seconds, then repeat the circuit once more.
1 Dumbbell Skier Swing
Holding a pair of dumbbells at arm’s length next to your sides, stand with your feet hip-width apart and your knees slightly bent. Without rounding your lower back, bend at your hips as you simultaneously swing your arms backward. Now explosively thrust your hips forward and raise your torso until you’re standing upright, while allowing your momentum to swing the weights up to chest level. (Don’t actively lift the weight.) Swing back and forth for the duration of your set.
To blast more fat: starting with exercise 1, do as many reps as you can in 50 seconds. Then rest for 10 seconds as you transition to the next exercise. After you’ve done all 10 exercises, rest for 60 seconds. Then repeat the circuit one more time.
To build more muscle: do as many repetitions as you can in 30 seconds. (You’ll need to use a heavier weight than you would for the fat-loss version.) Then rest for 30 seconds as you transition to the next exercise. Do all 10 exercises and rest for 60 seconds, then repeat the circuit once more.
1 Dumbbell Skier Swing
Holding a pair of dumbbells at arm’s length next to your sides, stand with your feet hip-width apart and your knees slightly bent. Without rounding your lower back, bend at your hips as you simultaneously swing your arms backward. Now explosively thrust your hips forward and raise your torso until you’re standing upright, while allowing your momentum to swing the weights up to chest level. (Don’t actively lift the weight.) Swing back and forth for the duration of your set.
2 Dumbbell 1 and a 1/2 Push-up
Grasp the handle of a dumbbell in each hand and assume a push-up position with your arms straight. Your hands should be about shoulder-width apart, and your body should form a straight line from head to ankles. Bend your elbows and lower your body until your chest nearly touches the floor. Pause, and then push yourself halfway back up. Pause again, then lower your body back to the floor. Push yourself all the way back up to the starting position, and repeat.
3 Dumbbell Hot Potato Squat
Grab a dumbbell with your left hand and hold it against the front of your shoulder, your elbow bent. Keeping your back naturally arched, push your hips back, bend your knees and lower your hips until the top of your thighs is at least parallel to the floor. Then stand back up as you smoothly pass the dumbbell from your left hand to your right. Now immediately repeat the squat while holding the dumbbell in your right hand. Continue to alternate back and forth.
4 Dumbbell Lawnmower Pull
Hold a dumbbell in your left hand and stand in a split stance, your right foot in front of your left. Bend your right knee and your hips until your torso is about 45º to the floor. Let the dumbbell hang at arm’s length. In one move, explosively straighten your right leg and thrust your hips forward as you rotate your torso (pivot your feet) and row the weight to your shoulder. Reverse the move and repeat. Once you’ve worked for half of your allotted time, switch hands and legs.
5 Dumbbell Overhead Shouldering
Use both hands to grasp a dumbbell by its ends and hold it against your chest. Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart. Shift the dumbbell to your right shoulder, then press it directly overhead until your arms are straight and lower it to your left shoulder. That’s one repetition. Continue to move the weight in this manner until you’ve worked for half of your allotted time. Then switch directions (that is, push the dumbbell up from your left shoulder) and do the rest of your reps.
6 Dumbbell Rotational Deadlift
Stand tall and use both hands to grasp a dumbbell by its ends, letting it hang at arm’s length in front of your waist. Now rotate your hips to the left so your left foot is forward and the weight is hanging next to your left thigh. Next, keep your back naturally arched as you bend your knees and hips and lower the weight to the front of your left shin. Push your hips forward, raise your torso and stand, then rotate your torso all the way to the right to repeat the move on that side.
7 Dumbbell Bottom-Half Get-up
Grab a dumbbell in your right hand and lie on the floor with your right leg bent and your left leg straight. Hold the dumbbell overhead with your arm completely straight. Without taking your eyes off the dumbbell or letting your right arm bend, roll onto your left side and prop yourself up on your left elbow. Now straighten your left arm. Reverse the move to return to the starting position and repeat until the time is up. On your next set of this exercise, do the move with the weight in your left hand.
8 Dumbbell Threaded Lunge
Hold a dumbbell in your left hand and stand tall with your feet hip-width apart. This is the starting position. Keeping your torso upright, take a big step backward with your right foot and lower your body until your left knee is bent at least 90º and your right knee almost touches the floor. While in this “down” position, pass the dumbbell under your left leg to your right hand. Push yourself back to the starting position and repeat, this time lunging backward with your left leg.
9 Dumbbell High-Low Farmer’s Walk
Grab two dumbbells – a heavy one in your right hand and a light one in your left. (The heavy dumbbell should be about twice the weight of the light one.) Press the light dumbbell over your head, with your arm straight and your biceps in line with your ear. Let the heavy dumbbell hang at arm’s length next to your side. With your core braced and glutes tight, walk forward, and then backward – and then every which way. Once you’ve worked for half of your allotted time, switch arms and legs.
10 Dumbbell Shoveling
Stand in a split stance, your right foot in front of your left. Use both hands to grasp a dumbbell by its ends and hold it at arm’s length in front of your right thigh. Explosively loop the dumbbell across your body, up to chest level, and then over to your left thigh as you pivot your feet and rotate your hips to the left. Then reverse the move back to the starting position. Continue to move the dumbbell back and forth, as if you’re constantly “shoveling” from one side of your body to the other.
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