Sculpting The Perfect Abs

Questions from R.F. – “So is working out your abs a good idea to do everyday or every other day and how long is good for a work out?  Just wondering if they need time to rest like arms and legs do with weights.”             When it comes to abs, there’s no right or wrong way to work out.  It all depends on your goal.  Whether your goal is to have a runner’s lean abs or a muscular bodybuilder’s abs, it requires doing a lot of cardio exercises and a healthy diet.  Doing ab exercises alone may not be enough to give you the sexy abs you desire.  It requires work and consistency. I enjoy running and I used to jog 4 miles daily for my choice of cardio exercise but I had to find a balance because I was losing too much weight.  Now, I jog 4 miles every other day to maintain my weight.  I eat fairly healthy and I don’t feel the need to eat more just so I can jog daily. If you want a lean runner’s abs, you can do a shorter weightless ab workout everyday or every other day.  If you’re just starting out, start slowly and work your way up. My suggestion to start is 3 sets of 12 sit-ups (5 minutes). But if you want a muscular abs like the bodybuilders, then it requires an intense 1 hour of ab workout with heavy weights once or twice a week.  Ab muscles are like any other muscles in your body, it needs time to rest. I personally do 500 (5 different ab exercises @ 100 reps) weightless ab exercises daily at least 5 days a week.  My ab workout takes me about 45 minutes and is not for everybody.  When it comes to abs, as a woman, I think it’s more complicated than a man.  I like my abs to be somewhere in between a runner’s and a bodybuilder’s abs with some definitions, just enough ab muscles to find it sexy but not too much to considered masculine. There’s no right or wrong way to sculpt your perfect abs.  The choice is yours.  Whatever time and effort you put in will be the result.

Broken Schedules & Managing Your Time

One of the top excuses I hear from people for not working out is finding the time.  Anyone that knows me well would never say such things because they know how much I multi-task and how dedicated I am to staying fit even while living on the road.  Being self-employed I have the freedom to make my own schedule, although it doesn’t make it any easier to find the time.  It still takes effort.

We all have to earn a living to provide for ourselves or for our family.  Working out is just as important.  You owe it to yourself to maintain a good health.  At the end of our lives, most people realize they should of taken better care of themselves and will grasp at anything to stay alive.

I don’t doubt that some of you do the best you can and that’s great but there’s always room for improvement.  People often ask me, “How do you find 2 hours or more in a day to work out?”  My schedule is constantly changing so I have to be flexible with my time to get my workouts in.

There’s 24 hours in a day, even if you used 16 hours between work and sleep, most people still have 8 hours of personal time.  How you choose to use that time is totally up to you.   Here are some tips I use to maximize my time in order to get my workouts in:

1)    I don’t watch TV unless I’m jogging on the treadmill. 

2)    I don’t spend hours on the phone just chatting. 

3)    I don’t spend hours at the hair or nail salon.

4)    I get ready quickly and don’t waste time looking in the mirror.

5)    Although social time is important but I don’t “hang out” on a daily basis.

I work around the clock until my mind needs a break. Some people take a break by having a smoke or calling a friend to gossip on the phone.  When I take a break, it’s only to workout.  Every time I take a break, I’ll either jog for 4 miles, swim for 30 minutes or do 45 minutes of ab training.  I believe in being productive and using every minute wisely.

What makes it harder for me to keep a consistent workout schedule is my traveling.  For people who travel for a living know all too well, it takes a lot out of your body whether you’re flying or driving.  After a full day of traveling, I’m wiped out.  I usually give my body a day to catch up before I exercise.  This is the only time I would skip a workout.  Nevertheless, I’ll still give my body a good stretch and try to get a good night sleep.

Most of us have complicated schedules but it’s important not to give up on your body. When you are as busy as I am, it’s even more critical to make the time to exercise.  This will allow your body and mind to be more energized.  While I was in college I had multiple jobs and sometimes I would do my exercises after midnight if that was my only option.  When someone tells me they don’t have any time to workout, I can only conclude that working out it’s not that important to them.

Trim the fat to get sexy abs!

How many of you out there exercise and can’t seem to get those sexy abs that you’ve always wanted?  Don’t use that as an excuse to stop what you’re doing, lets analyze and find a solution to the problem.  If you to want have sexy abs you have to lose the fat around your waist.  The only way to that is by eating healthy, exercising, doing cardio along with abdominal exercises.

If you are exercising and not getting the result, you obviously have to do something different either with your diet or exercise or maybe both.  What you’re doing may seem like a lot of effort but if you’re not getting the result, then it’s just simply not enough.  You can’t expect a different result if you continue to do the same thing.

First thing you have to look at is your food intake.  To gain great abs, you’ve got to be lean.  What do I mean by lean?  Having no “extra” fat in your body. Try cutting your food portions or eating a lighter meal, even if that means eating one spoonful less at each meal.  You may not think that it would make that big of a difference but every calorie counts.  Your liquid intake also has a big impact.  That means no alcohol, sodas or anything with a lot of calories.  Replace your liquid intake with 8 glasses of water a day and you’ll see the changes.

The second part is exercising.  You’re probably not doing enough exercises to see the result you want.  The best exercises to trim down and get sexy abs involve cardio.  Most likely you’re not doing enough cardio exercises to burn the fat.  Some people think that if they walk or jog 30 minutes a day that it will be enough.  What is enough?  Everyone is different and depending on your body and goals, I recommend doing an hour or more of cardio per day if you’re serious about trimming the fat to get those sexy abs.  Cardio is the fastest way to burn the fat.  Without it, no matter how many ab exercises you do, your abs will always be hidden under a layer of blubber.

According to the Health Check System, your body fat percentage categories for women and men are as follows:

Women           Men

Essential Fat    10-12%           2-4%

Athletes           14-20%           6-13%

Fitness             21-24%           14-17%

Acceptable      25-31%           18-25%

Obese              32%+              25%+

Although there are several formulas, using the U.S Navy body fat formula, my current body fat is 12.35%.  Does that make me unhealthy?  No.  Charts are only guidelines and this is only of them.  Don’t be afraid to trim down your fat!  I’m very healthy and my endurance is extremely high.

Three years ago, I was 88 lbs. and by most standards, I was in great shape!  For my height, I was already considered underweight.  My abs were toned but I wanted a more defining set of abs.  In order to do that, I had to do something different.  I was doing 200 ab exercises daily and decide to increase it to 500 ab exercises.  As healthy as I was, I still had to trim down my fat to reach my goal.

Now I weigh 85 lbs and my abs are still toned but just more defined and that was exactly my goal.  To have my abs, I do 45 minutes of ab training daily, a 4 mile jog every other day and 30 minutes of swimming along with a variety of other exercises.  Of course I continue to eat healthy. 

Keep it simple!  If you are at a plateau and are not getting the result, you may need to change your diet or your exercise routine.  Maybe even both.

My Power Abs DVD Is Now Available!

The Power Abs workout is the ultimate ab workout designed for every fitness level. This dvd is based on my proven technique and routine which will trim, tone and sculpt those abs. My no nonsense, no gimmick approach will get you the sexy abs you’ve always wanted. This “No Excuse” program is designed to maximize your ab work out whether you’re on the road, at the gym or in the privacy of your own home.