The Greatest

Abs Workout Ever

M

Unleash your abs with this

exclusive plan from Get Fit, Stay Fit,
the sequel to the best-selling Abs Diet
By David Zinczenko

MEN WITH
FLAT STOMACHS
ARE . . .
50%
less likely
to develop
heart disease.
16%
less likely to
die of a rst
heart attack.
50%
less likely to
have erectile
dysfunction.
70%
less likely to
develop high
blood pressure.
35%
less likely
to develop
kidney cancer.
90%
less likely to
suffer from
gallstones.
14%
less likely
to develop
osteoarth ritis.
19%
less likely to die
in a car crash.
LIVE LONGER!
A Canadian study of more than
8,000 people over 13 years found
that those with the weakest
abdominal muscles had a death
rate more than twice that of
the people with the strongest
midsections.
LIFT MORE!
A stronger core supports
your spine, so you can lift more
weight in every exercise. Case
in point: Canadian researchers
found that men bench-pressed
40 percent more on a stable
surfacewhich best supported
their spinesthan on an
unstable surface.
PREVENT
INJURIES!
Research shows that men with
the best-conditioned abdominal
musclesguys who can perform
at least 73 situps in 2 minutes
are ve times less likely to suffer
a lower-body injury than
those who can knock
out only 50.
IMPROVE
YOUR
POSTURE!
Tight lower-back muscles from
excessive running pull your spine
out of natural alignment. Strength-
ening your abs can correct this
muscular imbalance, improving
your bodys posture to allow
it to function properly.
Jan06Poster1.indd 1 7/20/06 8:05:00 AM
The Ultimate Abs
Exercise Plan
Lie on your back with your knees bent,
and hold a weight plate or dumbbell
on your chest. (If thats too hard,
just do a traditional crunch.) Slowly
crunch up, bringing your shoulder
blades off the oor. Pause, then lower
yourself to the starting position.
Do 10 to 15 repetitions.
Sit with your knees bent and your feet
at on the oor, shoulder-width apart.
(Tuck your feet under weights to
maintain balance.) Extend your arms in
front of you with your ngers interlaced.
Begin with your upper body at slightly
less than a 90-degree angle to the oor.
Lower your upper body toward the oor,
curling your torso forward, rounding
your lower back, and keeping your abs
contracted. When your upper body
reaches a 45-degree angle to the oor,
return to the starting position.
Do 10 to 15 repetitions.
THE WORKOUT This routine attacks your midsection from every angle, so your abs are constantly
challenged. Choose one exercise from each section, for a total of ve. Perform one move
immediately after the other for the specied number of repetitions, then repeat the circuit. After
4 weeks, choose the exercise in each group that you didnt perform in your previous workouts.
This ensures that your muscles are always adapting to new stress.
BURN OFF YOUR BELLY This interval routine is designed to strip away the excess ab thats
hiding your six-pack. Do it 3 days a week, after your weight session or on the days in between.
Use your mode of choicea treadmill, stationary bike, or rowing machine.
STEP 1 Warm up for 3 to 5 minutes at an easy pace, about 30 to 40 percent of
your best effort.
STEP 2 Run, cycle, or row at 95 percent of your highest effort for 30 seconds.
STEP 3 Perform active rest, slowing back down to your warmup speed for 90 seconds.
STEP 4 Repeat ve to seven times.
STEP 5 Once you can complete eight intervals, reduce the length of your active
rest periods by 5 to 10 seconds each workout, until theyre only 30 seconds long.
Position yourself in a back-exten-
sion station, and hook your feet
under the leg anchor. Lace your
hands behind your head. Lower
your torso, allowing your lower
back to round slightly, until its just
short of perpendicular to the oor.
Raise and twist your upper body
until its in line with your hips and
facing right. Thats one repetition.
Repeat the move, this time
twisting to your left.
Do 10 to 15 repetitions.
Position yourself in a back-extension
station, and hook your feet under the
leg anchor. Hold your arms straight
out beyond your head. Lower your
torso, allowing your lower back to
round slightly, until its just short of
perpendicular to the oor. Pause,
then raise your upper body until
its slightly above parallel to the
oor. At this point, you should
have a slight arch in your back,
and your shoulder blades should
be pulled together.
Do 10 to 15 repetitions.
SECTION
1
SECTI ON
2
SECTION
3
SECTION
4
SECTION
5
STANDING
CABLE CRUNCH
WEIGHTED CRUNCH
PULSE-UP
MEDICINE-BALL
TORSO ROTATION
TWO-POINT BRIDGE
BACK EXTENSION
FIGURE-8 CRUNCH
SIDE JACKKNIFE
NEGATIVE CRUNCH
TWISTING BACK
EXTENSION
FI RST PAGE: PHOTOGRAPH BY PI OTR SI KORA, STYLING: LAURI EISENBERG/R.J. BENNETT, GROOMING: KEVIN DONLIN/SUSAN PRICE, 2
(X)
IST SHIRT, REEBOK SHORTS
THI S PAGE: PHOTOGRAPHS BY BETH BI SCHOFF, GROOMING: KEVIN DONLIN/SUSAN PRICE
mc

Go to
MensHealth.
com/abs
for a free abs
newsletter.
Lie on your left side, with your legs
nearly straight and slightly raised off
the oor. Also, lift your torso off the oor,
with your left forearm on the oor for
balance. Hold your other hand behind
your right ear, with your elbow pointed
toward your feet. Lift your legs toward
your torso while keeping your torso
stationary. Pause to feel the contraction
on the right side of your waist. Then
slowly lower your legs and repeat.
Finish the set, then switch sides.
Do 10 to 15 repetitions.
Lie on your back with your knees bent
at a 90-degree angle, squeezing a
light medicine ball tightly between them,
and place your feet at on the oor.
Place your ngers behind your ears,
then slowly raise your head, shoulders,
and feet off the oor.
Keeping your torso up, move your knees
in a gure-8 motion. Each gure-8 is
one repetition.
Do 10 to 15 repetitions.
Hold a medicine ball or basketball
in front of you as you kneel and
sit back on your heels. Quickly
twist to your left and set the ball
down behind your back.
Twist to the right and pick up
the ball, then bring it around to
your left and set it down again.
Thats one repetition.
Do 10 to 15 repetitions.
Lie with your hands under your
tailbone and your legs extended
straight up toward the ceiling,
perpendicular to your torso.
Lift your hips off the oor in a
straight line. Pause, then lower
your hips .
Do 10 to 15 repetitions.
Attach a rope to a high-pulley cable.
Stand with your back to the weight
stack and hold one end of the rope
on the left side of your head and the
other end on the right.
Crunch your torso down. Pause,
then return to the starting position.
Do 10 to 15 repetitions.
Assume the standard pushup
position. Lift your right arm and
left leg off the oor at the same
time. Hold for 3 to 5 seconds, then
lower them. Thats one repetition.
Return to the starting position,
then repeat, lifting your left arm
and right leg this time.
Do 10 to 15 repetitions.
H
aving worked at Mens Health magazine for more than 10 years, Ive seen all the
trends. (Uh, electrodes on my abs? No, thanks.) Ive talked to trainers. Ive tried
just about every exercise ever concocted. In a lot of ways, my workout is my work.
But Im also busy with calls, meetings, and all the stresses that go with any job. So I know
you want an exercise plan that ts into your lifenot one that is your life. This routine is short
and simple. In addition to performing this workout three times a week, train your largest
muscle groups with classic moves like squats, bench presses, deadlifts, and rows. And add
the 12 Abs Diet powerfoods to your diet. (See MensHealth.com for a meal plan to go.) The
end result: Youll lose fat, build muscle, atten your stomachand change your body forever.
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