{"id":5,"date":"2013-01-31T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-01-31T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/cesarsoto\/get-flat-6-pack-abs\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T19:01:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T19:01:34","slug":"get-flat-6-pack-abs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/cesarsoto\/get-flat-6-pack-abs\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get Flat 6-Pack Abs without crunches \u2013 Eating and Training Tips to Lose Body Fat"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Top Tips You Need to Know for Losing Stomach Fat & Getting Lean Abs<\/strong><\/p>\n

How to Get Flat 6-Pack Abs without Useless Crunches or Situps \u2013 Nutrition & Workout Secrets for a Lean Body and Flat Abs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Interview with Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist<\/em><\/p>\n

This is a recent interview that was done with me.\u00a0 Pay close attention and you\u2019ll find TONS of useful info that will help you get lean sexy abs much faster and stop struggling with excess body fat.\u00a0 Enjoy!
\nSN:<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s great to sit down and speak with you, Mike. To start off, how about telling our readers a little bit about yourself and your fitness background.<\/p>\n

MG:<\/strong> I\u2019ve actually been involved in the fitness industry for about a decade now, as a Certified Nutrition Specialist and a Certified Personal Trainer. I\u2019m also the founder of TruthAboutAbs.com and author of the #1 best selling abdominals ebook in the world currently,\u00a0The Truth about Six Pack Abs, with\u00a0over 250,000 readers in over 155 countries.<\/p>\n

I started developing the Truth about Abs program about\u00a05 years ago based on how much I saw most people struggle with this topic and the amount of confusion and scams \/ gimmicks that were out there regarding abs and belly fat. I just saw that it was time somebody laid out the TRUTH about what REALLY works to get ripped six pack abs.<\/p>\n

SN:<\/strong>\u00a0 Let\u2019s get right down to it. Everyone wants a flat set of 6-pack abs, yet very few people ever achieve that goal. Why do you think there\u2019s so much confusion on the subject? Is it really all that complicated of a process?<\/p>\n

MG:<\/strong>\u00a0 You know, it\u2019s really NOT that complicated\u2026 However, with that said, to get your body fat % low enough to really see a nice set of abs, it does take a decent amount of discipline with your food intake as well as a whole new level of intensity with your workouts than what most people are used to. The thing is, most of my clients always comment that the style of eating that I recommend is actually fun, and they feel more energy due to the more\u00a0natural unprocessed healthy foods\u00a0they\u2019re eating and more balanced blood sugar and hormone levels in their body.<\/p>\n

The problem is that there\u2019s so much conflicting advice out there these days, it leads the average joe or jane\u00a0to over-complicate things and end up totally confused about what\u2019s the best way to train and eat for six pack abs.
\nSN:<\/strong>\u00a0 You\u2019ve said before that abdominal exercises such as crunches and situps are extremely ineffective when it comes to achieving a flat stomach, and that they can actually make your stomach look WORSE. Can you elaborate on that?<\/p>\n

MG:<\/strong>\u00a0 Sure\u2026 First of all, let me make clear that I\u2019m not saying that you shouldn\u2019t do any abs-specific exercises. Rather, my point of contention is that most people spend WAY too much time focusing all of their efforts on abs-specific exercises, instead of focusing their efforts on more effective full body exercises that stimulate a much greater fat-burning and muscle building hormonal response, burn more calories, stimulate the metabolism to a higher extent, and also indirectly work the abs to a decent degree anyway.<\/p>\n

Let me give an example of how many people typically waste too much time on abs-specific exercises\u2026<\/p>\n

A lot of times I see the average joe or jane spending about 15-30 minutes of their total workout just doing tons of pointless repetitions of crunches, situps, leg raises, or some other \u201cabs pumping\u201d exercise. Many times this comes out to almost HALF of their entire time working out.<\/p>\n

My point here is that this type of excessive abs training is really a waste of time training a relatively small muscle group such as the abs, when that time could have been better spent on full body exercises such as squats, deadlifts, clean & presses, lunges, upper body presses and pulls, dumbbell swings, snatches, etc, etc.\u00a0 Compared to spending that time doing abs exercises, all of the above types of exercises will give you magnitudes more results in terms of hormonal response, metabolism increase, calorie burning, etc\u2026 all while indirectly working the abs to an extent anyway.<\/p>\n

After focusing the majority of your workout efforts on those types of more effective full body exercises, then it\u2019s ok to spend about 5-7 minutes directly training the abs with abs-specific exercises\u2026 but the point I\u2019d like to make is that abs training should only be a small portion of your training program as a whole, and not the majority of it.<\/p>\n

Also, back to the topic of crunches and situps in particular\u2026 Once you\u2019ve got a decent amount of abdominal training under your belt, crunches tend to be one of the least effective ab strengthening exercises since they are actually a fairly low-resistance exercise. An example of a higher resistance abs exercise would be a hanging leg raise with a proper pelvic curl-up (different than what you see most people doing in the gyms, where they only raise their knees up).<\/p>\n

\n

Free Tips for Losing Stomach Fat & Eating Healthier<\/h2>\n
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    \n
  • Discover the top 12 fat burning foods you didn\u2019t know<\/li>\n
  • Exercises that burn more fat than cardio<\/li>\n
  • Also get a free metabolic rate calculator to determine your personal metabolism<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    SN:<\/strong>\u00a0 How often do you recommend an individual train their abdominals on a weekly basis? Is basic, straightforward training the best protocol, or are there advanced ab training techniques that will yield better results?<\/p>\n

    MG:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0I usually recommend incorporating abs-specific training into your routines about twice\/week, and 5-7 minutes per workout. Remember though that you\u2019re also getting indirect ab work through most of the full body exercises that should be comprising the majority of your workout time.<\/p>\n

    Beyond the typical leg raises, ab bicycles, hip thrusts, ab pikes, crunches, etc\u2026 there are definitely ways that you can take your abs to a new level that most people don\u2019t even think of.\u00a0 For example, some of the best abs exercises aren\u2019t usually viewed as abs exercises at all\u2026<\/p>\n

    A couple examples that come to mind are front squats, renegade dumbbell rows, mountain climbers, 1-arm snatches, and others. Front squats are typically viewed as just a leg exercise, but if you\u2019ve ever learned to do a proper front squat, you\u2019ll feel a tremendous stabilization tension required in your abs due to the weight being shifting more to the front of your body compared to the back as in back squats. If you haven\u2019t done front squats in a while, or are just learning them, I guarantee if you do a few sets of them, your abs will be feeling it big time the next day!<\/p>\n

    Renegade rows are another example of an exercise that\u2019s typically just viewed as an upper back exercise. However, while you\u2019re rowing a dumbbell up from a pushup position while stabilizing your body with your other arm, there is an insane amount of tension and stabilization strength required in your entire abs\/core area. This is another exercise that really surprises people at how much they feel it in their abs.<\/p>\n

    (I have posted an article giving more detail and pictures for properly\u00a0performing front squats, renegade rows, and mountain climbers as great alternative ab exercises)
    \nSN:<\/strong>\u00a0 The viewpoints on the effectiveness of cardiovascular exercise seem to be shifting among fitness experts recently, with some advocating no cardio whatsoever. What is your stance on cardio as it relates to achieving 6-pack abs?<\/p>\n

    MG:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0Well, I know there\u2019s a lot of mixed views in the cardio area, and I\u2019ll proudly say that I\u2019m pretty much totally against traditional cardio in the sense of just doing long duration, steady pace cardio. I feel that steady pace cardio is a very ineffective way to train and a waste of time in my opinion that could be better spent on variable intensity (interval) training, or more high intensity resistance training (weights, bodyweight training, etc). In general, I feel that anaerobic training gives you more bang for the buck compared to wasting time with lots of aerobic training.<\/p>\n

    Let me elaborate a little so I can make my point more clear\u2026<\/p>\n

    Let\u2019s look at a typical cardio workout such as someone going out for a 45-minute steady pace jog, or going on the treadmill or elliptical for a long duration steady pace workout. While this steady pace workout is going on, you\u2019re only training your heart in one specific heart rate range\u2026 basically, you\u2019re keeping approximately the same heart rate throughout the entire workout\u2026 as an example, let\u2019s say that your heart rate stays at 125 beats\/minute for most of the workout. In essence, you\u2019re only training your heart in a very limited range.<\/p>\n

    Now let\u2019s take a look at the mother of all interval training workouts\u2026the highest intensity version of interval training\u2026 wind sprints or hill sprints\u2026 During a wind sprint or hill sprint workout (which based on higher intensity, generally can\u2019t last much longer than about 15-20 minutes at the most, saving you time), you\u2019re doing very high intensity \u201csprint\u201d intervals of 10-20 seconds, followed by \u201crecovery\u201d intervals of walking back to your starting point for 40-60 seconds.<\/p>\n

    This type of highly variable training takes your heart rate screaming probably up to 150 or 160 beats\/minute at the end of the sprint intervals, and then drops down to 100-110 beats\/minute during your recovery intervals. This means that you\u2019re training your heart in a much higher range and making it MUCH stronger compared to traditional steady-pace cardio.<\/p>\n

    At the same time, the highly variable intensity training actually works your muscles in a more resistive fashion, stimulating a higher residual metabolic effect, hence burning more calories in the post-workout period compared with steady pace cardio.<\/p>\n

    I could go on with more reasons why I strongly believe that steady pace cardio is an ineffective method of training, but I\u2019ll make this point instead\u2026<\/p>\n

    Look at the typical emaciated, sickly-looking body of a dedicated marathoner who has wasted most of their muscle away with long duration endurance cardio. Now compare that to the totally ripped, muscular, strong and healthy looking body of a world class sprinter, wide receiver, or other athlete that does mostly high intensity sprint work\u2026 which would you rather resemble? I rest my case!
    \nSN:<\/strong>\u00a0 I\u2019m sure you literally cringe when hearing words like \u2018ab belt\u2019 or \u2018ab rocker\u2019. What\u2019s the honest truth about all of these infomercial gadgets? How about dispelling the myths right here once and for all?<\/p>\n

    MG:<\/strong>\u00a0 They\u2019re just about all complete junk! You can do more effective exercises just doing bodyweight exercises than all of this crap that they\u2019re hawking on the infomercials.\u00a0 I mean, does anybody really think they can \u201cmelt off slabs of belly fat\u201d by sitting on their couch and strapping on some useless electro-stim ab belt? Don\u2019t get me started!<\/p>\n

    And I hope everyone realizes that those perfectly ripped fitness models they use in the infomercials didn\u2019t get their awesome bodies by using their pointless contraption they\u2019re selling\u2026 they got their perfect body because they are a professional fitness model, and they work their butt off with REAL full body workouts and lots of dietary discipline.
    \nSN:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0How important is diet in relation to achieving a ripped stomach? Can you outline some common mistakes that you see people making with their nutritional approach?<\/p>\n

    MG:<\/strong>\u00a0 Diet is VERY important\u2026 probably the MOST important aspect. I\u2019ve seen plenty of people that workout like animals almost every day of the week, but they have horrendous eating habits, and guess what\u2026 THEY\u2019RE FAT! What\u2019s the point of working that hard in the gym, if you\u2019re gonna be embarrassed to take your shirt off because you have a big sloppy belly?<\/p>\n

    I also think that diet is the area of the most confusion. Everybody seems to think that they must follow some sort of \u201cdieting gimmick\u201d such as a \u201clow fat\u201d diet, or a \u201clow carb\u201d diet, or high or low something. The thing is, we should NOT be restricting what our bodies need\u2026 we should be\u00a0feeding<\/strong>\u00a0our bodies what they need with a balanced approach instead of restriction of a certain macronutrient or food group.<\/p>\n

    The only thing we need to restrict is processed junk food, sodas, deep fried food, and anything along those lines.\u00a0 I would also recommend restricting\u00a0wheat-based\u00a0foods\u00a0and\u00a0soy-based foods\u00a0as both of these can cause major problems in the body\u00a0(despite the hefty billion dollar marketing budgets behind both of these claiming them to be \u201chealth foods\u201d).<\/p>\n

    It doesn\u2019t have to be as complicated as the \u201cdiet gurus\u201d make it out to be. It can be a lot simpler. Focus on the following aspects and you\u2019ll be well on your way to a more enjoyable eating style that will last you for life and get you better results at the same time\u2026<\/p>\n

    1.<\/strong>\u00a0Choose whole, unprocessed organic foods, as close to their natural state as possible<\/p>\n

    2.<\/strong>\u00a0Choose high nutrient density food choices instead of nutrient deficient processed foods<\/p>\n

    3.<\/strong>\u00a0Fruits and vegetables (lots of vegetables) as your main source of carbohydrates instead of so much reliance on grains as is so prominent in our food supply these days. Small amounts of grains is ok, but try to focus more on veggies\/fruits for your carb sources.<\/p>\n

    4.<\/strong>\u00a0Make sure to get moderate amounts of high quality protein at each meal<\/p>\n

    5.<\/strong>\u00a0High fiber intake to help appetite control and glycemic control (maintaining more balanced blood sugar)<\/p>\n

    6.<\/strong>\u00a0Don\u2019t neglect an ample healthy fat intake from nuts, seeds, nut butters,\u00a0organic free-range whole eggs, wild fish and\/or fish oil, virgin coconut oil and olive oils, avocados, etc (helps appetite control and hormonal balance).<\/p>\n

    You can also take some daily\u00a0Krill Oil\u00a0for healthy fats that are even more powerful than fish oil.<\/p>\n

    Once you gain control over the aspects listed above, everything else usually works itself out in your diet\u2026 you no longer crave sweets or\u00a0junk food\u00a0because your body finally has all of the nutrients it needs and balanced hormone levels. Another important thing that this style of eating does is that it tends to bring people naturally back to the proper amount of calories they need each day without having to attempt to count calories or anything like that.<\/p>\n

    Hopefully that helps to simplify some things with this confusing topic.<\/p>\n

    SN:<\/strong>\u00a0 Let\u2019s say you have an individual who knows absolutely nothing about how to properly train and eat for 6-pack abs. What are the top 3 pieces of advice you\u2019d give them right off the bat?<\/p>\n

    MG:<\/strong>\u00a0 Top 3 tips\u2026<\/p>\n

    1. Focus at least 90% of your workout time on high intensity combinations of full body multi-joint exercises such as variations of deadlifts, squats, lunges, clean & presses, pullups, pushups, dips, bench presses, overhead presses, and upper body rows and pulls. The other 10% or less of your workout time can be dedicated to direct abs training.<\/p>\n

    2. Focus your \u201ccardio\u201d efforts on shorter duration variable intensity interval training, wind sprints, hill sprints, stair sprints, jump rope, and other higher intensity (and variable intensity) forms of training instead of relying on long duration, steady-pace boring traditional cardio.<\/p>\n

    3. With your diet, don\u2019t try to be too restrictive on certain macronutrients or go too low on overall calories as this can lead to muscle loss and reduced metabolic rate. Instead, feed your body what it needs to perform optimally and build\/maintain lean muscle mass\u2026 lots of whole unprocessed foods such as nuts, fruits, veggies, seeds, eggs, organic meats, etc.<\/p>\n

    Try to maintain a reasonable balance of protein,\u00a0carbs, and fat instead of trying to go too low or high on any one macronutrient. Some of the most important aspects of a diet that creates a lean body are getting enough quality fiber, protein, and healthy fat intake at most of your meals, and limiting foods such as refined starches, refined sugars, hydrogenated oils (trans fats), processed polyunsaturated oils such as soy and corn oil, and excessive alcohol.<\/p>\n

    SN:<\/strong>\u00a0 Thanks for joining us, Mike!\u00a0 Great interview!<\/p>\n

    \u00a05 facts for losing stomach fat & getting flat abs<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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