OK there you have it, the title of the most read fitness articles and books on the planet. Lose Fat and Get Ripped! Promise it all and people will follow! As you all know, there’s no best way to do anything. It’s all about YOU. What tactics you are willing and able to implement in your life for fitness and nutrition, and how genetics, medications, and lifestyle interact with those choices. It’s so hard! Your trainer and nutritionist can help you experiment with things that have worked for others in the past, and find YOUR special sauce.
Should you fast or eat every 2 hours? 125g protein or Vegan? Pro-biotics or greens? We all need help learning what’s right for us. Give a trend a month – if it’s not working for you, move on!
That’s why consistency is key – – trying things out to see what works, switching gears if you need to and sticking like GLUE to the things that do.
I like to tell clients that their ab and core workout is the FRAMER of the house of their body, and diet is their FINISH CARPENTER. Exercising AND eating clean is what makes your hard work on your muscles show… But remember being strong is more important than showy muscles over your lifetime — so try to focus on that!
AB OR CORE WORKOUT??
First, decide if your workout is more for life function, sports performance and/or to support complex fitness moves (overhead weights) OR if you just want to build visible six pack abs. Plank and plank varieties are known to be way more effective to build overall core strength which aids sports performance, prevents injury and helps build strength for more complex workout moves. Ab crunches and variations are great for building muscle in a targeted spot — but might not help with overall strength and performance. (Think of bodybuilders that train for show rather than endurance competitions — your abs can SHOW but may not work to support some of the activities you’re into as well as a plank would!). Here are two variations we’ve used in our workouts ~~ we’ve found the best plan to us is to mix & match and cross train.
CORE WORKOUT: 7-20 MINUTES
Pushup Plank Drill EMOM. Every Minute On the Minute this workout starts over. Minute 1, perform 1 pushup, lower to plank, and hold until there are :15 seconds rest left in the minute. Take the rest! Minute 2, do 2 pushups, wait in plank, etc. Our gym record is 22, but most find it hard to get past 7,8,9… Give it a try and safely build to your personal best, even if you’re doing knee pushups and knee plank. It all works.
ABS: 15 MINUTES
500 Reps: Choose your top 5 ab moves. Tabletop Crunches (knees up), Bicycle Abs (elbow to knee), Leg Scissor (scissoring legs up & down), Toe Touch (reach up to toes extended in air while lying on back) and Russian Twists. Do 20 of each, repeat 5x. Be sure to rest hip flexors (front top of thighs) and lower back as needed between moves or sets.
YOUTUBE ABS: 8 MINUTES Need to follow along? Try this 8 Minute Oceanside Abs Vid filmed on Imagine on Block Island in the summer of 2020.
Keep those lower backs safe ~~ take breaks or modify as needed! ’23 Version of Oceanside Abs comin’ up soon!
🙂 Jacki