Train Like an Athlete by ATHLEAN-X (Video Podcast)

Pro athlete physical therapist and strength coach Jeff Cavaliere shows you workouts, exercises and nutrition plans to get you looking and moving like a professional athlete.

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Six Pack Ab “Hack” (ABS NOT REQUIRED!) 

04-17-2017

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Getting six pack abs just got easier than you think, well at least the impact that a strong six pack can make on the appearance of your core. In this video, I’m going to show you how it’s not all about the abs. In fact, a six pack without an equally impressive set of obliques and serratus is going to look nothing like you imagined it would when you first established your goal of having a ripped six pack.

To understand this concept better it helps to know a bit more about the anatomy of the three core muscles in question. Let’s start with the six pack muscle. This is more formally known as the rectus abdominis. This is the muscle that becomes visible when someone is said to have a six pack stomach. The linea alba is a sheath of connective tissue that lies on top of this muscle and helps to compartmentalize the abs into their individual blocks or packs.

Just to the left and right of the 6 pack however is perhaps the most important muscle of the core. The obliques are not just important for function and the many demands of rotation of the midsection but even more importantly for the tapering of the abs. The orientation of the obliques is at an angle which helps to frame in the six pack and create a visual narrowing of the waist as you look at the abs from top to bottom.

Finally, the serratus anterior is a muscle that sits just atop the obliques and has a similar downward and inward diagonal fiber orientation. Again, when developed and trained, this muscle has the ability to taper in the midsection and give you the appearance of much more muscle definition even if your abs aren’t as developed or defined as you would like.

It is easy to hit all three of these in one movement. If you lie on your side as if you were about to perform a side crunch you only need to worry about the position of your top arm to get this working for you in a whole new way. Instead of grabbing onto the back of your neck with your hand, reach across your body and parallel to the floor as you reach the top of your side crunch exercise. Squeeze your obliques as you reach as far forward as you can at the top.

This added reach is what activates the serratus and can give you a very developed looking core. This is very similar to the benefits seen during a pushup plus exercise that is designed to hit the serratus and not just your chest. Here, the combination of the two movements gives you the detail you may have overlooked in an effort to focus solely on the more attention getting abs.

If you are looking for a complete program that includes all the workouts and meal plans needed to get you your best looking abs and midsection ever, head to http://athleanx.com and get the ATHLEAN-X Training System. Start training like an athlete and use the same program that today’s top pros and celebrities turn to when they need fast and lasting results.

Finally, if you want more videos on six pack ab workouts and exercises for your abs to get you ripped, be sure to subscribe to our channel here on youtube at http://youtube.com/user/jdcav24

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Filetype: MP4 - Size: 35.9MB - Duration: 4:11 m