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

If I could give you one tip for your ab workouts that would improve the results you see on every ab exercise you do, this would be it. I’m calling this one the ab workout “master tip” for good reason. In this video, you will see how you can instantly fix one thing about every abs exercise you do that will increase the results you see from doing the exercises and your chances of getting a visible six pack.

It starts with a quick test. Lie on your side and perform a side crunch. Make sure that you are not pulling on your neck when you do this abs and obliques exercise. After cranking out ten or so reps, look down at your body and see if you might be doing what I’m about to point out. Are you ever actually releasing the reps and letting your body elongate fully or are you crunching repeatedly from a half rep or shortened range of motion?

Likely, you are not ever going through a full concentric and eccentric contraction. You are instead, isometrically contracting your abs and obliques and just half repping your side crunches for the entire set. Now, it’s important to understand that while you are always going to be stronger in the isometric contraction of a muscle group than the concentric, that doesn’t mean that you want to train that way. Here, the isometric hold is just giving your abs a chance to be let off the hook while the rest of your body does the majority of the moving.

This is not ideal if you want to fully develop a muscle. Instead, the master tip for ab workouts requires that you take each and every ab exercise repetition through its full range of motion. It sounds like a simple concept until you start to apply it to other ab exercises and realize just how much you have not been doing this. If you ever struggle to feel the contraction in the abs, obliques or serratus when you are doing a core exercise this is likely your problem. If you stay in a contracted state you will never feel the excursion of a full rep as you take it through the concentric and eccentric contractions.

To fix this, start becoming aware of the elongation of the rectus abdominis or obliques during your ab exercises. Don’t just get into a semi-shortened muscle contraction and crank away with all kinds of movement occurring in ever area of your body but your abs. Instead, let the abs themselves do all of the work. You might find that this drastically limits the number of reps that you can do in your ab workouts and that is fine. Over time, it is going to be the accumulation of quality reps that is going to give you the results that you are seeking and the six pack abs that you’ve been wanting.

This can be applied to every single abs exercise you do, which again is why this is called the master tip. While performing a hanging abs exercise for example, you want to fully extend your body and let the abs undergo a stretch. Think of it as trying to elongate your entire spine. From here, crunch with the abs and curl your pelvis up until your butt is showing in front of you. This is a quality ab contraction and exactly what you should strive for on every rep.

For more results from every abs workout you do, head to http://athleanx.com and get the ATHLEAN-X Training System. Start training like an athlete and overlook nothing in your training. Take your gains to the next level.

For more ab workout videos and exercises for six pack abs be sure to subscribe to my channel here on youtube at http://youtube.com/user/jdcav24