petesclass.com
Abdominal Training for the Beginner
Weeks Pack TO START YOUR
PETE ESTABROOKS Creator of The Core and Hard Core series
Weeks Pack TO START YOUR
Abdominal Training for the Beginner PETE ESTABROOKS Calgary, Alberta
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Peter Estabrooks 1613 27 Ave SW Calgary Alberta T2T 1G7 403 244 9989 www.petesclass.com Š2005 by Peter Estabrooks All rights reserved. Printed in Canada
ISBN [0-9737393-0-4] National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data Estabrooks, Peter 6 Weeks to Start Your 6 Pack ISBN [0-9737393-0-4] [Health and fitness]
Designed by Robert Jobst
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To Kyla whose words inspire me, actions delight me, and whose brilliant nutritional advice has left my abs visible to the naked eye.
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Weeks Pack TO START YOUR
Abdominal Training for the Beginner TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements vii Introduction 1 You Are What You Eat, or Damn It All Anyway 3 Back It Up 15 Abs Over Easy 25 Integration, Not Isolation 33
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe a debt of gratitude to Kyla Zalapski for supporting and educating me in every way possible, Val Berenyi, a writing guide beyond reproach, Gary Senkowski for years of expert photography (it’s not his fault—that really is my good side), and Jay Winans for the editing skills that put a halt to all my run-on sentences except this one.
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Introduction Welcome to the wild and woolly world of abdominal training!— wild because most everyone ignores it except for six weeks prior to swimsuit season, and woolly because wool is what infomercials try to pull over your eyes when they’re selling the next “fast track to a six pack.” The truth is that unless you begin with an existing four-pack and an effective dietary regime, there is no “fast track to a six pack.” Relating abdominal training to reducing the size of your waist is like avoiding regular maintenance on your car and then trying to repair any problems that arise by fixing the road; one is not directly related to the other. From an abdominal training perspective, proper muscular function, postural enhancement, and strength development are all possible, even probable, via a sound exercise route, which is what we are offering here. To dispel common myths and mythtakes, use this as your abs primer. This is your “Cole’s Notes” for fit folks. Note: This program is intended for healthy individuals free of back pain. Exercising the deep abdominal and back muscles can strengthen and protect the back by helping to prevent injuries; however, abdominal training or any other fitness-based programs should not be attempted without the clearance of your doctor, physiotherapist, and probably your lawyer as well. If your physician has cleared you to engage in this abdominal training program then welcome to your future.
6 Weeks to Start Your 6 Pack
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You Are What You Eat, or Damn It All Anyway
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Do you really want a six-pack? The most important group of muscles and the hardest to control for abdominal definition are located just above your chin and below your nose. How you look is what you eat, not what you do. This is not a diet book, but if you want to see any indication of the stronger abdominal wall we are going to establish in the next six weeks, we have to deal with this, the toughest issue, first. Regardless of how often and how well you work out, it is what you eat that will be the number-one determinant of your health. More than likely, eating is the last thing you want to deal with while you “get in shape,� but you cannot put the cart before the horse. It is far easier to make sure that you work out hard five or six times a week than it is to eat well three or four times a day. Did I say work out five or six times a week? Yes, ultimately that is what this book is all about, getting off the couch, putting down your fork, and stepping away from the table. Realistically we do not need rest as much as we need exercise. We rest our muscles every day while sitting at a desk, in a car, on the phone, or watching television. Fighting this trend and changing your body is going to take a little pain, a little resistance, and a lot of willpower. The truth is that you should be physically active in one form or another as many days a week as you eat. As we age our metabolism slows, our muscle mass degenerates, and the frivolous food choices made in our past catch up to us. Any hope we have of proudly baring ripped bel6 Weeks to Start Your 6 Pack
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lies lies in establishing functional long-term eating habits. Now I am not saying you can’t break out of the cave once in a while and hunt down a pack of wild Oreos, but if it’s abdominal definition you’re after, closer attention to dietary detail is a necessity. It really should be no big deal—food is nothing more than fuel. Food is nourishment that allows us the energy necessary to complete our chosen day-to-day tasks. Food does not work as your friend, your counsellor, your support group, or your hobby. If food is playing any of these roles, you can and should address it, educate yourself on what works for you, and deal with it one day at a time in conjunction with an exercise program. Take the time to understand at least the basics of nutrition and you’ll take less time to realize and maintain your goals. The following is a list containing the types of meals and snacks that I eat. It may help you while you study, practice, and determine the eating habits that will keep you lean, healthy, and energetic. My dietary influence and reference is Kyla Zalapski’s Roots of Origin, a modern-day hunter/gatherer-based protocol. My advice is to contact her at groundzerobasics@msn.com or www.petesclass.com and review the information and links at sites like www.beyondvegetarianism.com to make food choices that will let your abs scream out “I am strong” six weeks from now.
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6 Weeks to Start Your 6 Pack
Meals, meals, and even more meals while you are developing your own plan BREAKFASTS • Two boiled eggs with salsa and a four- to six-ounce protein shake • Protein shake and/or one cup of ground flax and yogurt with raisins and cinnamon • Organic yogurt with ground flax and fruit (you can add protein powder to the yogurt) • Two or three poached eggs with sautéed mushrooms and red pepper • One grapefruit, Chai tea, half-cup slivered almonds with raspberries, and almond milk • Three-egg omelet with green peppers, broccoli, and onions • Organic yogurt with fresh fruit • Three scrambled eggs and a grapefruit half • Half-cup mixed nuts with raisins, cinnamon, grated apple, a pinch of raw honey, and almond milk • Four- to eight-ounce protein shake, one orange, and one plum MORNING SNACKS • One pear and a handful of almonds • One orange and/or one peach • One apple and/or one plum • Half-cup dried peaches or mango with one grapefruit • One fresh nectarine • Plum and handful macadamia nuts • Handful pecans with two dried papaya spears • Dried cherries with walnuts • Apple with cashew or almond butter
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• Pear and herbal tea • Sliced cucumbers with sea salt and cherry tomatoes LUNCHES • Baked chicken (four ounces), seasoned with thyme, sage, and Herbamare, with salad • Chicken soup with celery, green onion, and peas (may add one chopped boiled egg) • Halibut (four to six ounces) on salad with cherry tomoatoes • Leftover salad and tuna (four ounces) • Assorted raw veggies dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar with two chicken legs • Salmon (four to six ounces) and romaine lettuce with sliced avocado half • Two boiled eggs with pepper, Herbamare, and salsa on spinach salad • Thinly sliced roast beef (four ounces) wrapped in romaine lettuce leaves with Dijon mustard and/or horseradish • Sauteed hamburger (four ounces) and red onion over salad with dressing MORE SNACKS (all dried fruit should be unsulfured) • Fifteen snap peas (Mann’s) • Sunflower seeds, raisins, and dried currants • Handful of brazil nuts and dried apricots • Mixed raw veggies (Mann’s) • Homemade jerky (beef, chicken, or salmon) • Apple with almond butter • Small bunch grapes (10–20) • One cup fresh berries or fruit in season • Handful hazelnuts and mixed dried fruit
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6 Weeks to Start Your 6 Pack
• Raw radishes or three kiwi fruits • Organic fresh pickling cucumbers with sea salt and garlic DINNERS • Steamed snapper (six to eight ounces) seasoned with fresh dill and Herbamare with steamed broccoli • Organic hamburger patties (six ounces) with organic nondairy mushroom soup (soup as gravy in saucepan with hamburger) • Stir fry of two tablespoons organic sesame oil, sesame seeds, fresh green pepper, green onion, broccoli, red pepper, shrimp, bok choy, celery • Barbecued or broiled arctic char or halibut (six to eight ounces) with grilled green, red, and yellow peppers (vegetables dipped in balsamic vinegar) • Fresh tuna (six to eight ounces) with Greek salad (cucumber, romaine, red onion, olives) and dressing of garlic, olive oil, anchovies, fresh lemon juice, Herbamare, basil, and pepper • Baked turkey breast (six ounces) with steamed green beans, garlic, and pine nuts • Small baked chicken (six to eight ounces) seasoned with fresh sage, thyme, pepper, Herbamare, garlic with mixed organic greens salad • Grilled salmon steak (six to eight ounces) with grilled or steamed asparagus tips • Rack of lamb or lamb chops (four to eight ounces) with steamed spinach and kale with lemon • Roast beef (four to eight ounces) with HAIN (veggie-based) gravy and cauliflower and Brussels sprouts • Steamed artichoke, baby carrots, and roast duck (six to eight ounces)
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Where Are My Abs Anyway? The elusive six-pack is the external appearance of one of the several abdominal muscles that form a natural belt of muscle that protects the integrity of your back and allows everyday activity. This group of trunk muscles maintains your posture and enables you to bend, twist, throw, and leap your way through life with enthusiasm. Here is the entire team in order of appearance and nature of function: The rectus abdominis, a long flat band of muscle running down the front of your torso and joining your lower ribs to the bottom of your pelvis. The rectus abdominis flexes the body forward, as in a regular “crunch” movement, or pulls the hips towards the ribs as in a “reverse crunch” movement. You see a quarter at your feet, you bend to pick it up—that is the average use of the rectus abdominis. David Beckham senses a ball behind him, leaps in the air, does a classic backwards somersault movement kicking that ball, feet above his head back in the direction from which it came—that is the above-average use of the rectus abdominis. On either side of your body, the external obliques sit alongside the rectus abdominis, attaching the lower ribs to the pelvis. Acting alone they can bend your body sideways; when you are performing “I’m A Little Teapot,” your spout-side external obliques flex to “pour you out.” These muscles also rotate your trunk to the opposite side. Reach your right hand into your rear left pocket; strange as that action may seem, those are your external obliques in action.
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6 Weeks to Start Your 6 Pack
Underneath all that muscle lie the internal obliques, attaching the ribs and the pelvis to the back. Working in conjunction with their counterpart, the external obliques, these muscles bend you forward. Firing on their own they bend you sideways and can “pour you out.” The internal obliques are a trunk rotator to the side that they are on. When a for-real six-pack walks by you on your right and you spin around to your right for a second glance, those are your right internal obliques in action. Last, but certainly not least, is the transversus abdominis, the muscle group that plays a supporting role for the rest of the abdominal musculature. They work in combination with the internal obliques and the muscles of the lower back to create a corset of muscle, the only “weight belt” an exerciser should ever use. Strolling down the beach holding your belly in is you engaging the transversus abdominis. The transversus abdominis is the key to the six-pack. Correctly engaging the transversus abdominis creates stability for the pelvis and spine that in turn allows the other abdominal muscles to function correctly. Finding your transversus abdominis is the first step to putting it to work. Place your fingers a couple of inches in and one inch below your hip bones. Cough. Do you feel that tightening under your fingers? That is your transversus abdominis. Now that we know where it is, put it to work.
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The Exercises There are no photos necessary for the first two exercises that you will be adding to your program daily from now on and for the next six weeks: Put Down the Fork Earlier. 1. Only prepare as much food as you need for that meal. 2. Have a healthy snack in between meals so you don’t feel famished by lunch or dinnertime. 3. Eat slowly. Believe it or not, your hunger will be satisfied sooner and you’ll be less likely to overeat. Push away from the Table Sooner. 1. But still eat at the table—without the TV. Limiting your eating to the kitchen or dining-room table has been shown to help people eat more healthfully. 2. When you are done cooking, serve the plates in the kitchen with appropriate serving sizes. Then put any leftovers into containers and then into the fridge. It will get rid of the temptation to eat more. 3. Remember, you don’t need to go on a diet; you need to change how you eat and make it a life-changing event!
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6 Weeks to Start Your 6 Pack
The “Horse” Posture 1. Kneel on the floor on all fours, hands placed directly under you shoulders and knees directly under you hips. 2. Inhale deeply and, at the same time, let you belly drop towards the floor. 3. Keeping your spine in perfect postural position, exhale and pull your belly up to your spine. Hold it there—five to ten seconds is long enough. 4. At the end of your repetitions rest for forty-five seconds to one minute.
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The Four-Point Bridge (The Plank) 1. Start by lying face down on the floor, focusing on achieving perfect posture. Pull your shoulder blades together, tighten your abdominal muscles to pull your belly button up to your spine (use your abs; do not suck in your breath), and squeeze your gluteus (yes, your butt cheeks) tight. 2. Raise yourself onto your elbows and your toes while maintaining that perfect postural alignment. Pull in your transversus abdominis to protect your back by tightening the muscles connecting your ribcage to your pelvis to your back to avoid a “sway-back� posture and undue strain on your lower back.
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6 Weeks to Start Your 6 Pack
3. Hold yourself in position for fifteen seconds to start, and increase the amount of time in the bridge to thirty to fortyfive seconds when you feel strong enough to do so while still capable of maintaining impeccable technique. This bridge is performed from your elbows and your knees as a beginner exercise.
Beginner technique
WORKOUT WEEK #1—Every Day ■ Three ten-minute, two fifteen-minute, or
one thirty-minute brisk walk. ■ Two to three sets, ten to twelve repetitions
of exercises 1 and 2. ■ Rest for forty-five seconds to one minute
between each “set” of exercises.
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Back It Up
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Here it is, week two, seven “walks” into the program, and you may already be looking good and feeling better. It is “gutcheck” time. We’re asking more of you and expecting it. This week our six-pack primer is light on esthetics and heavy on practicality. It is about balance, not esoterically but functionally. Your posture says it all; if we concentrate on the “abs,” crunches, sit-ups, and leg extensions, we’ll be flexed forward to the max. That means tight hip flexors resulting in a pelvis pulled forward and a flat butt. Furthermore, the tight abdominals will result in the ribs pulled to pelvis, displaying a pouched belly. The head, to compensate for that double whammy, lifts the chin and reaches forward to level everything out. If you glance sideways at yourself in the mirror and you look a lot like Popeye minus the big forearms, some exercises for back extension may be required. On a practical level, this imbalance can make walking, standing, and even sitting for extended periods of time an excruciating event for many. Careful implementation of back exercises is required. Unlike the sore abdominals, a sore back can have deleterious effects on most activities, so when adding these exercises do so judiciously. Perform one set of each exercise on the first day, then two or three during future workouts if no excess back tightness or stress is perceived.
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Prone Back Extension 1. Lie face down on a mat with your arms extended overhead. 2. Keeping both arms and legs straight and extended lift your left arm straight up towards the ceiling while lifting your left leg. Contract everything on the posterior side of your body. 3. Contract and tighten everything that will assist in lifting your chest and right thigh off the floor. 4. Point your toes and tighten your calves, hamstrings, glutes as well as your upper and lower back muscles. Keep your head in line with the rest of your spine throughout the move and return to the start position. 5. Repeat with the right arm and right leg. *As an option this exercise is also effective when working opposing sides—right arm and left leg and visa versa
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6 Weeks to Start Your 6 Pack
6 Weeks to Start Your 6 Pack
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Medicine Ball/ Pillow Extension 1. Start by standing tall with perfect posture and your feet a little wider than shoulder width. 2. Stick your chest out and retract the shoulder blades while maintaining natural curves in the spine. Bend at the waist, bending at the knees and reaching the ball, pillow, or small child as far through your legs as possible maintaining perfect posture. 3. The knees will naturally bend (slightly that is) as you descend, and the shins should remain vertical. Keep the arms straight throughout the movement. 4. When doing it right, you’ll feel a “pull” in the back of your legs as your hamstrings lengthen. 5. At this point reverse the movement and drive back up to your start position. 6. Don’t allow the back to round on bending, and don’t hyperextend the spine when you stand at the top of the movement.
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6 Weeks to Start Your 6 Pack
6 Weeks to Start Your 6 Pack
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Heel-to-Ceiling Leg Lift 1. Lie on your back on a bench bent at the waist with your heels facing the ceiling. 2. Tighten your body and extend your torso, lifting your feet straight up to the ceiling. 3. A good visual is to imagine that you are balancing a glass of water on each heel and want to lift it to the ceiling without spilling water on your face. 4. Return to the start position with the utmost control. 5. Advanced participants use the same technique holding a six- to ten-pound medicine ball firmly between your feet.
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6 Weeks to Start Your 6 Pack
WORKOUT WEEK #2—Every Day ■ Three ten-minute, two fifteen-minute, or
one thirty-minute brisk walk. ■ Two sets of ten to twelve repetitions of
exercises 1 2, 3, 4, and 5. ■ Rest for forty-five seconds to one minute
between each “set” of exercises.
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Just Add Oxygen So, we’re training our abdominals every other day or three times a week or even on a “two days on/one day off” schedule, but what about those “off” days? It’s simple math and relatively common sense to realize that burning more calories than you consume is going to reduce your fat content and reveal the results of all your gut-flattening effort a lot sooner. To that end, I suggest that every day for the first two weeks of the program you walk thirty minutes. I don’t care if you do it in a sweat suit, shorts, or your Sunday best, just walk. Brisk is best; sweat is all right; too fast for extended and involved conversation is even better. More than anything, you need to be out there establishing a habit of movement. If nothing else, it’s thirty more minutes you are not snacking. Ab day or not, for the first three weeks, every day is the same: thirty minutes of walking. This is continuous consistent walking, of course. Sixty thirty-second walks to the fridge and back do not count.
One Step Further The “walk thirty minutes a day” program will suffice if you are just getting back into exercise or have no background in running. If, after your first six weeks of training/walking, you’d like to meet another challenge, you might increase the pace. I personally like running. There is no more effective method of burning calories, anywhere, anytime, without anything but your shoes, than running. There is a problem with running, however, and that is that if you have no experience, it is easy to overtrain and injure yourself. Injury means no running and probably no walking, which puts us back to square one. So here is the deal: For the first three weeks, walk every day for thirty minutes. If
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6 Weeks to Start Your 6 Pack
you hope to progress to a running program, this daily routine will build your soft tissue capability—muscles, ligaments, and tendons—by building muscular endurance and enhancing joint stability. Following three weeks of religiously walking every day for thirty minutes, you will progress to a Week 1 (every second day) Walk/Run Program. This consists of walking briskly for five minutes, followed by twelve repetitions of running for one minute alternating with walking for one minute, and then concluding with walking another five minutes to “cool down.” The speed of the run is irrelevant—this is a beginning program, and the exercise should gentle. If you have any doubts about the correct speed, you should be able to carry on a conversation while running. After the cool-down, stretch your legs thoroughly with one stretch for your quads, one stretch for your hamstrings, and a couple of stretches for your calves. The, cooldown and stretches remain the same with each run as your program progresses. Week 2 of the Run/Walk Program consists of getting out every second day with a five-minute warm-up, followed by eight repetitions of running for two minutes alternating with walking for one minute, followed by a five-minute walking cool-down and stretch. Week 6 has you running in earnest according to the following schedule. But wait! Remember this: all running times are in minutes. Five minutes of walking precedes all runs; five minutes of walking concludes all runs; and post-run stretching is required. Good sense running rules apply: any injuries incurred from overrunning, failing to stretch, or running when injured are the sole responsibility of the runner. Whining about said injuries is not permitted. 6 Weeks to Start Your 6 Pack
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Here’s the schedule:
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Mon or Tues.
Wed. or Thurs.
Sat. or Sun.
10 minutes
15 minutes
20 minutes
12 minutes
15 minutes
22 minutes
14 minutes
15 minutes
20 minutes
16 minutes
15 minutes
24 minutes
18 minutes
15 minutes
22 minutes
20 minutes
15 minutes
27 minutes
10 minutes
15 minutes
22 minutes
20 minutes
15 minutes
29 minutes
10 minutes
15 minutes
24 minutes
20 minutes
15 minutes
30 minutes
6 Weeks to Start Your 6 Pack
Abs Over Easy
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Without turning this chapter into a brain-numbing discourse on physiology, let’s talk about the makeup of your abdominal muscles. The discussion is important only to understand why we perform the “sets” and “repetitions” that we do in the program. Our abdominal muscles are comprised of two basic types of fibers: slow-twitch and fast-twitch muscle fiber. Slow-twitch fibers will not contract very fast or forcefully but have great endurance. Slow-twitch are the muscles fueled by our fat supplies with the assistance of oxygen during moderate-intensity, long-term exercise. These slow-twitch (aerobic) muscles contract efficiently, allowing for muscular endurance and the constant and repetitive movements necessary for survival. These functions include holding your organs in place, maintaining proper posture, sustaining breathing patterns, and holding your gut in whenever you pass a mirror. Slow-twitch muscle fibers are the first to be called into play when performing a given exercise. When the workout intensity is low, these may be the only motor units that are used. If the exercise is difficult and the intensity is high, as it may be when you add weight or perform a fast movement or increase the demand on your sense of balance, the slow-twitch fibers are recruited first, followed by fast-twitch. No matter what the intensity, slow-twitch muscles are recruited first and are therefore used in every exercise. The fast-twitch muscles come into play when the slow-twitch can no longer handle the load. 6 Weeks to Start Your 6 Pack
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Fast-twitch (anaerobic) muscles are used during short bursts of energy and physical activities that are predominantly anaerobic in nature, such as performing the dynamic explosive movements necessary in throwing, running, and leaping over tall buildings in a single bound. Crunches against resistance, wood chops of various types, and weighted repetitions of all abdominal exercises will require the assistance of these types of muscle fibers. The long and the short of it is that the makeup of the abdominal muscles is no different than the muscles in your legs, arms, and chest in that there are both muscle types represented. This means that the old-fashioned idea of “sets” consisting of hundreds of repetitions or “crunches” has limited value when trying to establish the wall of muscle that will soon be your abdomen. One final point: Your abdominal muscles will get stronger in response to stress (exercise, not swimsuit season). This adaptation occurs during the forty-eight hours after you exercise. Be careful; it is easy to overtrain, strain, and disappoint yourself. Training the entirety of your abdominal complex daily is a recipe for disappointment. You should no more expect to be able to do more than one to three sets of one or two beginner exercises every second day at first than you would expect to run a marathon during your first month of running.
WORKOUT WEEK #3—Every Day ■ Three ten-minute, two fifteen-minute, or one thirty-
minute brisk walk. ■ Two sets, ten to twelve repetitions of exercises 1, 2, 3, 4,
and 5. ■ Rest for forty-five seconds to one minute between each
“set” of exercises.
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A Method to Our Madness If you are training all of your abdominal muscles in one fell swoop, we have the choice starting this week of working out every day or every second day. The order is lower abs, obliques, and then upper abs. The low abdominals stabilize and maintain the integrity of the spine and pelvis, providing support during exercise, so it is best to address them first to ensure that they contribute that quality as we continue. Work your obliques second, as they contribute to that stabilization and support of the spine and pelvis in some of the exercise and movement. The upper abdominals are the strongest and most active mover in most exercises and for that reason are trained last. In a nutshell, the lower abs require the coordination and support of the upper abs to function correctly, and the obliques require similar coordination and support from the upper abs. The upper abs, obliques, and back extensors provide the active movement during exercise. Before that active movement can occur, the low abdominals have to be able to stabilize the spine and pelvis. To train the upper abs first would be to decrease their ability to support the lower abs and obliques as required. This week we are stepping up both the intensity of our workouts and your understanding of abdominal training. Our practice of abs every second day may now graduate to a daily regime. Doesn’t that fly in the face of my advice moments ago of allowing a muscle forty-eight hours for rest, recuperation, and regeneration? No, and here is why. The abdominal complex is, for the most part, made up of the specific groups we’ve identified, that is, three separate groups of muscles. Now it’s up to you: do you load them up together every second day or work lower and upper abs one day and obliques the next? It’s your call. Here is what to keep in mind. 6 Weeks to Start Your 6 Pack
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The order of exercise execution is still important. The long rectus abdominis is unique in that it can be signalled from the brain at eight different points to contract; like having a muscle with eight brains. As redundant as the following seems, I repeat myself because the order of exercise will play a role in your success. I credit Paul Chek (Scientific Core Conditioning, 1992, 1998) for teaching me the reasons for training your low abs first, your obliques second, and your upper abs last. Bottom line? Train smart, train hard, and, in this rare instance, color between the lines.
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6 Weeks to Start Your 6 Pack
Oblique Bridge 1. Lie on your side, elbow directly under your shoulder. 2. Tighten your obliques (your side) and lift your hips off the ground. 3. Keep your weight on your bottom foot and elbow. 4. Keep your ribcage high while you lower your hips half off the floor. 5. Repeat.
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Lying Oblique Dumbbell Chop 1. Lie on the floor, arms above your head in a fully extended sit-up position, holding onto a weight (medicine ball, dumbbell, heavy pillow, small child, etc.). 2. Sit up, moving your head, neck, and shoulders together and rotating your body as you lift, reaching your arms to the outside of your legs on one side. 3. Return to the start position and repeat. 4. Perform the appropriate number of reps to one side and then do the other side.
WORKOUT WEEK #4—Every Day Day 1: ■ Two fifteen-minute or one thirty-minute brisk walk. ■ Warm up seven to twelve minutes (you can use your
walk to warm up). ■ Two to three sets of twelve to fifteen repetitions of exer-
cises 1, 5, 6, and 7. Take thirty to forty-five seconds between each set of the exercises. Day 2: ■ Thirty-minute brisk walk. ■ Warm up seven to twelve minutes. ■ Two to three “sets” of twelve to fifteen repetitions of
exercises 1, 2, 3, and 4. Take thirty to forty-five seconds between each set of the exercises. Reps are not as important as technique. Can’t maintain the form? Stop. Rest, recover, and move on.
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6 Weeks to Start Your 6 Pack
6 Weeks to Start Your 6 Pack
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Integration, Not Isolation
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Try as you might, there is precious little you can do with your abdominal muscles alone. Sure, they hold your internal organs in place and sustain the back in times of stress, but where are the abs when left to function on their own. What can the abdominals do by themselves? Laundry? I think not. Brush your teeth? Put away dishes? Mow the lawn? Nope, never, not a chance. Your abdominal complex is the quintessential “everyman” of bodily movement. At their best they are an asset to everything you do standing up and even some of what goes on lying down, but that is your business. The abdominals are integrated into our walking, running, striding, lifting, carrying, and throwing movements, and it is for that very reason that we should employ as much integrated movement in our abdominal training as we can. That means that this week’s exercises are a little more active. Our goal involves more movement through a greater range of motion with proper posture and impeccable technique.
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Sit-up from a Bench, Coffee Table, or the End of Your Bed 1. Start by lying in a face-up position on a bench or box (the higher the box, the easier the exercise). 2. Hold a medicine ball or pillow extended over your head with you hips and pelvis maintaining their proper posture to the bench, table, or bed. 3. Avoiding momentum and relying on your integrating the actions of you thighs, butt, hip flexors, abdominals, back, and shoulders, initiate a sit-up pulling the object in your hands from above your head to over your chest, and then roll forward into a squat position. 4. Push through your heels and stand up, extending your object of choice overhead while maintaining perfect posture. 5. Sit down and return to the start position.
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6 Weeks to Start Your 6 Pack
6 Weeks to Start Your 6 Pack
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Squat Power Toss 1. Insure that you have room to move without injuring yourself. 2. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and with perfect posture holding onto a medicine ball or pillow. 3. Drop into a squat position where your knees and butt are about the same distance off the floor, maintaining your back posture and reaching your ball or pillow down to the floor. 4. Drive off the floor jumping as high as you can, reaching your ball or pillow high above your head.
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6 Weeks to Start Your 6 Pack
5. At the apex of each jump, hinge or bend slightly at your hips and throw your ball or pillow hard onto the floor. 6. Collect your toy and repeat. Workouts are tougher now and take a little more time. (We didn’t say this was going to be easy.)
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WORKOUT WEEK #5—Every Second Day ■ Two fifteen-minute or one thirty-minute brisk walk—the
walking is every day! ■ Warm up seven to twelve minutes (you can use your
walk to warm up). ■ One to two sets of eight to twelve repetitions of exercis-
es 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7. One set of fifteen repetitions of exercises 8 and 9. Take thirty to forty-five seconds between each set of the exercises. Reps are not as important as technique. Can’t maintain the form? Stop. Rest, recover, and move on.
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6 Weeks to Start Your 6 Pack
WORKOUT WEEK #6 Day 1: ■ Thirty-minute brisk walk. ■ Warm up seven to twelve minutes (you can use your
walk to warm up). ■ Two sets of twelve to fifteen repetitions of exercises 1, 5,
6, 7, and 8. ■ Take thirty to forty-five seconds between each set of the
exercises. Reps are not as important as technique. Can’t maintain the form? Stop. Rest, recover, and move on. Day 2: ■ Thirty-minute brisk walk. ■ Warm up seven to twelve minutes. ■ Two sets of twelve to fifteen repetitions of exercises 1, 2,
3, 4, and 9. ■ Take thirty to forty-five seconds between each set of the
exercises. Reps are not as important as technique. Can’t maintain the form? Stop. Rest, recover, and move on.
6 Weeks to Start Your 6 Pack
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There you have it—four chapters and six weeks closer to a stronger, more functional abdominal section. This is a development program, and you are officially, after this program, a work in progress. Stick with Workout Week #6, complete with thirty minutes of brisk walking daily for another six weeks, and then it is a matter of adding/substituting new exercises into your existing “Set and Repetition structure.” My Web site www.petesclass.com has a variety of exercises available from which you would grab two “Lower ab” exercises, three to four “Oblique” exercises, and two “Upper ab” exercises. Work your “Upper” and “Lower” abs one day and your “Obliques” the next, and then take a day off abdominal training. Keep up the daily brisk walking or another cardiovascular program for thirty minutes each and every day, taking off Wednesday and Sunday, if you wish. Thanks for joining me on this journey, and visit me at www.petesclass.com whenever you want to update your workout and eating programs or just let me know how your fitness quest is unfolding. Cheers, and see you on the path someday soon. PETE
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6 Weeks to Start Your 6 Pack
CONCEIVED BY
Weeks Pack TO START YOUR
“Pete is a trainer for ‘real’ people. His workouts are varied and challenging—no slacking off and perfect technique demanded. They provide the benefits I seek through fitness—great arms, great abs, and, most importantly, renewed sanity! The workouts provide a perfect balance of intensity and enjoyment—humor being an important, subtle component. Working with Pete constantly inspires me to be fitter and stronger.”
Peter Estabrooks B.P.E. 25 years of real fitness, real-life exercise expression
APPROVED BY
ALANA KITCHEN
“We started working out with Pete to train for a race. What we got was so much more—lean and efficient bodies, rock hard abs, workouts we actually enjoyed, and the chance to reach a surprising level of fitness. We came to realize that we had not just trained to run a good race but learned a new way to excercise that keeps us coming back for more!”
Paul Estabrooks Ph.D., Research Scientist, Clinical Research Unit Kaiser Permanente-Colorado
PRACTICED BY
MARCY R. AND HEILA L.
Check out
Petesclass.com for other books and videos by Pete Estabrooks
Kyla Zalapski B.A. Registered Holistic Nutritionist specializing in functional health and fitness