If you want to have a flat stomach or 6-pack abs, you never have to do
another crunch or sit-up ever again.
In fact, the truth about abdominal crunches is that they are useless,
ineffective, and even damaging to your spine. The latter fact is covered in
great detail by Dr. Stuart McGill in his book, "Ultimate Low Back Fitness &
Performance". His research will shock you (and the scare the bejesus out of
you) if you are one of those gym-rats who spends 30 minutes on abdominal
crunching type movements.
I found out crunches are useless the hard way, spending ten minutes per day
on crunches back in my 3rd year of University, but to no avail. They didn't
do anything for my abs.
That year I stumbled across interval training and total body abdominal
exercises. Finally, it was these training secrets that helped me change my
torso from regular fit college-aged male into cover-model six-pack abs
worthy.
We've talked about interval training before here at THB, so let's focus on
the total body abdominal exercises to help you build a better looking torso
without doing so at the expense of your low back health.
For beginners, the 3 exercises you must master are called, "The Plank", "The
Side Plank", and "The Bird Dog". Now I'll be honest, these aren't the most
exciting moves in the world, but they will put you on the track to flatter
abs and a healthier low back.
For intermediate fitness and strength, you can graduate to exercises such as
Mountain Climbers, Plank with your Forearms on the Ball, and Stability Ball
Jackknives. There are also at least a half-dozen advanced pushup exercises
that will work your abs as well as crunches ever could!
Finally, if you are advanced, some of my favorite abdominal exercises
include, Cross-Body Mountain Climbers, Chin-ups with Knee-Ups, and Stability
Ball Rollouts.
Here's to the new era of CRUNCH-FREE abdominal workouts.
About the Author
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training For Abs workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTrainingForAbs.com
