Forget about ‘8 minute abs’, the ‘Ab Roller’ or any other gimmicky product that you’ve caught yourself watching on late night television, promising you a six pack within a 30-day period, “or your money back”. The truth is, you could do thousands of sit-ups and crunches a day and still not see the amazing results guaranteed to you by paid programming’s latest “secret” to six-pack abs. Doing abdominal work in isolation simply won’t help you to shed the fat necessary to allow your core muscles to shine through. The quickest way to washboard abs town requires some hard work and a lot of sweat (words seldom mentioned when they are throwing in a ‘bonus’ DVD to the first 200 callers – and of course, separate shipping handling applies). High intensity, full body work outs will absolutely whip you and your abs into better shape than any gadget can that you can buy on TV.
The MMAXOUT program combines plyometrics, kickboxing, kettlebell training, strength, conditioning and explosive interval training for a workout that is sure to make you feel the burn. Abdominal muscles work to stabilize and support the body with almost every single Mmaxout movement: squats, burpees, pushups, punch combinations, round house kicks, pull-ups, etc. These movement patterns place greater emphasis on the abs working in concert with the rest of the body and will result in stronger abdominal muscles. The MMAXOUT principle is based on the idea that you do an exercise until it burns so badly that you don’t think you can do anymore and then you do a couple more, “maxing out” that muscle group. It’s those couple extra repetitions in “mmaxout mode” that really define the abdominal muscles.
Below are a couple exercises that, in conjunction with a high intensity MMAXOUT workout, will quickly burn stomach fat and build abdominal muscles, making “washboard abs” a reality.
Burpee
- Begin in a standing position.
- Drop into a squat position with your hands on the ground.
- Kick your feet back while dropping your hips to the floor
- Return your feet to the squat position while straightening your arms.
- Leap up as high as possible from the squat position with your arms overhead
Benefits:
The burpee is one exercise that really gets the heart rate going, boosts your metabolism and burns loads more stomach fat than any ab-roller gadget ever will. It effectively engages your arms, legs, chest and abs all in one exercise.
Windshield wipers
- Lie on back with a heavy straight bar (add weights if you can) and press the bar up as if you were bench pressing it
- Focus on keeping your arms steady while tightening your abs up and lifting you heels from the ground. Slowly lift your legs vertically, keeping them straight, and guide your toes toward and out passed your right hand, so your body is twisted with your back down but your feet up in the air and off to the side together. Hold this for 2-3 seconds while flexing your abs to make it really worth it.
- Next, begin lowering back down but don’t let your heels hit the ground so your body is straight again. This is the midpoint. Make sure your hands or arms aren’t weakening
- Repeat the second step but lift your legs to the left, up and passed your left hand. Hold again and flex. Slowly lower your legs again to the straight position. That’s one windshield wiper.
Benefits:
This is an incredible exercise for those difficult lower abdominal muscles. The lower body twist works wonders while you stabilize yourself with heavy weights. Also a great arm an should exercise.
Figure-8 with a kettlebell
- Stand with your feet a little more than shoulder-width apart.
- Hold one kettlebell, lean forward and bend over, keeping your back comfortably straight.
- Pass the kettlebell in between your legs, from one hand to the other to form an “8” around your legs.
- This focuses on your oblique muscles. Perform this exercise for as many repetitions (one complete pass from one hand to the other) as you can
Benefits:
This move works on activating the stabilizer muscles of the core while also challenging your balance and coordination.