y Mike Geary, author - The Truth about Six Pack Abs, interviewed by
Craig Ballantyne - CSCS, Men's Health Magazine Training Advisor
Below is an interview that I did with world-famous trainer and Men's
Health Magazine Training Advisor, Craig Ballantyne as he grilled me on
the top secrets for fat loss and six pack abs. Check it out...
CB: Mike, give us a brief background about yourself
MG: Sure Craig. Well, I'm currently a Certified Nutrition Specialist
and a Certified Personal Trainer. I've been dedicated to improving my
knowledge of fitness, both training techniques and nutrition aspects,
for over 15 years now, and I never stop trying to learn more each and
every day. I've also been a contributing writer for Muscle & Fitness
Hers Magazine, and I'm the author of the popular internationally-
selling book, "The Truth about Six Pack Abs" which has had tens of
thousands of readers in over 150 countries currently.
I just love helping people with this area of their lives, as not only
does it improve their outward appearance and confidence, but more
importantly, improves how they feel and their internal health, helping
them to live longer and healthier lives. It's something I'm very
passionate about.
CB: Okay, so where does the average man or woman go wrong when it
comes to training abs?
MG: Ok, most people are probably going to be surprised with this
answer. In their quest for 'six pack abs', the biggest mistake I see
people making is wasting WAY too much of their time training their abs
directly... pumping away with all kinds of different abs-specific
exercises.
I'm sure you know what I'm referring to. The person is trying so hard
to get those abs to show, that they're spending almost all of their
time in the gym with hundreds of reps of various crunches, leg raises,
twisting exercises, etc. Meanwhile, all of that wasted time directly
training the abs could have been better spent on a properly designed
full body workout program that would elicit a much better metabolic
response and increase the fat-burning hormone levels in their body as
well.
After all, losing the stomach fat that is covering the abs is the MOST
important aspect for most people to finally be able to make their abs
visible. Unfortunately, pumping away with hundreds of crunches and leg
raises does NOT cause much of a metabolic or fat burning hormonal
response. This is the main focus of my Truth about Six Pack Abs
book... full body training programs and proper nutrition to strip off
that stubborn belly fat and reveal the six pack that's hiding
underneath!
Of course it wouldn't be an abs book if I didn't focus on ab
development too, but I make sure firstly that the most important
concepts for lasting body fat reduction are understood.
CB: Do you see any gender differences in mistakes they make? And more
importantly, do you see any gender differences in the response to
various types of ab training?
MG: To be honest, I don't really see any need for men or women to
train differently. Bottom line... the best exercises are the best
exercises regardless of gender.
However, in regards to mistakes I see between genders... Yes, I tend
to see women more often are deathly afraid to use weight training with
anything but really light weights. That is a shame, because THE most
effective way to gain control over your body fat for life, is to
maximize your lean muscle that your body carries, as well as working
that muscle hard through intense resistance exercise regularly.
It's important for women to realize that regular strength training
using heavier resistance will NOT "bulk them up" (as long as caloric
intake is controlled), but rather is one of the key secrets for losing
body fat and staying lean year-round. As a matter of fact, some of the
leanest females that I've trained over the years are the ones that
aren't afraid to work hard with the weights.
I also notice that most women (and a lot of guys too) spend way too
much time with slow cardio exercise. This is simply not necessary, and
the way I combine high intensity resistance training into full body
routines provides enough of a "cardio" workout in itself usually.
We'll get back to this in a minute though.
CB: What about ol' school sit-ups? Do you use these? Are they good,
bad, or does it "depend"?
MG: Sit-ups are a controversial topic. I don't think they're good or
bad per se, but rather "in between". I didn't include them in my
program. I simply don't feel they are necessary, and I think there are
much more effective abs exercises to focus on. Personally, I almost
never do sit-ups except occasionally for a little variety every now
and then.
CB: Give us a weekly sample ab training program. How many days per
week? What are a couple of the best exercises you'd pick? How many
sets? Reps? Rest?
MG: Well, first I'd like to point out that the full body movements
that make up the majority of my programs indirectly work the abs and
the entire "core" area to a fairly decent extent. However, I do
include abs-specific exercises into the routines generally about twice
per week. The "abs-specific" portion of the workouts generally only
take about 5 minutes at most with very little rest between exercises.
Once people are past the beginning phase of gaining some initial ab
strength, I try to get them away from the exercises that are too easy,
where someone can do 50 or 100 reps, as is frequently common with
standard crunches. Instead, I like to focus on higher resistance
exercises that actually stimulate the muscle fibers to a much greater
degree. One example of a higher resistance abs exercise is hanging leg
raises with a proper "pelvic curl up".
It's funny but usually someone that has been wasting so much time with
hundreds of reps of crunches can usually only do a few solid reps when
they first attempt some of these higher resistance exercises. We also
make sure not to neglect some rotational movements, as well as some
work for the deeper muscles like the transversus abdominis.
CB: What do you use for burning fat, intervals or slow cardio? Or
both? Any gender differences here? Or differences between fitness
levels (beginner vs. advanced)?
MG: In most cases, my answer is definitely intervals... or as I like
to call it "variable intensity training". In general, I think slow
steady pace cardio is a waste of time, especially if the goal is
lasting fat loss.
I think people need to get away from this thinking about "fat burning
zones" and calories burned during the actual workout, and look at the
bigger picture of what you're doing in your workout to stimulate the
greatest metabolic response in your body... and the best metabolic and
hormonal response is achieved through variable intensity training and
strength training, not slow steady-pace cardio.
Now I will say that if someone is really deconditioned and can't
handle higher intensity exercise routines just yet, this still doesn't
mean that they can't simply use lower intensity routines, but still
use it in a "variable intensity" fashion, by alternating between
higher and lower exertion levels throughout the workout.
CB: And finally Mike, 1 or 2 of your top secret nutrition tips for
carving out those abs. Open your vault of info!
MG: Well Craig, I think you'd agree that there has never been a more
confusing time regarding proper nutrition for consumers. Every so
called "expert" out there seems to disagree and contradict each other
on what's the best way to eat for fat loss and overall good health.
One of the most important messages I try to teach my readers in this
world of heavy confusion is that your diet doesn't need to conform to
any of the fad diets... you don't need to go "low carb" or "low fat",
or high or low anything for that matter to be successful in losing
enough body fat to get lean enough to be able to see your abs. I like
to try to simplify things for my readers. I think that balance is the
key to success along with eating a diet that is made up of nutrient
dense foods in their natural state (as unprocessed as possible).
In general, it is the heavy processing of foods that makes it wreak
havoc inside our bodies. Most foods in their natural unprocessed state
are inherently good for us. Of course there are always exceptions... a
salad of poison ivy leaves is "natural and unprocessed" but certainly
would not be good for us!
I'll leave your readers with a couple of the most important aspects of
nutrition that help to get you lean for life...
1. Get enough quality protein in the daily diet - not only does it
have a higher thermic effect than carbs and fat (so you burn more
calories digesting it), but it also creates satiety so your hunger is
satisfied longer. Plus it's a building block for maintaining and
building lean muscle... And remember that the amount of lean muscle
you carry is one of the main factors for controlling your metabolism.
2. Think fiber! When it comes to carbs, make sure that almost all of
your carbohydrate intake is from higher fiber sources like vegetables,
fruits, and high fiber unrefined grains. Try to avoid refined sugars
and refined grains as that is one of the main reasons so many people
struggle with body fat. I personally don't eat many grains as I prefer
to get most of my carbs from veggies and fruits, but I do use sprouted
grain breads fairly regularly too.
I generally recommend looking for carbohydrate sources that have at
least 2-3 grams of fiber per each 10 grams of total carbs. Remember
that fiber helps fill you up and also slows down the glycemic response
of the foods you eat, all beneficial for getting lean.
3. Don't be afraid to eat fat! Many people try to go way too low on
their fat intake and this can negatively affect hormone levels in your
body as well as causing more cravings. Try to eat enough healthy fats
daily.
Good sources are all nuts and seeds, nut butters, avocados, olive oil,
organic meats and eggs, coconuts and virgin coconut oil. On that note,
saturated fats from tropical oils are VERY misunderstood, even by many
nutritionists and other health professionals. Yes they are composed
highly of saturated fats, but are actually beneficial (but that's way
beyond the scope of this article).
4. Avoid the two worst things in our food supply at ALL COSTS:
* artificial trans fats from margarines, shortening, and
hydrogenated oils that are in most processed foods and deep fried
foods
* high fructose corn syrup, which is in almost all sweetened
products on the market
Again, if you avoid processed foods, it becomes easy to avoid these
two worst offenders in our food supply.
I always contend that once you get a handle on these 4 main points of
your diet detailed above, the rest starts to take care of itself as
you gain control over your appetite, blood sugar levels, hormone
levels, etc. It all falls into place, and you eventually gain total
control over how lean you want to get.
(end of interview)
If you're sick and tired of carrying around that excess fat and
missing out on all the attention that those sexy people get with their
gorgeous abs, you need to take action and finally realize that you're
doing it all wrong!
If you don't change your ways today, you will likely end up being
pushed to the side for a sexier, trimmer alternative...don't let
yourself slide into that depressing state. Instead, get your FREE
"Insider Tips To A Lean Body" ebook from
http://trustusreviews.com/Six_Pack_Abs.html
and start getting sexy today...
Strategies You MUST Know if You Ever Want to Stand a Chance ofGetting a Flat Stomach with 6-Pack Abs 
Linear Mode
