3 Steps to Get Visible Abs in Just 3 Hours a Month

Ask people about their ideal body and many will say, “I want to see my abs!” Well, believe it or not, getting a flat belly and even the ever-elusive 6-pack is actually straightforward if you follow the right advice.

While I suggest that my listeners and fans take a long-term approach to health, body composition, nutrition, and fitness, short-term goals like getting defined abs are a key part of the journey for many folks. This guest post from Tyler Bramlett of GarageWarrior.com will get you on your way to getting a flat belly just in time for swimsuit season.

Cheers,

Abel

Hi, I’m Tyler and I’m going share the exact exercises and methods that I personally use on my clients to help them build abs that look as good as they perform. And it only takes 3 hours a month!

There are 3 main pillars to building a flat stomach. The first is nutrition, the second is cardiovascular exercise and the third is your abdominal exercises.

Pillar #1 – Nutrition

Fat-burning nutrition is straightforward, but it accounts for 80% of your fat loss results! Since you are reading this on Abel’s site I know you are in good hands when it comes to nutrition, but let’s cover the basics in case you need a refresher.

• Eat high quality wild foods (meat, eggs, fish, nuts, seeds, veggies, fruit etc.)
• Listen to your body (or test) to determine your individual food sensitivities, intolerances, and allergies
• Find your ideal macronutrient ratio that suits your body, your metabolism, and your goals. For fat loss, this generally means high-fat, moderate protein, and low-carb.

Keep it simple and keep it consistent!!

Pillar #2 – Cardiovascular Exercise

Cardio is a VERY MISUNDERSTOOD component of effective fat loss. It’s important to note that if you haven’t mastered pillar #1, then take a step back and focus on your diet first. It’s that important.

Now, hopping on a cardio machine for 30-60 minutes a day is NOT an effective way to lose fat. Read my case study as to why conventional cardio is ineffective.

What if I told you that you could get increased fat loss in much less time?

Let’s talk about interval training.

As interval training, or metabolic conditioning, goes mainstream, fitness marketers are complicating the process saying you need this or that piece of equipment to get the best fat loss results. But burning fat with interval training is actually straightforward, and I’m going to share a 100% free way and my personal favorite piece of cardio equipment (which only costs $5) to get awesome results as quickly as possible.

First up is sprinting. Instead of hitting the pavement for an extended jog of 30-60 minutes, set out to do 5-10 high-intensity sprints of 40-100 meters. That’s it!

A sprint session 2 times a week will send your metabolism into overdrive, increase your performance, and improve your cardiovascular system.

If you’re not already in decent shape, it’s important to start slowly increase your speed and intensity over a few weeks.

Now, my favorite piece of cardio equipment is the good old-fashioned jump rope. It’s cheap, it’s portable, and it gets you a killer workout quickly and easily.

Try skipping rope for 30 seconds on and 15 seconds off for 5-15 rounds. Shoot for a workout that lasts 4-12 minutes.

Perform 2 cardio workouts a week using one of the recommendations above and you will be burning off stubborn belly fat and on your way to revealing your flat stomach!

But there’s one more step to getting killer abs… They need to be balanced, strong, and toned. Here’s how you can get there…

Pillar #3 – The BEST Way To Train Your Abs

I once believed in the old paradigm that more is better. This is how most ab training programs are set-up in “conventional fitness” circles. If you can do 50 crunches you might as well do 100, right?

Wrong.

The most effective way to get defined, toned abs isn’t to add more and more reps your exercises, it’s to increase the difficulty of the exercise (known as a movement progression).

Here are the 3 main components of an effective ab training program:

• Train your abs 2-4 times per week (before your cardio or during a resistance training session)
• Start with the first exercise below and aim for the prescribed sets and reps
• Once you are able to complete prescribed sets and reps for this exercise move to the next exercise

Exercise #1 – Lying Alternating Leg Raise

Lie down on your back with your feet toward the sky. Press your lower back into the ground as you squeeze your abs. Inhale and lower one leg toward the ground without letting you

When should you move onto the next exercise? When you can do 4 sets of 20 total reps resting about 60 seconds between each set.

Exercise #2 – Lying Leg Raise

Lie down on your back with your feet toward the sky and press your lower back into the ground as you squeeze your abs. Inhale and lower both legs toward the ground without letting your back come off the ground. Bring your legs back up and repeat with control.

When should you move onto the next exercise? When you can do 4 sets of 20 total reps resting about 60 seconds between each set.

Exercise #3 – Active Lying Leg Raise

Lie down on your back with your feet toward the sky holding a 15-30lb weight overhead. Press your lower back into the ground as you squeeze your abs. Inhale and lower both legs towards the ground without letting your back come off the ground. Bring your legs back up and repeat with control.

When should you move onto the next exercise? When you can do 4 sets of 20 total reps resting about 60 seconds between each set.

Exercise #4 – Hanging Knee Raise

Grasp a pullup bar and begin by sucking your shoulders down into their sockets. Keep your shoulders packed like this for the entire movement. Now lift your knees as high as you can under control then slowly lower them, and repeat.

When should you move onto the next exercise? When you can do 4 sets of 15 total reps resting about 60 seconds between each set.

Exercise #5 – Hanging Knees To Elbows

Grasp a pullup bar and begin by sucking your shoulders down into their sockets. Keep your shoulders packed like this for the entire movement. Now lift your knees up as high as you can and simultaneously (without bending your elbows) pull your hands toward the ground. When your knees touch your elbows return to the bottom under control and repeat.

When should you move onto the next exercise? When you can do 4 sets of 15 total reps resting about 60 seconds between each set.

Exercise #6 – Hanging Toes To Bar (With Momentum)

Grasp a pullup bar and begin by sucking your shoulders down into their sockets. Keep your shoulders packed like this for the entire movement. Keeping your legs locked, explosively lift your legs aiming to touch your feet to the bar and simultaneously (without bending your elbows) pull your hands toward the ground. When your toes touch the bar, return to the bottom under control and repeat.

When should you move onto the next exercise? When you can do 4 sets of 10 total reps resting about 60 seconds between each set.

Exercise #7 – Hanging Toes To Bar (Slow And Controlled)
***NOTE: Same As Picture Above

Grasp a pullup bar and begin by sucking your shoulders down into their sockets. Keep your shoulders packed like this for the entire movement. Keeping your legs locked, slowly lift your legs aiming to touch your feet to the bar and simultaneously (without bending your elbows) pull your hands toward the ground. When your toes touch the bar, return to the bottom under control and repeat.

When should you move onto the next exercise? When you can do 4 sets of 10 total reps resting about 60 seconds between each set.

There you have it! The 3 key steps to getting defined abs. This process may seem simple, but it works as long as you follow this last piece of advice…

Be consistent!! Consistent with your nutrition, consistent with your cardio exercises and be consistent with your functional ab training. The good news is that both exercise programs shouldn’t take more then 3 hours TOTAL per month!

So what are you waiting for? Let’s do this!

Now get out there and eat right, burn some fat with intense cardio training, follow one of the 7 ab exercises listed above and get awesome abs that look as good as they perform!

Tyler Bramlett is a functional training and health expert from Santa Cruz ,California. He has learned from and trained with some of the top fitness professionals, strength athletes and physical therapists in the US and now spends his time spreading his message of building Strength and Health in order to “look good naked” and live the life of your dreams. You can find out more about Tyler by visiting his webpage at GarageWarrior.com