How to get a six pack, guaranteed!

If I started blooging for any other reason then initially intended, it would be to see how many hits my blog can get with silly headlines like the above. Im going to spoil this post and tell you that the only way to get the six pack is to remove the frosty one in your fridge.

Picture this: You're on your way to a nice relaxing afternoon with friends. Youre sitting at the red light, and the driver behind sees the red light too late and bumps into you. Nothing too drastic, but the force was enough to put your body in a violent "crunch" motion, leaving you with some trauma to your spine. Exactly what you needed. The 100 crunches at the end of all workouts have caused your muscles to fail when you needed them the most. Or have they? After all you have been training them to do just that. 

Although our muscles differ genetically, the make up of our body remains mostly the same. Im going to go out on a limb and say that you and I both have 'magazine abdominals'. Assuming your body fat percentage is low enough to reveal it. Crazy, I know.

A six pack is made in the Kitchen and you should be more concerned of how your abdominals work with your shirt on. 

When you talk about your six pack, you are referring to the Rectus Abdomninis (RA). All muscles of the abdominal wall have a connection the the RA, make an effort to think about the abdominal wall as a whole. In the majority of any of our everyday movements, we rely on our core musculature to stabilize our spine. Not flex (crunch) but to isometrically stabilize your spine. Stuart McGill (backfitpro.com), a professor of spine biomechanics is one of a few fortunate people who operates a lab that can measure "core" stability. McGill states thats the muscles forming the core must be balanced to allow the spine to bear large loads. If you concentrate on strengthening only one set of muscles within the core, you can destabilize your spine by pulling it out of alignment. 

Tough guys love to hear this, but Yoga and Pilates are both forms of exercise that serve at least the general population very well. If you want the best for both your health and your workouts, try to get into the "stabilizing" mindset. Your ab workouts should focus on all muscles that girdle the spine. 

Below is an example of a core stabilization exercise. Keep in mind that these exercises should under no circumstances be performed without the supervision of a health professional. 

As my friend would say: Keep your diet clean and your workouts dirty.

What is 'Fitness'?

I don’t know. But rest assured that none of the so-called experts know either. At least for now, it’s a term so generalized in its definition (Webster) that I can hardly apply it to myself, let alone my clients. What is your definition of fitness?

For me from a trainer standpoint, Fitness represents a lifelong chase. A never-ending cycle of studies, unanswered questions, theories and mythologies to explore, documents and tests to observe, and training to be done. It’s become my lifestyle not only in that I make my living from it, but also in that I continue the “chase” every minute of my free time. Since day one of my entry into the glorious fitness industry I have been logging things in a book. Not just a diary or a workout log, but a collection of things that I noted over the years. Things that have sparked my interest, really pissed me off, or just simply things I wanted to learn to become a better trainer. And since publishing a book doesn’t appear on my bucket list for another twenty years, I decided to blog about it. This is a collection of a thing or two that I know about the industry, observations I have made about training methods, some dietary tips and tricks, and even product reviews. This is the documentation of my chase.

Who this blog is for?

My family, the ones whose health is the most important to me who rarely get a chance to learn from me as a trainer. My friends, the ones I block out at a get together when asked on how to get the lady magnet guns, or how to lose the ten pounds of baby/beer weight. My clients, for spreading the word! My facebook friends (big difference), because for now, status updates are about hangovers instead of cholesterol levels. My girlfriend, for she acts as Pinky when I play Brain and talk about how I’m changing at least the fitness the world forever. And anyone else who would like an unbiased opinion on all things 'Fitness'. If at any point you feel like I’m talking about you, it’s because I am.