Will endless sit-ups equal tight, sexy abs? Oh, absolutely, 100% for sure!!  What if I was an amazing champion at sit-ups, I should have the leanest, greatest abs ever! Right? Right?!?

Take a walk into any gym in America and you will see people doing a trillion crunches trying to find these abs… Without success.

Yet the sit-ups, this highly sought after, elusive six-pack is one of the foundations upon which this fitness industry was born!






Well, I hate to say it, but having a six-pack is not a  good judge of actual health.

I see so many programs that promise a six-pack abs in 4 weeks, or, the 10 secret moves to give you a six-pack, six-pack in a bottle of pills, six-pack in an ancient secret passed down through Chinese scrolls…

But if we go back to our friend with the unfashionable socks over there on the left, you see he does NOT have that six-pack even after doing 45,005 sit ups.  If that is not enough, then what does it take??  Here’s some strategies that you see today that usually work to get the six-pack ab look:

Take amphetamines, speed, crack  and party like a rock star.

Hopefully these uppers will supersede your bodies organic instinct to sleep and you will be able to remain active for loooong periods of time and dance the night away, exercise, burning abundant calories — all courtesy of your increased activity and super-boosted metabolism (however, if you start talking like a certain squeaky duck you might want to reduce the amount you are taking).

Take a look at all those models with their six-packs, showing them off every chance they get (of course, I can’t not mention the sunken in, dark eyeballs, the super jaundiced liver indicate they are extremely dehydrated and are going into a serious enough liver shutdown – but who am I to place  judgment??  These people want their sexy six-pack  no matter the cost!)

Diet pills:  pop ‘em like sweet tarts

They can  and will increase your metabolism, but that’s at a cost.  They also dehydrate your body, accelerate your livers capacity to convert fat to energy, cause you to crap a lot more,  and the mother of all, it ends all desire to eat.  This recipe of course  is an absolute combination to help you accomplish the dramatic body change – as long as you do it forever… the  moment you stop, your internal functions that are used to having a substance do the job for them will be asking for payback…probably for a long time. So whatever you’ve decided to go with, get a lifetime supply and hope your precious liver, heart and intestines manages to keep from spontaneously combusting.

Start the endless calorie counting…and hope for the best

Calorie counting does not equal lost weight. The awful truth is that we each respond differently to different foods and need to work with different calorie intake combination. Too few calories, your bodies metabolism will slow down. Work with a professional like myself to help assess your needs so you can have the healthiest outcome.

My favorite: do what the movie stars are doing

Movie stars hire their own personal trainers…no, forget  that, they hire teams. They spend time sleeping right, working hard, eating properly, hiding out and sharply focused on doing everything they can to look good  for their upcoming movie role.

For his incredible part in the “Troy”, the big blockbuster, Brad Pitt spent a ridiculous 5 hours a day for period of 7 months working out hard-core.

My question to you is:  how good do you think you would look if you (were able) to put forth the same effort?  Let’s not forget that they also have contracts and publicity events that they have to think about.  Also, there’s the money.   What if you were paid $20 million to workout and look perfect?

A few things to remember the next time you train your abs:

There. I said it. No doubt a six-pack looks pretty darn nice, but there are many other gauges of health we should focus on other than what we look like in the mirror (think about the mental/emotional/acceptance of self analysis… anyone?)

I’ve seen women drive their natural body rhythm into the ground in an attempt to get a six-pack at the price of not being able to have kids.  Some men get the fat suctioned off their belly without really stopping to question how it got there or what will they do to prevent it from coming back.

As a personal trainer, it’s my job to help clients get/maintain their body fat at a healthy level.   What do YOU think is an optimal measure of health?

So you want know if you can do abs everyday, do you? No one ever asks if they can train back everyday or calves? Actually, I’d think they were crazy if they did. Okay, here’s my answer…

There are three primary types of core training:

1. stability; 2. strength; 3. power

Most of us will generally only train for stability and strength. My philosophy is that you can perform core stability exercises most days of the week. These are planks, bridges, balance exercises, and isometric holds.

You should not perform core strength exercises everyday, so no crunching, leg lifting, twist moves. We have to remember that muscle needs rest to grow, its recommended to get at least 24 hours of rest before training the same muscle group…this includes abs.

In an earlier poll, you guys said that abs were your least favorite to exercise, so how come you want to know if you can train them everyday? Don’t get it…

Oh!?…You wanted me to say you don’t have to, got it!

If you have read a fitness magazine, watched a workout DVD, trained with a personal trainer, or taken a group exercise class over the past few years you may have performed the, The Draw-In Maneuver.

This technique is also referred to with phrases such as, “suck/draw your belly button in towards your spine”. Last night as I bossed my clients around, pushing and poking at their abs to make sure they were nice and tight, I told one to make sure her belly-button was pulled in, nice and tight. She glanced my way before seriously asking me if she was sucking hers the right way….

Drawing in your stomach activates your deep internal core muscles: transverse abdominis, internal oblique’s and pelvic floor muscles.

Think of your transverse abs an internal girdle—when engaged, it tightens, giving you support around your trunk. Obviously when tightened, the muscles are being trained to be stronger and more defined. This drawing in also helps to provide stability to the spine while you are pushing, pressing, squatting, lunging, and rotating.

When the core muscles are involved, the movements of your limbs will be more efficient, making your lifts and exercising more effective. It helps us protect our lower back from strain and injuries.

How do you do this? Pretend you are putting on a pair of TIGHT jeans, suck in your lower abdomen as though you need to zip up the zipper. That works for the ladies, so men, run out right now and buy a pair of super tight jeans so you can do it too! Or pretend you are walking by that sexy woman in her tight jeans and suck in your gut as far as you can. And YES, we know you are sucking in your big gut when you walk by.

When should you do this? As often as possible. It will take perfect practice to do this correctly and be able to hold it for the length of one entire rep, or even 20 seconds at a time.

So my friends, if you don’t already suck, start sucking now.

I need to tell you something. You may never have a six-pack. Or maybe more accurately, a visible six-pack. And I mean you could work your ass off, eat a real healthy diet, and still never get one. I mean, you might, but again, you.might.not.

Are you MAD now? Is that awful to say?

However, I really do believe it. It’s like trainer blasphemy. But I run my business(es) on two principles: integrity and results. If I can’t provide them, I let the client know. Everyone is different, and responds in different ways to different things. And sometimes we spend our lives chasing the impossible, and make our happiness contingent on something that isn’t going to be real for us. And in doing so, we sometimes miss what is right in front of us. See Dorothy? You could have gone home at any time, you just had to click your heels. Now, aren’t you pissed that Glinda didn’t tell you that in the first place and instead you had to dick around for a whole movie with wild animals and people made out of tin and flying monkeys?

So I picked the six-pack to deliver this inspiring message for two reasons: One, it is something many, many people express a desire to get, and two, I remembered something I read a while back. It was a feature on personal trainers, and one of them was a body builder. The interviewer asked what he tells people who want a six-pack. His answer? “I tell them it is exercise and genetics.”

Some people could probably have a six-pack but don’t do the exercise / nutrition work to find out. Others could have one but are doing the exercises and eating things that won’t yield them results. Others hold fat around their middle primarily, and it’s the first to come back and the last to go with any lifestyle changes. And still others might be able to see the pack, but the steps required for them to get that low body fat might be shitty for their overall health now. Some had it when they were younger and now it’s harder to see. Others have a super low body fat percentage but just don’t get very visible tone. Think of some of the skinny people you know who don’t have one. Now, you still think it is all just crunches and weight loss?

We are all snowflakes, no, not white, we are all different.