Etch Amazing Abs

Q: You guys don’t seem to do many sets for abs, but yours are pretty cut and hard. I’ve watched some guys at the gym train abs for 30 minutes. I want to develop my abs as fast as possible, so shouldn’t I do more [than your short workouts]?

A: Always remember that to see your abs, you have to have low bodyfat. Anyone who pares down the midsection layer and has an overall bodyfat of around 8 percent will see abs—even without training them. That’s because the dividing lines are tendons that “strap down” the rectus abdominis muscle. They’re always there, just usually hidden by a layer of fat.

Once you’re lean, how deeply your abs are etched—the depth of where the tendons sit—is where efficient training enters the picture. You need to build some ab muscle to get deeper ruts so your abs really pop. It doesn’t take long workouts. We train on our lunch hour, so we’ve had to figure out the best ab-etching routines that don’t waste time.

We get it done with a couple of efficient sets of two or three exercises max. Our ab workouts usually take five to 10 minutes. We train the hip-roll function first, with a leg-raise exercise. Then we train the torso-curl function, with a full-range crunch.

Two of our favorite precision ab moves are incline kneeups for hip-curl function and full-range crunches for torso-curl function. Performing two sets of each of those does it. That’s the simplest of the five routines in X-traordinary Abs. Keep in mind that change ignites gains.

To repeat—and this is damn important, a fact people don’t want to believe: You will not get midsection perfection with ab exercises alone; you must reduce your bodyfat so you don’t have a layer hiding your six-pack.

—Steve Holman and
Jonathan Lawson

www.X-Rep.com

Editor’s note: The e-book X-traordinary Abs is available at X-Rep.com. Go to the X-Shop.