Nashville Personal Trainer

Alright so in the last email we talked about developing a lower body that can cracked the sidewalk when stroll down the street and get you friend requests from Channing Tatum.

It's time to go up under shirt and do some construction on those ABS.

Ooohh you like the sound of that huh?

Something that many people don't like the sound of is me telling them to focus on fat loss more for a flatter midsection than doing a ton of crunches.

I'm all about getting fat loss from your diet and using exercise to mainly shape your body.

I'll go into more detail in the next installment, but the focus for your summer body should be 85% diet and 15% exercise. It's the best way.

Now does that me you're not to train abs? ABSolutely not.

Let's look at some of the best options for building bullet proof abs.

Crunches and situps are not the answer.

Neither is doing 5 minute planks.

We need to things that make for a strong, powerful core. We need to train it in its entirety.

In virtually every exercise you do- be it squats, pushups, or hip thrusts- if you have your abs braced and your butt clenched as you should, then you are hitting your core.

But to fill in the gaps and hit them directly, perform the following moves:

#1 Pallof Press

This is a favorite of mine that's performed in some way with all my clients.

What you're gonna do is grab the cable machine or attach a resistance band to a pole.

Take the free end of the band or handle of the cable with both hands and walk out until you have tight resistance.

While keeping your torso and hips straight, press the band out in front of your chest until your arms are locked out.

The key is to fight resistance of the band or cable and keep your hands directly in front of your chest.

Do about 10-20 presses each side 2-3x

#2 RKC Plank

The RKC plank is the plank done RIGHT.

Simply get into normal plank position and do two things: tug your elbows in towards your stomach and squeeze your butt as hard as you can.

Try to hold this position while squeezing the glutes and pulling the arms in for about 20 seconds at a time. Perform 2-3 sets.

#3 Hollow Rock

This is simple move that'll challenge like no other.

It's a staple in many gymnasts training.

All you do is lie on your back with your legs straight out and your arms extended out over your head.

From this position, slightly raise your legs and arms off of the floor while keeping your lower back press into the floor. Don't raise too high. If this is too difficult, bend your knees in a little.

You're going to hold this position for about 15-30 secs for 2-3 sets. To turn it up a notch, try rocking forward and back without your shoulders and feet touching the ground.

#4 Hanging Leg Raises

Hanging leg raises are bad ass.

If you don't have anything to hang from or if you just aren't strong enough to perform them, you can easily perform lying leg raises on your back or reverse crunches.

Which ever variation you pick, do about 5 sets of 10-15 reps.

Start off with your knees bent and work your way up to straight legs.

So there you go- some of the best abdominal exercises to use for your abs.

You don't need a million different exercises or to perform a ton of reps.

If have your nutrition set on fat loss and perform the moves I advocated above, your abs should develop easily.

Live easy,

-Rickey Taylor