MF Ab Recovery Workout

by Dave DiFabio, C.S.C.S.

Getting ripped isn't that complicated. But leave it to society to cash in on making it seem so complex and unrealistic that you consider giving up on the dream entirely. First, there are the diet books that cut your meals down to just lettuce and water, and then there are the fitness magazines (note: not this one) that promise results with the same three ab exercises (two of which are usually just variations on the same ol' crunch)—if done every day for the rest of your life. Of course, there are also the TV infomercials hosted by so-called fitness gurus with bad hair and spandex claiming success with machines that, at best, give you a surface to crunch or run on, and at worst, electrocute your midsection to "melt the fat off."

We're here to say, "Stop the madness!" What each of these fads touches on but never seems to fully address is that uncovering abs is all about burning calories while preserving muscle. There are no three exercises—let alone one—that will do it alone, nor is there a diet that's balanced enough to let your abs appear without training them. And as for high-tech gadgetry, well, that's all designed to allow you to work less — whereas burning calories requires you to work more. Read on, and you'll see just how simple cutting up really is with the MF Ab Recovery Plan.

A BIGGER BURN
The major mistake most ab-seekers make is doing only ab exercises. You see, while crunches hit the abs, they don't work a whole lot of muscle overall (and therefore don't burn many calories), and that makes them only a small part of the equation you need to equal a six-pack. Unlike your arms or chest, which need to be buffed up a bit to stand out, your abdominal musculature is already distinguished (just think of how many movements you do daily that have you bending and twisting and you'll get an idea of how muscular your abs already are). You just need to shed the fat that covers them.

The workouts that follow do just that, relying on very few direct ab exercises to do it (and no crunches—gasp!). Every move you'll do is a tried and proven calorie burner that at the same time calls in a lot of support from your core to stabilize the movements done by the bigger muscles, such as those in the legs and back. (So, in that sense, you could argue that every exercise is an ab exercise.) And since the program is designed to keep rest periods between exercises very short, it'll cause your heart to race, and that increases caloric expenditure as well.

However, as a result of the fast pace, you may find it hard to use the same load for every required set on a particular exercise. Since we want you to hit all your reps and complete each set no matter what, plan to reduce the weight you're using by 5%–10% on each set. It's more important to keep up the momentum than to lift heavy.