Abs-olutely
Posted on 11th February 2022 at 15:59
so solid ab crew
I’m 40 Years Old, I have a receding hair line, I’m currently about 6kg overweight, I still make immature jokes from time to time, and I spend most of my days in a small private gym with just a dog for company.
In short, apart from my loving marriage, amazing kids, job I love and the fantastic clients I get to work with, I really don’t have a lot going for me, apart from my abs that is.
This picture was taken today, my six pack is a long way off summer ready, but it’s still there, and I can still post pics of myself topless publicly without embarrassment #personaltrainerhull. Aside from press ups and pull ups and a lot of millage of running each week, I haven’t touched a dumbbell in anger for a while, so I can only put my abs down to the years of hard work I’ve put in still paying off.
If you’d like to strengthen your midsection game then you’re in the right place, I’m going to share some tips on solid abs training in this article, but first I need to make two points which I hope will be immediately obvious.
1. Everyone has a decent set of abs, they can be developed with exercise, but the only way to reveal them is to lose fat from your tummy area.
2. If a person only ever did Ab training, their midriff would still be unimpressive, the biggest gains for your core come from working against resistance with squats, pushes and pulls of all types.
Now we’ve cleared that up, here are a few basic test you can try to see how your ab game is right now..
Plank Test
Set up
Resting on your forearms with your elbows directly underneath your shoulders, lift your hips up and straighten out your legs, now tense your glutes so that your whole body is in a straight line. If you feel this in your lower back then chances are your hips are either too low, or your pelvis is tilting too much at the back (like pointing your backside towards your head).
Ideally, you’ll feel this in the lower abs, once you’re in position start the timer.
Results
Above six minutes, excellent, get a life.
Four to six minutes, good.
Two to four minutes, above average
One to two minutes average
Less than one minutes, needs improvement.
The record for a plank hold is nine hours and thirty minutes and one second, by someone with a huge tolerance for boredom.
Progress comes quick with this test the more often you do it.
Straight leg sit up test
Most upper ab work requires anchoring (placing your feet under an object so that your hips are stabilized), the straight leg sit up test is a measure of how well you can perform a sit up using only your abdominal muscles.
To perform it correctly the legs need to be completely locked out so that the hip flexor muscles don’t get involved.
Next sit up without any assistance or momentum from the arms, for this reason it should be done at a controlled pace.
The test here is just to see if you can do it, if you can, a virtual high five chest bump is on its way to your right now. Now try seeing how many you can do.
If not, don’t worry, try the exercises in this article and then re-test in a few weeks.
Sit up Bleep Test
To gain access into the military there are various test you need to undertake, to pass entry into the Army you must forgo any washing or cleaning for a few months, be sure to spill lots of food all over your clothing, and walk with a slouch, a pot belly will get you extra credit with any potential Army recruitment soldier. Be the best.
For the RAF you must be willing to sleep in some of the best five star hotels in the World, the arduous training exercise will see you sip cocktails after a fine dining experience of roast quail and pheasant, followed by various canapes and tantalizing desserts.
The Navy is particularly tough, Jack is expected to be able to handle several shots of rum before breakfast and then proceed throughout the day on a diet of mostly beer, gin and red bull and double vodkas.
The Marines is possibly the easiest, we just have to Yomp thirty miles in a selected time, run nine miles through a wet muddy assault course, fly through a high obstacle course and shoot accurately at the end of it all. The only thing we have to fall back on are our good lucks and brains.
But to even get a foot in the door of the Marines, you must pass various fitness test, one of which, is a bleep sit up test.
It’s very simple, to help standardise the test so that everybody does it the same you must start with feet anchored, lying on your back with elbows resting on the floor, to the beeps you then come up and bring your elbows to your knees.
You can access the test on this link.
The test takes fiveminutes total, max score is 100.
Below is me performing it.
Results
Above thirty-five is great
Average is twenty to thirty four
Less than twenty and you could do with trying to improve
Less than ten and your fit enough to join the Army.
Working dem sweet Abs
The six pack is really one sheet of muscle, but with various exercises we can target either the upper or lower part, we can also work the obliques on the side, and the core as a whole.
Upper abs Beginners
Upper abs advanced
Lower abs beginners.
Lower abs advanced
Want more?
I can provide vids, articles and a plethora of info on abs work, core work, more advanced exercises etc, just let me know what you want. The above vids are just a little taster of some things you can try in your own living room, contact me if you'd like me to take this further and set some more challenges/ workouts.
Alternatively come to my little but beautfiul Personal Training Studio in Hull and we can go through some of this stuff togeher.
Till then keep fighting the good fight.
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