Hi guys, I wanted to update and let you know about this new six pack abs forum which has just opened. I signed up a few days ago and have found it to be very useful.

Me and a few other members are making sure that people know about it, because the diet plans and exercises have been great. Also as new people join more knowledge is available to us.

I have read claims that "studies" have shown Loading to be less effective at raising creatine levels (in muscle) than a constant few grams per day from day

Seems LOADING only ends up in one's urine. The old pissing your money away notion.

I tend to agree, and it seems logical to discount LOADING altogether. Piss it off and like me, when I'm training go hard at it so you go through the pain barrier, and similarly, in life, go through (ignore) the bloody advertising HYPE.

Remembering, especially all you BBING "beginners" who have been raised on sophisticated TV ads, and (Ninja Turtles), DON'T BELIEVE THE (ANY) HYPE!

(And please stop wearing Tee Shirts with Brand names all over them. They should be paying you to advertise for them! Or at least giving you the shirts for free).

In fact, as soon as you get the slightest whiff of it (hype), ATTACH it! And the best form of attach is to ignore it, and preferably also the product/service too!

But there is no fool like an old fool. Noting I'm no old fool, because I HAVE NEVER bought any of those innumerable AB EXERCISE MACHINES.

But logically, that doesn't mean I'm not an old fool in some other way. Which, btw, I tend to believe I am "not", at least when it cums to selecting BBING supplements. For example, I take 2-4g creatine, preferably after a workout with a dextrose/Ionised WPI drink, and a recommended dose of Glucosamine (which I think is especially recommended for people over 40. Though because professional trainers seem to recommend it for all athletes post trauma, I expect it might
be beneficial for all BBERS to take it regularly or cycle it. One a few weeks, off a few weeks.

I am still waiting for someone to authoritatively (that's a big word) comment on HMB. And, I'm hearing lately that Dextrose/hi gycemic index sugars (sucrose) should be avoided totally. Hhhmm, have to think about eliminating it after a workout. I think a small amount then may be ok.

To be honest, I’ve only used protein supplements and that’s for one simple reason — convenience! A high-quality, lean solid meat beats protein supplements in the metabolism department because eating solid meat will dramatically increase your body’s metabolism while a protein shake doesn’t make that much of a difference.

The best protein supplements I use is the “Optimum 100% Whey Protein”. I got the chocolate flavor and it tastes pretty good with milk, however whenever I mix it with water it tastes like crap. One trick of the trade I’ve learned is to use the shaker cup to mix up the protein powder and then pour it into my mug because the shaker isn’t that easy to drink from since it’s such a big bottle.

Just a question for abs. do you train your lower back anywhere as close to how much you train your abs?

Have you looked at your diet? as abs said, a large part of fitness is diet. I metioned eating more frequent meals(grazing vs binging) and checking out your macronutrient breakdowns(protein/carbohydrate/fat) in your diet. I train my lower back i jsut dont have aas many work outs for it but i do work it out it keeps me cut all the way around... i eman i dont want to disabpoint teh rubber neckers after i walk by.

Workout Routine

I switch up the exercises in my routine every four weeks as is suggested in the body-for-life program. I also switched from a body-for-life program of 3 on 4 off split to an EAS program for gaining muscle of 3 on 3 off routine as far as weight training. You can check out the body-for-life program. This is my program from last week. I’m switching my exercises this week and haven’t finished it so I don’t have it to post. It’s the same split with different exercises though.

Day 1
Chest
Flat bench press x6x6x6+4
Incline bench press x6x6x6+4
Dumbbell flyes x8x8x8
Shoulders
Shoulder presses x6x6x6+4
Lateral raises x10x10x10
Triceps
French Press x10x10x10+4
Pushdowns x15x12x10

Day 2
Back
Pull-ups x10x8x8
Seated rows x8x8x8+4
Serratus pulldowns x8x8x8+4
Biceps
Straight bar curls x10x8x6+4
Incline dumbbell curls x10x8x6+4
Abs
Crunches x15x12x10
Floor obliques x20x15x12
Swiss ball crunches x15x12x10

Day 3
Rest

Day 4
Quadriceps
Squats x10x8x6x6
Leg Extensions x10x10x10+4
Hamstrings
Stiff-legged deadlifts x12x10x8x6+4
Calves
Seated calf raises x15x12x10+4
Standing calf raises x15x12x10+4
Abs
Crunches x15x12x10
Floor obliques x20x15x12
Swiss ball crunches x15x12x10

Day 5
Interval cardio

Day 6
Rest

* The x marks a regular set with 60-90 seconds rest afterwards and 60-120 seconds rest between exercises. The + marks a drop set with no rest before doing the set. All sets progressively increase the poundages used except for the drop set which uses decreased poundage by 10-20lbs.

I don’t want to retype the interval cardio program here since it’s a lot of typing. Several pages so please go download the fitness guide if you want to find out what I do just to maintain endurance. One day a week is definitely not a lot of cardio. I try to maintain some sense of fitness even though my main goal is to get HUGE!

I'd love to see your ab routines...

Ab routine:
1. Sit up machine...
Use
150-170 on weight with 25-40 reps
2. Roman
chair...
Use a 25lb weight to hold and do 80-100 reps/ also do
a set bent further back for lower abs use a 25lb
weight for 2 sets of 30-40 and no weight for last set

3. Hanging leg lifts...
Perform about 25-30 reps
and 3-4 sets
4. Hold twists...
Hold body at a
45 degree angel or flat in air then twist body left
to right for around a minute if you can hold longer
then do so (do on sit up chair or something
similar)
5.Big ball crunches...
Perform 3 sets of 30-50 reps
high weight

Nutrition For Building Abs

I did a report on carb
depletion and ketosis in my bio class. The Atkin's diet of
cutting out almost all carbs is not beneficial. You end
up slowing down your metabolism in the end and
ballooning back up bigger than before after you are done
with the diet like other fad diets.

it's not
going to kill you (alot of people associate ketosis
with the deadly ketoacidosis) but it's not healthy in
the long run. you're just slowing down your
metabolism and it's harder to speed up your metabolism than
to slow it time(time wise).

Using Steroid?

Im not a big steriod expert but i know some
guy who have used it and all and i heard d-ball is
alright but if u were to go illegal id just shoot up with
synthol considering its just oil and doesnt mess with
your mood or anything plus its supposed to be pretty
permanent and not detecable even by cat scan or anything so
thats what i would use but i never use sterioids and i
do advise against them just stack some major supps
and work hard it will come but thats my opinion bro
later.

Workout Routines:

I was gonna use MAX OT. I started it, but 5x/week training was a little musc for me, with it being basketball season and all, and out team having practice 6x/week for 2 hours each time.

My routine is:

Monday

Bench 3 x 8
incline DB 3 x 8
fly's 3 x 8
tricep pushdowns 3 x 8
tricep ext 3 x 8

Wendesday

squats 5 x 8
leg curls 3 x 8
calf lifts 3 x 12

Friday

pulldowns 3 x 8
rows 3 x 8
pullovers 3 x 8
bb curls 3 x 8
incline DB curls 3 x 8

I train shoulders SOMETIMES, because I have bad shoulders, from benching incorrectly last year, ad Overhead work hurts it. Normally, I do abs on leg or back day, and do shoulders on saturday, which would follows the same format of chest training.

Who To Get Certified To Be a Personal Trainer By?

Weider is a HUGE name in fitness. Joe is often called the father of bodybuilding at times so you could definitely get by on the name alone by getting certified through them but yeah, ACE and NSCA are the most well known since they've been around since the early 80s. before that, there wasn't any agency that certified anyone. with the fitness boom in the last decade, there's been a huge demand for it and I think that's why NSCA added the NSCA-CPT in 1993. it concentrates more on the personal training since CSCS(certified strength and conditioning specialist) is a bit overkill for personal training and has the CPT(certified personal trainer) in the name so that potential clients can recognize the certifaction more easily. if you plan on going to college and getting a degree in an exercise-based degree, you can get a unit or two of credit towards your degree with an ACE certification. that's not much if you look at the total number of units you need for a degree but that's their hook right now to compete with NSCA's acceditation.

I am currently in ISSA's program. One more test and I get certified. The
American College of Sports Medicine also requires a four year degree.

Tips:

You need the water for repairing muscle and
plenty of other health reasons. The body should get 1/2
ounce of water for every pound of body weight without
exercise. Add an extra 8 ounces for every 1/2 hour of
exercise. Therefore a 200 pound that works out for an hour need 116
ounces of water per day minimum that sounds like a
gallon to me.

Weight and resistance will cut
them out for u abs cant be treated any special way teh
r muscles just liek any other so trea them taht way
and they will develope the way u want them too so try
using weight and resistance to your sit ups liek
holding a weight when u do them or holding your matress
corner when u do sit ups to so them you have resistance
or u go to a gym and there are machines for that use
those and they will get better.