Three Unusual Secrets For Awesome Abs…
That No One Ever Told You About
By Josh Henkin
www.sandbagstrength.com
www.sandbagexercises.com

1. Sprinting

The Rationale: While the idea of performing higher intensity work for losing body fat is slowly becoming mainstream, many people still believe in the concept of lower intensity “cardio” for optimal body fat loss. This is one of fitness’ greatest existing myths as we can look at both anecdotal evidence and research to show us otherwise.

If we look at the physiques of an Olympic marathon runner versus and Olympic sprinter what body would most people prefer? In my experience as a coach most people like the lean, muscular physique of a sprinter rather than a marathon runner. In fact, marathon runners are known to have higher body fat levels than that of sprinters.

However, there was very little discussed to see if this burned more body fat than other forms of training. A study performed by Tremblay et al (1), examined the difference of endurance training (ET) and high-intensity intermittent-training (HIIT). The endurance group performed their training for 20 weeks and burned an average of 120.4MJ per session. The HIIT group performed their program for 15 weeks with an average expenditure of 57.9MJ per session. In other words, the ET group burned more energy during their training sessions. However, the result of six subcutaneous skin folds showed the HIIT group lost significantly more body fat. It has been theorized the hormones released during HIIT causes greater body fat burning for a much longer period of time.

Sprinting not only burns body fat, but can build an immensely strong torso as well. The rotation put through the body during hard sprinting causes the oblique and deep trunk muscles to work extremely hard and become much stronger.

Implementation: Sprinting can be done several different ways to get an excellent training benefit. Tempo runs are often used by sprinters for conditioning, but can be used by anyone for getting leaner without losing hard earned muscle mass. You can choose to run about 100 meters with 80% of your maximal effort and then walk about another 100 meters. Every 100 meters alternate between the two.

My personal favorite is 400 meter sprints (this is one full time around a track). These are far more grueling than they appear at first, especially if you are going 90% effort or better. You may want to stay on the conservative side at first and only perform about 3-5 of these. Five doesn’t seem like a lot, but it is huge when you haven’t performed these on a regular basis. At first I would recommend performing three 400 meter sprints with 90-120 seconds in between, you may need more. When your performance from one sprint to another drops by 15% you can call it a day.

2. Lift Heavier

The Rationale: Research has shown that using compound lifts at higher intensities helps with the release of anabolic hormones. These hormones are responsible for increased muscle growth and strength. Both are essential in obtaining a more lean looking physique.

However, many lifters looking to improve their cosmetic appearance shy away from heavier intensities (80% and higher) because it usually goes against typical bodybuilding dogma that is based upon higher repetition work (reps 8 and higher). This leaves a major whole in their development as a very integral component of muscle and strength training gets bypassed. A common saying in the fitness industry is, “the best program is the one you aren’t doing.” Since most neglect this form of training you out to start making it a priority.

Implementation: You don’t have to use loads that are unsafe or that will cause you rip your arms off of your body. Great strength athletes rarely work at 90% of their maximal efforts for long periods of times. Rather they will use these loads at specialized time of year.

Using wave loading you can slowly introduce your body to more challenging intensities. An example would be to take the classic 5 sets of 5 repetition scheme and work at 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 80%. The first two are more for priming the nervous system and the body for the heavier loads that are about to be used. This also allows the quality of work to stay very high and the average intensity for the exercise is still a much higher 75% instead of about 60% which is what most lifters in the gym use. You can try to go up by 2.5% each week for three weeks and then perform a back off week where you drop the intensities to 60%, 70%, 75% for 2 sets of 5 to encourage recovery of the body and nervous system.

By implementing this method you can follow this scheme with a series of complimentary higher repetition auxillary exercises you can have the very best of both worlds.

3. High Allergy Foods

The Rationale: One of the biggest problems that people face in their nutrition programs is the idea of avoiding foods that cause inflammation. Such foods cause pain in the joints/muscles, bloating of the gut, fatigue, reduction in strength and recovery time, headaches, and inability to lose body fat.

Which foods are most common food allergies? Typically it is wheat, corn, soy, and milk. Sometimes eggs can fall into that category as well. These foods are common allergy foods because of specific aspects of their make up. For example, wheat products are often hard for people to tolerate because of the protein gluten. You will notice grocery stores taking advantage of such knowledge by selling more and more gluten free products. Corn possess a natural mold that again can cause a high sensitivity to people as peanuts often do as well. Many people also have varying levels of problems with lactose found in many milk products.

Any time your body is suffering from inflammation it will take away from your progress in the gym. It is as though the body is constantly fighting an illness. It is amazing, but people can lose 5-10 pounds in a week when they get off foods that they have adverse reactions to and more noticeably drop inches from decrease irritation in the gut.

You don’t have to be breaking out either to have problems with these foods. Subtle cues such as fatigue, congestion in throat, running nose, sudden change in body temperature, etc. can all be related by inability to handle certain foods.

Implementation: Start by eliminating the most obvious negative foods. I would suggest doing this one at a time so you can see which ones that may be for you. Move to foods such as sweet potatoes, yams, and gluten free brown rice for complex carbohydrate choices. Look to drop wheat, dairy, peanuts, corn, and artificial sweetners from you diet. You will be amazed at how fast your body can change!


About Josh Henkin

Josh Henkin is owner of Innovative Fitness Solutions in Phoenix, Arizona. For the past ten years he has created effective training programs for a wide array of clients. Josh is a graduate of Arizona State University where he received his Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science/Physical Education. At Arizona State, he was also a member of the Men’s Basketball Team. Josh is an NSCA certified strength and conditioning specialist, certified club coach with USA weightlifting, and certified Russian kettlebell instructor and a certified corrective high performance exercise kinesiologist. Coach Henkin is well known nationally as an expert in fitness and sports performance training and has been invited to appear at national conferences and write for numerous fitness magazines.

Coach Henkin has dedicated himself to providing cutting-edge, easy to apply training information to the masses. He has created the Ultimate Sandbag for those that wish to get the immense benefits of odd object lifting at home or at their gym, along with the very popular High Octane Sandbag Training DVD. He has also recently released SMASH: Total Conditioning with Sledgehammers. These programs have become so popular because they are effective and they are fun! Check out coach Henkin’s sites at:
www.sandbagstrength.com and www.sandbagexercises.com