Category: Workouts

There is a persistent myth in fitness that getting visible abs requires an elaborate routine. This is not only wrong, it is counterproductive.

The core is a system of muscles that work together to stabilise the spine and transfer force between your upper and lower body.

“The rectus abdominis is not a muscle you train in isolation. It functions as part of a system. Train the system.”

The Four Movements

The following four exercises cover every function of the core: anti-extension, anti-rotation, anti-lateral-flexion, and hip flexion under load. Performed as a circuit, they take 15 minutes.

1. Hollow Body Hold

Lie on your back, press your lower back into the floor, and extend your arms overhead and legs out straight. Hold the position while breathing normally.

Sets & reps: 3 × 20–30 seconds.

2. Dead Bug

From the hollow body position, slowly lower opposite arm and leg toward the floor while keeping your lower back pressed down. Return and repeat on the other side.

Sets & reps: 3 × 8 per side. Move slowly; speed is the enemy here.

3. Pallof Press

Attach a resistance band to a fixed point at chest height. Stand side-on, hold the band at your chest, and press it straight out in front of you. Resist the rotational pull of the band.

Sets & reps: 3 × 10 per side. Pause for one second at full extension.

4. Ab Wheel Rollout

Kneel on the floor, grip an ab wheel, and roll forward as far as you can while keeping your lower back flat. Roll back to the start.

Sets & reps: 3 × 6–10.

The Honest Part: Abs Are Made in the Kitchen

This routine will build a strong, functional core. Whether those muscles are visible depends almost entirely on your body fat percentage — and that is determined by your diet, not your training.

1. Train this circuit 2–3 times per week, not every day.
2. Progress the exercises over time — add reps, increase range of motion, or add resistance.
3. Prioritise compound lifts (squats, deadlifts, overhead press) in your main training.

Four exercises, 15 minutes, done consistently over months. Everything else is noise.

The debate over the best form of cardio for fat loss has raged for decades. The truth is found in the nuance of human physiology.

The Case for LISS (Steady-State Cardio)

LISS involves maintaining a consistent, moderate heart rate (usually 60-70% of your maximum) for an extended period, typically 30-60 minutes.

• Low recovery cost: You can walk for an hour every day without it negatively impacting your heavy lifting sessions.
• Joint health: Low impact means less wear and tear on the knees, hips, and lower back.
• Stress reduction: A brisk walk outside has proven benefits for cortisol reduction.

The Case for HIIT

HIIT involves short bursts of maximum-effort exercise followed by brief periods of rest. A typical session lasts 15-20 minutes.

• Time efficiency: You can achieve similar cardiovascular adaptations in 15 minutes of HIIT as in 45 minutes of LISS.
• VO2 Max improvement: HIIT is vastly superior for improving top-end cardiovascular fitness.

The Verdict

When calories are equated, studies consistently show no significant difference in fat loss between HIIT and LISS over the long term. The best cardio is the one you will actually do consistently.

1. Prioritise resistance training 3-4 days a week to build and maintain muscle.
2. Incorporate LISS (like hitting 8,000-10,000 steps a day) as your baseline foundation of movement.
3. Add 1-2 short sessions of HIIT per week if you are short on time.

The pursuit of a visible six-pack is perhaps the most common goal in fitness, yet it is also the most misunderstood.

1. Believing in Spot Reduction

Doing thousands of crunches will build your abdominal muscles, but it will do absolutely nothing to burn the fat covering them. Your body loses fat systemically — from everywhere at once — based on a caloric deficit.

2. Treating Abs Differently Than Other Muscles

The rectus abdominis is skeletal muscle, just like your biceps or quads. To make the blocks of your abs thicker and deeper, you need to train them with resistance and apply progressive overload.

3. Ignoring the Kitchen

The cliche “abs are made in the kitchen” is entirely accurate. No amount of training can outwork a poor diet. Until you maintain a sustained caloric deficit to bring your body fat percentage down, your abs will remain hidden.

4. Neglecting the Transverse Abdominis

A weak TVA can lead to a distended, protruding stomach even if you have low body fat. Incorporating anti-extension exercises like hollow body holds and ab wheel rollouts will train the TVA to pull the stomach wall in tight.

5. Relying on Fat Burner Supplements

Legal fat-burning supplements do almost nothing. Most are simply expensive caffeine pills. Save your money and invest it in high-quality whole foods and a food scale.

Walk into any commercial gym, and you will see the same people lifting the same weights, for the same number of reps, looking exactly the same as they did a year ago. Why? Because they are ignoring the foundational law of physical adaptation: Progressive Overload.

What is Progressive Overload?

The body will only build new muscle tissue if it is forced to adapt to a stress it has never encountered before. Progressive overload is the gradual increase of stress placed upon the body during exercise training.

How to Apply Progressive Overload

1. Increase Resistance (Load): Lifting 105 lbs instead of 100 lbs for the same number of reps.
2. Increase Volume (Reps): Lifting 100 lbs for 12 reps instead of 10 reps.
3. Increase Volume (Sets): Doing 4 sets of an exercise instead of 3 sets.
4. Decrease Rest Time: Doing the same work but with 60 seconds of rest instead of 90 seconds.
5. Improve Technique/Range of Motion: Squatting to full depth is significantly harder than half-squatting.

The Double Progression Method

Pick a rep range, for example 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps. Once you can complete all sets at the top of the range (12 reps), increase the weight. Your reps will drop back down to the bottom of the range, and you work them back up again.

The Requirement: A Logbook

You cannot effectively apply progressive overload if you are guessing what you did last week. Write down every exercise, weight, and rep. Your only goal is to beat last week’s numbers by a single rep or a single pound.