Discover how you can get the best shape of your body. Visit us at www.truthaboutabsone.com today to know the Truth about Six Pack Abs.

1. Strategies You MUST Know if You Ever Want to Stand a
Chance of Getting a Flat Stomach with 6-Pack Abs
by Mike Geary, author - The Truth about Six Pack Abs, interviewed by Craig Ballantyne - CSCS, Men's
Health Magazine Training Advisor
Below is an interview that I did with world-famous trainer and Men's Health Magazine Training Advisor, Craig
Ballantyne as he grilled me on the top secrets for fat loss and six pack abs. Check it out...
CB: Mike, give us a brief background about yourself
MG: Sure Craig. Well, I'm currently a Certified Nutrition Specialist and a Certified Personal Trainer. I've been
dedicated to improving my knowledge of fitness, both training techniques and nutrition aspects, for over 15
years now, and I never stop trying to learn more each and every day. I've also been a contributing writer for
Muscle & Fitness Hers Magazine, and I'm the author of the popular internationally-selling book, "The Truth
about Six Pack Abs" which has had hundreds of thousands of readers in over 150 countries currently.
I just love helping people with this area of their lives, as not only does it improve their outward appearance and
confidence, but more importantly, improves how they feel and their internal health, helping them to live longer
and healthier lives. It's something I'm very passionate about.
CB: Okay, so where does the average man or woman go wrong when it comes to training abs?
MG: Ok, most people are probably going to be surprised with this answer. In their quest for 'six pack abs', the
biggest mistake I see people making is wasting WAY too much of their time training their abs directly...
pumping away with all kinds of different abs-specific exercises.
I'm sure you know what I'm referring to. The person is trying so hard to get those abs to show, that they're
spending almost all of their time in the gym with hundreds of reps of various crunches, leg raises, twisting
exercises, etc. Meanwhile, all of that wasted time directly training the abs could have been better spent on a
properly designed full body workout program that would elicit a much better metabolic response and increase
the fat-burning hormone levels in their body as well.
After all, losing the stomach fat that is covering the abs is the MOST important aspect for most people to finally
be able to make their abs visible. Unfortunately, pumping away with hundreds of crunches and leg raises does
NOT cause much of a metabolic or fat burning hormonal response. This is the main focus of my Truth about
Six Pack Abs book... full body training programs and proper nutrition to strip off that stubborn belly fat and
reveal the six pack that's hiding underneath!
Of course it wouldn't be an abs book if I didn't focus on ab development too, but I make sure firstly that the
most important concepts for lasting body fat reduction are understood.

2. CB: Do you see any gender differences in mistakes they make? And more importantly, do you see any gender
differences in the response to various types of ab training?
MG: To be honest, I don't really see any need for men or women to train differently. Bottom line... the best
exercises are the best exercises regardless of gender.
However, in regards to mistakes I see between genders... Yes, I tend to see women more often are deathly
afraid to use weight training with anything but really light weights. That is a shame, because THE most effective
way to gain control over your body fat for life, is to maximize your lean muscle that your body carries, as well as
working that muscle hard through intense resistance exercise regularly.
It's important for women to realize that regular strength training using heavier resistance will NOT "bulk them
up" (as long as caloric intake is controlled), but rather is one of the key secrets for losing body fat and staying
lean year-round. As a matter of fact, some of the leanest females that I've trained over the years are the ones
that aren't afraid to work hard with the weights.
I also notice that most women (and a lot of guys too) spend way too much time with slow cardio exercise.
This is simply not necessary, and the way I combine high intensity resistance training into full body routines
provides enough of a "cardio" workout in itself usually. We'll get back to this in a minute though.
CB: What about ol' school sit-ups? Do you use these? Are they good, bad, or does it "depend"?
MG: Sit-ups are a controversial topic. I don't think they're good or bad per se, but rather "in between". I didn't
include them in my program. I simply don't feel they are necessary, and I think there are much more effective
abs exercises to focus on. Personally, I almost never do sit-ups except occasionally for a little variety every
now and then.
CB: Give us a weekly sample ab training program. How many days per week? What are a couple of the best
exercises you'd pick? How many sets? Reps? Rest?
MG: Well, first I'd like to point out that the full body movements that make up the majority of my programs
indirectly work the abs and the entire "core" area to a fairly decent extent. However, I do include abs-specific
exercises into the routines generally about twice per week. The "abs-specific" portion of the workouts generally
only take about 5 minutes at most with very little rest between exercises.
Once people are past the beginning phase of gaining some initial ab strength, I try to get them away from the
exercises that are too easy, where someone can do 50 or 100 reps, as is frequently common with standard
crunches. Instead, I like to focus on higher resistance exercises that actually stimulate the muscle fibers to a
much greater degree. One example of a higher resistance abs exercise is hanging leg raises with a proper
"pelvic curl up".

3. It's funny but usually someone that has been wasting so much time with hundreds of reps of crunches can
usually only do a few solid reps when they first attempt some of these higher resistance exercises. We also
make sure not to neglect some rotational movements, as well as some work for the deeper muscles like the
transversus abdominis.
CB: What do you use for burning fat, intervals or slow cardio? Or both? Any gender differences here? Or
differences between fitness levels (beginner vs. advanced)?
MG: In most cases, my answer is definitely intervals... or as I like to call it "variable intensity training". In
general, I think slow steady pace cardio is a waste of time, especially if the goal is lasting fat loss.
I think people need to get away from this thinking about "fat burning zones" and calories burned during the
actual workout, and look at the bigger picture of what you're doing in your workout to stimulate the greatest
metabolic response in your body... and the best metabolic and hormonal response is achieved through variable
intensity training and strength training, not slow steady-pace cardio.
Now I will say that if someone is really deconditioned and can't handle higher intensity exercise routines just
yet, this still doesn't mean that they can't simply use lower intensity routines, but still use it in a "variable
intensity" fashion, by alternating between higher and lower exertion levels throughout the workout.
CB: And finally Mike, 1 or 2 of your top secret nutrition tips for carving out those abs. Open your vault of info!
MG: Well Craig, I think you'd agree that there has never been a more confusing time regarding proper nutrition
for consumers. Every so called "expert" out there seems to disagree and contradict each other on what's the
best way to eat for fat loss and overall good health.
One of the most important messages I try to teach my readers in this world of heavy confusion is that your diet
doesn't need to conform to any of the fad diets... you don't need to go "low carb" or "low fat", or high or low
anything for that matter to be successful in losing enough body fat to get lean enough to be able to see your
abs. I like to try to simplify things for my readers. I think that balance is the key to success along with eating a
diet that is made up of nutrient dense foods in their natural state (as unprocessed as possible).
In general, it is the heavy processing of foods that makes it wreak havoc inside our bodies. Most foods in their
natural unprocessed state are inherently good for us. Of course there are always exceptions... a salad of
poison ivy leaves is "natural and unprocessed" but certainly would not be good for us!
I'll leave your readers with a couple of the most important aspects of nutrition that help to get you lean for life...

4. 1. Get enough quality protein in the daily diet - not only does it have a higher thermic effect than carbs and
fat (so you burn more calories digesting it), but it also creates satiety so your hunger is satisfied longer. Plus it's
a building block for maintaining and building lean muscle... And remember that the amount of lean muscle you
carry is one of the main factors for controlling your metabolism.
2. Think fiber! When it comes to carbs, make sure that almost all of your carbohydrate intake is from higher
fiber sources like vegetables, fruits, and high fiber unrefined grains. Try to avoid refined sugars and refined
grains as that is one of the main reasons so many people struggle with body fat. I personally don't eat many
grains as I prefer to get most of my carbs from veggies and fruits, but I do use sprouted grain breads fairly
regularly too.
I generally recommend looking for carbohydrate sources that have at least 2-3 grams of fiber per each 10
grams of total carbs. Remember that fiber helps fill you up and also slows down the glycemic response of the
foods you eat, all beneficial for getting lean.
3. Don't be afraid to eat fat! Many people try to go way too low on their fat intake and this can negatively
affect hormone levels in your body as well as causing more cravings. Try to eat enough healthy fats daily.
Good sources are all nuts and seeds, nut butters, avocados, olive oil, organic meats and eggs, coconuts and
virgin coconut oil. On that note, saturated fats from tropical oils are VERY misunderstood, even by many
nutritionists and other health professionals. Yes they are composed highly of saturated fats, but are actually
beneficial (but that's way beyond the scope of this article).
4. Avoid the two worst things in our food supply at ALL COSTS:
artificial trans fats from margarines, shortening, and hydrogenated oils that are in most processed
foods and deep fried foods
high fructose corn syrup, which is in almost all sweetened products on the market
Again, if you avoid processed foods, it becomes easy to avoid these two worst offenders in our food supply.
I always contend that once you get a handle on these 4 main points of your diet detailed above, the rest starts
to take care of itself as you gain control over your appetite, blood sugar levels, hormone levels, etc. It all falls
into place, and you eventually gain total control over how lean you want to get.
CB: Thanks Mike! Check out the results that some of Mike's readers from over 160 countries are
getting using the Truth about Six Pack Abs program
Discover how you can get the best shape of your body. Visit us at www.truthaboutabsone.com today to
know the Truth about Six Pack Abs.
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