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COUNTDOWN TO ABS


Go from flab to fab with this 12-week progressive diet and exercise plan

By Mitzi Dulan, RD, ACSM-CPT, and Jimmy Pena, MS, CSCS | Photos by Jim Purdum












Doing hundreds of crunches won't give you the abs you want, but a well-thought-out workout program performed over a sustained period combined with a diet structured with fat loss in mind will. To attain the holy grail of a lean, tight midsection, you must progressively make your abs stronger, burn the flab hiding them and dial in your diet. This program will help you do that.

The training regimen is broken down into three four-week phases. In Phase 1, you create the basic foundation that lets you proceed to more advanced routines in Phases 2 and 3. And as you progressively work your abdominals harder, you'll refine your diet each week to prepare for the unveiling of those fabulous abs come summertime. The guidelines listed here help you ease into and fine-tune your existing diet, but to really rev up the fat-burning furnace, it'll take plenty of dietary discipline as well. For tips on how to turn yourself into a nutritional superstar in the name of Abs, click here.

This program is designed to fit into your current workout schedule; just do your regular training and cardio routines as prescribed and swap out your usual ab work for these targeted routines three days a week, resting at least 48 hours between sessions.

Now pull out your calendar, mark your unveiling day and start the countdown to fab abs.


YOU'RE 12 WEEKS OUT...

MONTH 1: CREATING THE FOUNDATION

This month is about adapting to the exercises that form the foundation of this program. Perform your regular weight-training routine while using the workout below to train your abs three times a week, resting at least 48 hours between sessions. Do cardio at a moderate to high intensity 4—5 days a week for 30 minutes.


WEEKLY NUTRITIONAL GOALS

12 Weeks Out: Write It Down
Research shows that people who keep a food journal are more successful at losing and maintaining weight. It simply makes you more accountable: When you write down every morsel you put in your mouth and note how certain foods make you feel or affect your performance mentally and physically, you can easily make adjustments. Continue doing this throughout the program.

11 Weeks Out: Carry Water
Regular water keeps digestion, nutrient absorption, temperature regulation and waste elimination running smoothly. Plus, a 2003 study found that drinking a half-liter of cold water increased metabolic rate by 30% for more than an hour after drinking.
To calculate your water-intake goals, take your bodyweight in pounds and divide that number by two. That gives you the minimum number of ounces of water you should drink daily.

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