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May 16th, 2012

3 Odd Abs Exercises Using A Playground SwingNo Comments »

Topics: Abs Exercise

 

Recently I went out to a local playground here in the Cherry Creek neighborhood in Denver and filmed over 50 different exercises.  Here are 3 pretty weird abs exercises using a playground swing.  You could easily put these in a circuit where you worked for 45 seconds, rest for 15 seconds for 3 rounds, and you'd have a killer abs workout.  (If that's too difficult, try 30-30).

Enjoy!

Swing Tuck


Swing Rollout

 

 

Swing Suicide Plank

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April 10th, 2012

The Abs Expert Photoshoot42 Comments

Topics: Abs Exercise, Abs Mindset, Abs Nutrition

Here are a few pictures from my recent photoshoot.  Hope you like them. :)

- Scott

42 Comments »

April 5th, 2012

How To Get A Flat Stomach On A Playground2 Comments

Topics: Abs Exercise

By now, you know that the #1 determining factor in getting a flat stomach is eating a good, clean, single ingredient diet.  Then you need to be on an intense weight training and cardio program, and have a support team in place ready to help you when times get tough. 

And you also know that 100s of crunches WON'T get you a flat stomach.  You need to be training your abs for stability.

And what better place to be training your abs and the rest of your body than on a playground using a swing.  It'll be so fun, you'll feel like a kid again.  Well….not really, but it sounded good.  You'll actually be working really hard when you do this abs circuit which actually works your upper body and glutes and hamstrings too.

So we've got 4 exercises using a swing.  Perform each exercise for 30 seconds, followed by 15 seconds to transition to the next movement.  Complete 3 rounds of the circuit.  Combine this with a clean diet, and an intense weight and cardio training routine and your abs will be firm and sexy in no time!

Swing Push Ups


 

Swing Rollout

 

Swing Tuck

 

Swing Hamstring Curls

Try this circuit and let me know what you think.

And please help me out and LIKE this. :)

Scott

2 Comments »

March 28th, 2012

Melt Fat While Hiking?No Comments »

Topics: Abs Exercise

Hiking in Colorado

Spring is in the air here in Colorado, the sky is blue and the temperature is warming up.

You know what that means?

Hiking season is here.

Yep, I love to hike.  And since I'm not a big skier in the winter, I'm so glad the weather is warmer and I can get outside a lot more.

Hiking can actually be a pretty darn good interval workout to help you melt fat.

Depending on where you are and the terrain you're on, you usually have periods of going uphill followed by some flat spots where you can catch your breath before you go uphill again.

We do lots of hiking on our fitness adventures, which is usually the favorite activity of everyone on the trips.

If you're new to hiking, or it's been awhile since you've been on a hike, or just want a good workout that will help you melt fat, I've got a great workout for you to try.

This will definitely prepare your body for a good hike.

Now you're going to need a hill of some sort – so either go outside and find one, or head to a gym and use the treadmill.

But let's say you're using a treadmill.  Here's the workout:

Walk on a 10% incline at 3.5 mph for 2 minutes (adjust incline as needed)

Walking lunges with medicine ball rotation for 1 minute

Walk on a 10% incline at 3.5 mph for 2 minutes

One legged step ups for 1 minute each leg

Walk on a 10% incline at 3.5 mph for 2 minutes

Stability ball hamstring curls for 1 minute

Repeat this for 3 rounds.

I added in the hamstring curls because going downhill on your hike is sometimes hard on the knees, so you want to strengthen those hamstrings to help protect your knees.

Remember you can adjust the speed and incline of the treadmill according to your fitness level.

But there you have it, a great workout that will help prepare you not only for your hike, but will help you melt fat and sculpt a nice body as well.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be giving you more workouts that will help prepare you for different types of activities just like this one.

Have a great day!

Scott

P.S. Still thinking about coming on the Abs Expert Fitness Adventure in the Rocky Mountains?  We still have spots.  Don't worry about your fitness level – we customize the trip to ALL levels.  And if you still think you need to prepare for the trip and get in shape,not to worry, I can help you with that too. : )

Sign up here: The Abs Expert Fitness Adventure

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March 5th, 2012

Three 10 Minute Workouts To Reshape Your PhysiqueNo Comments »

Topics: Abs Exercise

 

I was in Louisville, Kentucky for a couple of days last week
and since I'm about 5 weeks away from my photoshoot, I knew
I couldn't afford to miss a workout.

I really wanted to do some sprint intervals, but not being too
familiar with the area or if there were any nearby parks (we
were staying downtown at the Brown hotel), I wasn't sure exactly
where to run my sprints.

Then one of my fitness buddies suggested I go to the top of the
hotel parking garage to run them.

Bingo!  What a great idea.

So I set my alarm for 7:00 that morning and headed to the top
of the parking garage.

It was perfect – nobody was up there – no cars or anything.

And I got the added bonus of a small incline, so I was able to
do some uphill sprints.

Several rounds of this (which took about 10 minutes) and I was
dripping with sweat and ready to call it a workout.

But once again, that just shows you that you don't need a gym
to get a good workout and if you put your mind to it, you can be
creative and come up with a good workout anywhere – even the
top of a hotel parking garage. ;)

So what I've got for you today are three different 10 minute
workouts that are sure to help you carve a nice lean body.

Workout #1
- You're going to warm up with a 6 minute combination
of light jogging, lunges, squats, squat jumps and jumping jacks.

After that, sprint as fast as you can for 20 seconds then stop
completely for 10 seconds.  Repeat this 8 times for a total of
4 minutes – the so called Tabata Interval.

Research in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise compared
this protocol with 60 minutes of running non stop.  The results
were amazing.  Both protocols increased endurance by the same
amount, but the 4 minute interval improved power by 28%.

Incredible!

Workout #2 – Go to a track and warm up.  

Sprint for 100 meters (which is a quarter of the track – the straightaway) and then
do a slow jog around the rest of the track to catch your breath.

Should be no more than 2 minutes total.  Do this 5 times.
Research backs this up.  A study in the American Journal of
Physiology
found that men who sprinted for 15 seconds had a
40% boost in metabolism, allowing them to burn more fat.

If you do it on a treadmill, sprint for 15 seconds, jog for 60
seconds and rest for 45 seconds (5 rounds).

Workout #3 – Warm up with a light jog.  

Find a hill (or put the treadmill on max incline) and sprint as fast as you can for 10
seconds.  Rest for 30 seconds.  Repeat 15 times total.

A Study in the Journal of Exercise Physiology found that doing hill
sprints in this fashion can boost lower body strength by up to
10%.

And boom!  There you have it.  Three 10 minute workouts that
are backed by science.  Try them out this week and let me know
how they go.

Have a great day,

Scott

P.S. I hope you'll get out of your comfort zone a little bit
and bring out the athlete in you.  You should really join me
for 4 days in the Rocky Mountains.  I promise you'll love it. :)

Click below to read more -

http://fitnessadventuresusa.com/sign-up-for-the-abs-expert/

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February 21st, 2012

30-30 Quick Fat Burning Workout2 Comments

Topics: Abs Exercise

 

I've got a 20 minute fat burning workout for ya today, 30-30 style.  That just means that you'll be doing 30 seconds of work and 30 seconds of rest for each exercise.  It's 5 exercises and you'll cycle through the circuit 4 times with the clock never stopping.  So that's 20 minutes total!

Here are the exercises (watch the video below for a demo):

One Legged Push Ups (round 1, 3 – right leg up, round 2, 4 – left leg up)

Medicine Ball Overhead One Legged Step Ups (round 1, 3 – right leg, round 2, 4 – left leg)

Dumbbell T-Stabilizations

Squat Thrusts

Dumbbell Renegade Rows

Remember, each exercise should be performed for 30 seconds.  Rest for 30 seconds between exercises.

 

Let me know how it goes!

Scott

If You Liked This Workout, Please LIKE This. :)

2 Comments »

February 12th, 2012

7 Simple Ways To Cut Sugar From Your Diet8 Comments

Topics: Abs Nutrition

 

Want to limit your sugar intake?  No problem.  I'm about to give you 7 simple ways to cut sugar from your diet.  You probably know that there are different types of sugars and some are definitely worse for you than others.  Refined simple sugars that produce the most fructose and glucose are the worst. 

This means that foods with refined sucrose (breaks down 50/50 glucose and frusctose), high fructose corn syrup, evaporated cane juice, brown sugar and organic sugar are the worst foods. 

And what happens when you eat these refined sugars?  To put it simply, the sugar can immediately be absorbed into the blood which stimulates the pancreas to produce and release insulin into the bloodstream.  Insulin escorts glucose into the cells producing energy.

The problem is that afterward, blood sugar levels can drop and your initial sugar high crashes soon after resulting in tiredness and a "sugar low."  Feed your body enough of these refined simple sugars and it can lead to obesity (especially excess belly fat), type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, dental decay and other health problems.

So what do you do if you have a sweet tooth like mine and love chocolate, but want to slash some belly fat?

No problem!  Here are 7 simple ways to cut sugar from your diet…

1). Use unsweetened almond milk or unsweetened coconut milk instead of regular dairy cow's milk.  Cow's milk can have about 12-14 grams of sugar per cup whereas unsweetend almond and unsweetened coconut milk have 0 grams of sugar.  And they still taste good, especially in smoothies.

2), Eat plain Greek yogurt instead of regular yogurt.  A lot of your more traditional yogurts can have 30 grams of sugar or more.  Plain Greek yogurt has about 7 grams of sugar or less.  You can always add protein powder sweetened with Stevia in it to give it more flavor.

3) Speaking of Protein Powders, use a protein powder that's sweetened with Stevia, rather than loaded with sugars and artificial sweeteners.  Stevia is a natural plant based sweetener and your body doesn't respond to it the way it does sugar.  My favorite protein powder is Prograde Protein.  It's sweetened with Stevia and only has 1 gram of sugar.  Truvia is another good sweetener.  It's zero calroies and made from Stevia leaves.

4). Use Stevia in your coffee, or just add some unsweetened almond milk.  And definitely STAY AWAY from artificial sweeteners.  Read this article from nutritionist Isabel De Los Rios on How Artificial Sweeteners May Be Making You Fat.

5). Skip the ice-cream, candy and cakes for dessert and try this chocolatey smoothie instead:

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 serving Prograde Protein

1 cup ice

add raw cacao nibs, raw cacao powder and organic unsweetened coconut flakes (I bought all of these at Whole Foods).

Blend in a blender and enjoy.  The smoothie is chocolate, it's delicious, it's healthy and only has 1 gram of sugar.

6) Bake with erythritol instead of regular sugar.  "Erythritol is a “sugar alcohol” that is naturally found in a wide variety of foods including mushrooms, watermelon, pears and grapes (as well as fermented foods like sake, wine and soy sauce).

"It has zero calories and a glycemic index of zero. And it’s widely considered the “almost sugar” by health experts and pastry chefs alike. But while erythritol does a great job at mimicking the sweet taste of sugar, it behaves quite differently in the body.

"First, it is slowly and incompletely absorbed from the small intestine into the blood. Then, the very small amount of erythritol that is absorbed gets converted to energy by processes that require little or no insulin.  "That’s why erythritol won’t cause a spike in blood sugar levels, which is great news for anyone who is concerned about their weight!  (this information again comes from my good friend Isabel De Los Rios).

7) Drink Zevia instead of regular soda.  We know that regular soda can have like 40 grams of sugar per can and diet soda is awful for you because of the artificial sweeteners.  So if you must have your soda, try Zevia which is a Stevia sweetened soda.

I recommend using Calorie King so you can track how much sugars are in the foods you're eating.

>> Click Here So You Can Make Rich, Creamy, Healthy Chocolate Smoothes <<

8 Comments »

February 1st, 2012

15 Minute Abs Workout To Lose Belly FatNo Comments »

Topics: Abs Exercise

 

Do you have 15 minutes to workout?  C'monnnnnn, everyone has 15 minutes in their day to workout.  You'll love this 15 Abs Workout To Lose Belly Fat.  You'll be working other muscles besides your abs, so it's actually more of a total body workout.

Remember, to lose belly fat you need to combine workouts like these with clean eating (eat unprocessed foods), intense weight training and high intensity interval cardio training. Combine these things with your abs workouts and you'll lose belly fat fairly easily.

Here are the instructions for this 15 minute abs workout to lose belly fat:

You have 5 exercises.  Perform each one for 40 seconds, followed by 20 seconds of rest.  Complete the entire 5 exercise circuit for 3 rounds, non stop clock.

The abs exercises are:

Dumbbell Squat with Rotational Press

Stability Ball Tuck

Band Rotational Twist

Stability Ball Rollout

Stability Ball/Medicine Ball Russian Twist


Let me know how this workout goes for you.

Scott

If You Liked This Workout, Please LIKE This. :)

No Comments »

January 26th, 2012

10 Most Anabolicious Recipes2 Comments

Topics: Abs Nutrition

How would you like Dave Ruel's a.k.a. The Muscle Cook, 10 most anabolicious recipes?  For FREE!?

Mouth-watering recipes like:

Dave's Famous Turkey Meatloaf

The Muscle Cook's Chili

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

Classic Tuna Melt Patties

Lemon Cheesecake

and much more.

Is your mouth watering yet? :)

Click Here To Download Dave's 10 Most Anabolicious Recipes

Enjoy!

Scott

2 Comments »

January 16th, 2012

Get Flat Abs With 4 Minute Tabata Interval Workouts3 Comments

Topics: Abs Exercise

 

2 excuses (among the many I've heard over the years) from people trying to get flat abs are boredom with their cardio workouts and not enough time to do the workouts.  Well it's your lucky day because I've got the solution for you – 4 Minute Tabata Interval Workouts.  Tabata Interval Training was named after Dr. Izumi Tabata – a Japanese researcher, and fortunately for you, doesn't involve any of the gizmos from late night infomercials, you don't need any expensive pieces of equipment or even any books.

How To Structure A Tabata Interval Workout

Tabata Intervals are a type of high intensity interval training, where you exercise at maximal effort for a short period of time followed by a period of recovery.  Tabata interval training allows more fat to be burned in less time than regular steady state cardio training.  In fact, a Tabata training session can produce similar cardio fitness results to a 45 minute steady state endurance training session.

The actual structure of a Tabata Interval Workout is as follows: high intensity training at maximal effort for 20 seconds, followed by 10 seconds of rest immediately after.  You repeat this for 7 more rounds for a total of 8 rounds (4 minutes).  It is important that during the 20 seconds of exercise, you work at maximal effort, or you won't get the desired fat burning results.  Also, it is important to choose exercises that use your body's large fat burning muscles and are multi-joint exercises (so squat jumps instead of crunches).  This will give you the best results.

The Afterburn Effect of Tabata Interval Workouts

Back to our friend, Dr. Izumi Tabata – after 6 weeks of testing people performing Tabata Intervals (4 minutes on an ergometer, 5 days a week), Dr. Tabata noted a 28% increase in anaerobic capacity along with a 14% increase in V02Max. These results were witnessed by physically fit athletes.

Tabata interval workouts are also effective for fat loss. Intense interval work will raise the body's metabolic rate long after the exercise session is completed. What this means is more calories burned and more fat loss for you!!  Many recent studies have confirmed that the powerful "afterburn effect" of interval training is more effective (for fat loss) than low-intensity, steady-state cardio.  In fact, some studies show that you will burn up to 9 times more fat doing interval training.

Tabata Interval Workouts

I like to use more than one exercise during a 4 minute Tabata Interval Workout.  This allows you to keep the intensity high, which helps to avoid centralized muscle fatigue.  It also allows us to work more muscles during a training session, which means faster fat loss.

Here is a sample workout using just bodyweight exercises, incorporating the Tabata Interval Structure:

20 seconds of Squat Thrusts with Push Ups

10 Seconds of Rest

20 Seconds of Prisoner Squat Jumps

10 Seconds of Rest

20 Seconds of Mountain Climbers

10 Seconds of Rest

20 Seconds of Get Ups with Tuck Jumps

10 Seconds of Rest

Repeat this sequence one more time, for a total of 4 minutes.

Another Tabata Interval Workout using Kettlebells and Dumbbells could look like this:

20 seconds Kettlebell Swings

10 Seconds of Rest

20 Seconds of Dumbbell Renegade Rows

10 Seconds of Rest

20 Seconds of Dumbbell Squat Press

10 Seconds of Rest

20 Seconds of Kettlebell High Pull with Wide Squat

10 Seconds of Rest

Repeat this sequence one more time, for a total of 4 minutes.

Tabata Interval Workouts can be performed stand alone as your entire workout routine, mixed in with another workout of the day, or used as a Finisher at the end of your workout.  Try these 2 Tabata Interval Workouts and let me know how they go!

Scott

Click Here To Burn Even More Fat With 4 Minute Workouts  <<<–

3 Comments »