Top 10 ab exercises

Everybody want to look good on the beach. Everybody want to look good in mirror selfies. Everybody wants to feel good about what happens to their shirt when they lift their hand over their heads.

Everybody wants abs.

The problem is that when you go to the beach or the volleyball courts you don't see a lot of abs. The last time you went to the beach did you did as many hot abs as you saw people doing crunches at the gym? Somehow I don't think so. Likely you saw a lot of this....

Hold on to your hats because today I am going to give you the top 10 ab exercises to help YOU get those flab abs that you have always wanted! 

Are you ready? Are you ready for those killer abs that you thought only the girls in the bikini magazine could have? Here you go. The top 10 ab exercises based on my 15 years experience as a personal trainer and fitness coach! 

Super secret special EXERCISE #1: BURPEES. Wait. What... What? How do burpees work the abs? What about crunches? 

TRUTH: You can't spot reduce. You can only bust your ass to burn calories so you can eliminate fat. Most people will drop fat all over and the fatty layer on top of your abs may be stubborn but it will come off. 

Check out Teresa's abs! NO CRUNCHES!

Burpees are the best exercise out there to get your heart rate up, help you develop functional strength and flexibility and get you super fit. 

The process to developing killer abs is SIMPLE: Lower your body fat. Burpees are the best way to do that.

Here is a video showing you how to modify a burbee:

EXERCISE #2: Thrusters. This is also know as a squat to press. You can use kettlebells, a barbell or dumb bells.It really doesn't matter as long as you have weight in both hands and do a full squat and lock your arms out overhead when you come up.

This is a great core stability exercise and a real leg burner. You utilize the biggest muscles in your body (glutes) and well as your shoulders and arms. Make sure that you start with light weight and progress in weight a reps slowly. Here is a short video showing you how:

EXERCISE #3: Running (or walking FAST and HARD) with INTERVALS. Don't forget the intervals part. What is an interval? It's a period of hard work followed by a period of period of rest. The interval time doesn't matter as long as the rest is no more than double the work. If the work is 30 second then the rest should be 30-60 seconds. 

A great interval workout is: 20 minutes of minute HARD, minute easy. Simple and efficient. Here is another: Each hard interval is followed by rest of the same amount of time. 1-1-2-1-1-3-1-1-2-1-1. The time combinations are almost limitless. You can do this on grass, on the roads on hills, on trails or on a treadmill. 

Don't get sucked into the concept of long easy run all the time. They are OK but if you want to shed fat you need to do intervals.

EXERCISE #4: Kettlebell swings. I love kettlebell swings. We were just doing some last night and they were really killer. Swings can be a little technical but with some good instruction and a low starting weight they can be really beneficial. Before doing swing with challenging weights MAKE SURE you get some instruction from a qualified coach. If you do these wrong you can get hurt. 

If you do them right you will prevent injury, have a strong back and sexy abs. SO DO THEM RIGHT!

EXERCISE #5: Sumo deadlift high-pull. (SDHP) I joke because when I write SDHP on the board I have people that have been working out with me for years that STILL ask what it is. Really...?!

The SDHP is great exercise that is easy to learn and easy to transition into during a quick metabolic workout. Just like the swings it is important to use good form and to be careful when you add weight. Make sure to challenge yourself as you get more proficient but don't be too aggressive. You doing want to get hurt! 

EXERCISE #6: Push-ups. We do hand release push-ups which most everybody can do. Here is quick video showing you that those are: 

 

A lot of people shy away from push-ups because they are hard. That is exactly WHY your SHOULD be doing them., The modification for the hand release push-up is to simply come up on your knees then lift your knees off the ground at the end. You will be amazing how many people can do this when they think they can't! 

EXERCISE #7: Jump rope. Jump rope for on minute without stopping and see if you are out of breath. I dare you! 

EXERCISE #8: Box jump. Same as number 7. Do 60 seconds of box jumps and your body fat will be running for the hills.

NOTE: If you are VERY overweight (i.e. 100+ lbs) you should avoid #7 and #8. The impact if you are very heavy is going to likely do more hard then good. Advice from a qualified professional is ALWAYS a good idea. 

Jumping up onto a "box" doesn't have to scare you. Start but jumping up onto something just a few inches off the ground then stepping down. Slowing add height and jump down on two feet as you get stronger and feel more confident. Box jumps are a REAL heart rate shocker. LOVE THESE! 

EXERCISE #9: Pull-ups. Another body weight movement that will rock your world. I am OK with assisted pull-ups because most people can't do full on pull-ups. Make it a habit of doing full range on motion (chin over bar, elbows locked at the bottom) on each rep and CHALLENGE yourself. 

EXERCISE #10: Air squats. My suggestion on air (body weight) squats is to do a lot of them and the touch your but to something. A bench or a medicine ball work great. Don't sit (Unless you are just staring off. If you are then that is a great modification!) 

Why not weighted squats? I really truly believe that for weighted squats to be of benefit you need to be really strong and most people are not. Air squats are easy to perform and you can do them anywhere. No equipment is required and they are super easy to transition into. 

Did you notice something about this list?

No crunches. No ab machine. No bicep curls. No elliptical trainer. 

Why do people continue to go to the gym and focus on exercises that don't do them any good? I just don't know. 

The real question SHOULD be this: How do you use these 10 exercises to get abs?

Do them as much as you can with varied weight, varied reps, varied order and shock the crap out of your body. 

Do you want to see that we do for workouts? I post my daily workouts on Instagram. You can find me @RICKCOPLEY. I also post a lot of my workouts on my other blog. CLICK HERE to jump over to my "No Excuses" blog. (ricksnoexcusesbolg.blogspot.com)

ONLY 6 DAYS left to register for the 30 Day Clean Eating Challenge. This program was so popular in July that we decided to open it up for August. Time is limited. As soon as you register you will have access to the program and to the accountability group.

Register TODAY ---> https://www.eventbrite.com/e/30-day-clean-eating-challenge-august-tickets-12434448771

If you have any questions PLEASE contact me and I will help you. My personal cell number is 352-989-6795. 

If you got value from this post please share. THANK YOU!

To your success! 

Rick Copley | Your Best Fitness Coach  | "Empowering YOU to be a champion" 

 Your Best Fitness Coach Facebook Page |Rick's No Excuses Blog

Instagram: @rickcopley 

352-989-6795 | rick@yourbestfitnesscoach.com

p.s. Did you hear that Rich Froning is the fittest man on earth for the 4th straight year! Guess what supplements he uses?

5 things we do at the gym to waste time when we should be working out

Today is one of those blogs that's likely to get me in trouble.



Awesome.

We all are busy. We all want "results". We all want to look better and be stronger. So why do we continue to waste time at the gym doing things that don't help us?

I know why.

It's because the things that we could be doing that actually WORK are hard and who really wants to work that hard? We live in a society where we are programmed to think that there is an easy way to do everything. I am here to tell you that when it comes to getting in shape and looking hot there is no easy way.

You might as well stop reading now if you want an easy way.

So many people complain that they go to the gym and don't get results. Or they go to the gym and "workout for 2 hours" and still don't fit into a size zero.

Sometimes people don't go to the gym and all because they don't have time.

That's a lie. You have time. You just don't feel like putting the effort needed. Let's call a spade a spade.

So what are the biggest time wasters at the gym?

1. Cardio. Go into any gym in America and what will you see? 1000's treadmills, elliptical trainers and stationary bikes. You will see people slogging away of these machines for 20+ minutes each and everyday. If people get sweaty doesn't that mean they are getting results? No. Sadly it does not.

More and more empirical evidence is coming out saying that "cardio" isn't nearly as much a benefit and people think it is. Treadmills and Stairmasters are OK but the stationary bikes and elliptical trainers are horrible for your joints and work against what you are trying to do. Long easy bouts of cardio are time stealers. If you want to save time and get better results all at the same time you will stop doing "cardio" for 20+ minutes.

I will explain later how you can use these machines more efficiently.

2. Abs. I told you I was going to get in trouble with this article! I just took away the two favorite things to do for the majority of people that go to the gym everyday. Oh the humanity...

If you are still reading TRUST ME. I will explain that to do instead at the end. Stick with me!



Why do people go to the gym and do "abs"? Honestly, it's a mystery to me. The only explanation that I can think of is that many people think that the secret to hot and sexy abs in that next move they saw on the cover of that glossy magazine in like a the store. People may also think that abs will magically appear after a set number of crunches...

Sorry folks. No magic bullet. Doing ab exercises is a complete waste of time. Why? Truth is that you can't work off the fat that is on top of your six pack. You can lower your body fat percentage but trying to target one specific area and magically lower it's fat just doesn't work.

Besides, the ab muscles don't have a huge range of motion so your heart rate doesn't go up very much thus you don't burn a lot of calories and burning calories is how you lower body fat.

3. Bicep curls. Why do people do bicep curls? Oh, and tricep kickbacks and the like. I would also throw wrist exercises into the mix as a waste of time as well. What did big biceps do for you?

I don't do bicep curls. EVER. 

Doing bicep curls is a waste of time for the sole reason that there are others ways that actually get you biceps and get you fit at the same time. I know, your heart rate is going to have to go up which a lot of us are trying to avoid. If you are doing bicep curls to get fit then you need to stop. You are wasting your time.

4. Calf raises. This goes along with the bicep curls. Thank about it like this. Stay with me. Let's say each exercise you did was worth a point value. 1 to 100. The goal is your hour is to get as many points as possible. Calf raises are a 2. Bicep curls a 2. Crunches are a 3.

Bare with me and I till you the big point value exercises.

5. Abduction and adduction machines. My God these machines are stupid. Just like crunches, people.... OK, let's be real, WOMEN think that they are going to get rid of inner thigh fat by doing the inner thigh machine.

If you have ever watched the Family Feud then you know the sound as well. WRONG.

The real travesty is that trainers actually encourage people to use these machines. If I were to buy a gym the first thing I would do would be to haul those stupid machines out the door and to the curb. 

Here is the deal with these single joint exercises. The may work the specific muscle... but for what reason. So it can get big? So you can grow one muscle at a time? The body is not made this way. Your heart rate stays low and you tend to get a "lifters gut". 

You work out like this and you don't get results so you quit. 

I just told you 5 things that you do at the gym that are a waste of time. 

Do you want to know how to do it right? Do you want to know how to workout at the gym so that you get results?

Here are the 5 steps that you need to do:

1. Focus on your workout and not the TV, the music, the hot chick in front or you or the guy with the guns staring at himself in the mirror. 

2. Focus on compound joint movements that make you VERY tired. For example: burpees, swings, squat to press, thrusters, jumping jacks, dips, push-ups, pull-ups etc. 

3. Do a variety of things including INTERVALS on the cardio machines. Try doing a half mile as fast as you can on the treadmill then doing 10 burpees, 10 squats and 10 swings. Do that 3 times. 

4. Focus on the movements and not the muscles.  This is important. Move your body as a unit. Don't try to "build muscle". Focus on getting fit. 

5. Be tired. Be EXHAUSTED. If you are not crawling out of the gym then you need to work a little harder next time. 

Things like burpees get the high point values that we talked about early. If you do 1000 crunches it will take you like...an hour. Do 25 burpees in 3 or 4 minutes. Which is more efficient?

If the normal routine that all the wellness coaches tell us to do worked then there would be a whole lot more fit people in the world. Sorry, my friends. These tired routines don't work.

We need to think different when we go to the gym. We need to step up out effort to get better results. We need to be more efficient at the gym by not doing the easy things that just don't work and learn to put forth the effort to do the hard things that do work.

If I were you I would re-read this blog post right here: http://yourbestfitnesscoach.blogspot.com/2014/07/willing.html

You need to be willing to give something up to get the body that you want.

You need to be willing to learn to do what makes you uncomfortable.

You need to be willing to be a little different. You get what you don't have you need to be willing to do what you haven't done. Period. 

If you are interested to know some of the routines that I am doing as I prepare for the "2015 CrossFit Games" then check out my new blog: http://ricksnoexcusesblog.blogspot.com/

I would also suggest that you follow me on Instagram. I post my daily workouts there as well.... and lot's of goofy stuff as well. Find me at @rickcopley.

If you got value out of this post please share around social media. You might change someones life today.

To you success!

Rick Copley, Your Best Fitness Coach 

"Empowering YOU to be a champion" 

rick@yourbestfitnesscoach.com

Rick's No Excuses Blog

Instagram: @rickcopley 

352-989-6795

Your Best Fitness Coach Facebook Page 

My opinion of CrossFit

I don't talk much about CrossFit.

Why?

I think most of us grew up with the virtue that if you don't have anything good to say then you shouldn't say anything at all. I live my life that way. I stay positive all the time and I avoid topics that become "he said she said" or a battle of who has the loudest voice.

Things have changed. I value my clients and friends to much to just stay quiet on such an explosive topic.

Today I voice my opinion on "CrossFit."

Before I dive in let me tell you a little about my background. I am not just some opinionated hack who wants to stir the pot; I don't do that. Like I said before I tend to stay out of the fray; so to speak.

I have an undergraduate degree in Sport Management and a Master's Degree in Physical Education. I have coached the sport of track and field and cross country at the collegiate Division II and III levels. I also coached high school track for 5 years in the state of New Hampshire where I was the coach for the throwing and jumping events.

I have been a Certified Personal Trainer since 1999. I have owned a personal training studio (in New Hampshire), been a YMCA Wellness Director (Golden Triangle in Tavares) and have owned Your Best Fitness Coach since January 2010. Currently I am an instructor as ASM Fitness in Eustis.

I have also been an endurance athlete at the highest level since the 1980's. I was a 4:16 miler as a Division I runner at the University of Massachusetts and have competed in triathlons all over the world. I have finished in the top 15 in the WORLD in my age group 3 separate times in the sport of triathlon. I am an Ironman finisher and was the runner up at the National Duathalon Championships in the "Double Du". (Combination of the times from off road and on road duathlon National Championships)

I tell you this not a bragging but simple to tell you that I am not some average Joe off the street that has some sort of ax to grind.

Now, if you are looking for me to either jump on the bandwagon of "CrossFit sucks" or "defend the brand" I am sorry but I will do neither. I have my own thoughts and you are about to hear them.

I love a lot about CrossFit. I really do. Just yesterday I did a workout called "The Murph". It pushed me and it pushed my clients. We had fun and really pushed the limits to get some great results.

The Murph was actually how I found CrossFit about 6 years ago. I was working at the Y back then and a local firefighter named Matt was working out and he told me he was "CrossFitting". Of course I asked what that was and he directed me to the website where they posted a WOD (workout of the day) everyday.

Awesome. I check it out and the WOD for the day was The Murph: 1 mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 air squats, 1 mile run.

I did the workout and was sore for 5 days.

Was that a sign?

The next week I tried another workout called "Linda". I couldn't get through that workout and the next one I tried had swings and I hurt my back doing them wrong. Another sign?

For the next few years I did a few CrossFit workouts here and there. They were challenging and fun. For the most part though I found them difficult to do at the YMCA and at the church where I started teaching classes when I left the Y in 2010.

Meanwhile, as you likely know, CrossFit has exploded. It has exploded on TV with the CrossFit games. Gyms are popping up everywhere and everyone seems to want to do CrossFit.

Isn't this a good thing? Isn't this what we want? Don't we want people off the couch and getting into a workout culture and getting fit?

Yes we do and that is one of the great things that CrossFit has done. They have made working out and fitness in general kind of cool. They have made high intensity training part of the mainstream. This is how people get results! Thanks to CrossFit the "sport" of fitness is here.

I think that is cool.

But is CrossFit for everybody? No, sadly it is not.

Is the concept for everybody? Yes, it certainly is.

So what is wrong with CrossFit?

The real impetus for me writing this piece today is an article that is spreading like wildfire on Social Media. Here is a link to the article: http://www.dailydot.com/opinion/why-i-dont-do-crossfit/

The basic problem with CrossFit is that they focus too much on weight. My feeling on fitness is that you need to focus your goals on how YOU change and not how much weight you can do. I feel the best measure of fitness is what you can do with your body without resistance. When you start focusing on exercises with a lot of weight then your goal starts to be to move more weight.

Right or wrong that is my opinion.

As a personal trainer for 15 years here are some opinions that I have.

1. You should never do snatches. The movement is too technical for people to grasp and it serves little purpose in terms of function. So why do it? Save that one for the Olympics.

2. You should never dead lift more than your body weight. Again, why do that?

3. You should never clean more than about 2/3's to 1/2 your body weight. Cleans are a great exercise to learn because you need to do it to get the bar to your shoulder to do presses or thrusters. Doing much more than 1/2 your body weight equals a law of diminishing results in my book.

Why do I mention these exercises? Much of the CrossFit program is built around these 3 exercises. To do CrossFit you will violate all of these rules and in my opinion the risk versus the potential return is to great.

This is primarily the reason that I don't do CrossFit nor do I recommend CrossFit.

If you read the above article she goes into the reason for not doing "high weight high rep" Olympic lifts and she is pretty on point. The tone is a little to elitist for me but she does make valid points about the purpose of Olympic lifts.

There is one thing that she talks about that I believe is off base. She talks about trainers not being certified and the supervision at CrossFit gyms not being what it should be. Honestly I think that is a bunch of CRAP.

I know lot's of people that go to CrossFit and some CrossFit coaches. They know what they are doing and I would NEVER try to bring the whole brand down like that.

According to the author of the article you pretty much need like a PhD to be a fitness coach. That's ridiculous. Who really has the money to get instruction like that? If you have millions to spend to get Olympic level coaching then go at it. Most of us do not.

So the questions remains. CrossFit? Good or bad? Safe or not safe?

You will hear people shouting from the rooftops of both sides. Everybody has an opinion.

Here is the way I look at it: there is some extreme stuff out there.

An Ironman? People claim that you can get hurt doing CrossFit. How about training 20-30 hours per week for an event that will take 8-9 hours for the ELITE. That's ridiculous.

How about a marathon? The human body isn't meant to run 26.2 miles. I'm sorry. It just isn't.

If you think about it endurance sports are crazy. Who isn't going to get hurt training that much?

When you do CrossFit, or any kind of working out for that matter, you will get hurt while working out. You will twist your ankle, you will hurt you knee, you will pull your back.... TRUTH.

Does it beat the alternative?

If you sit on your ass all day you surely won't hurt your elbow doing a muscle up. Your surely won't hurt your back doing dead lifts if you sit on the couch watching TV all day. But, if you workout you will shed body fat and increase your endorphin levels thus live better with less illness and disease.

If you want to do CrossFit then have at it. I am not going to blast the brand just because I don't agree 100% with the methods. Is it safe? For the most part, if you do things the right way it is safe. In my eyes it is better to do CrossFit then to walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes day and do the silly circuit at the Y.

I am not a CrossFit instructor and I do not go to a CrossFit gym.

I do train upwards of 50 people per week and I train my wife and myself. If we don't do "CrossFit" well, what do we do?

Basically, we program our workouts very similar to what CrossFit does. The difference?

No heavy dead lifts. No snatches. No heavy cleans. No heavy squats. No heavy anything.

What do we do instead of the lifts? We do many of the functional exercises that CrossFit does plus we run / walk / row. If you want to learn more about our program shoot me a quick email and I will explain more; that is not the intent of the article today.

In today's Social Media crazed world anybody with an account and an opinion can be an expert. Anybody can shout from the roof tops how wrong something else is. Be very leery of those people. Be very leery of the people that do nothing but bring others down without presenting a real alternative.

Be leery of the Facebook seagulls. You know, the ones that show up, squawk loudly, shit all over the place then leave. They don't really care about you they just want to make noise and make a mess.

I don't want to be that person but I do feel that with my credibility with this topic I owe it to my followers to state my opinion.

If you want to do an Ironman or train for the Olympic Bobsled Team, or do a marathon, or climb Mount Everest, or do a 5k or do CrossFit...who am I to stop who? Who am I to say, "Don't do that, you might get hurt?"

I am not.

Understand the risks and go for it.

I do not do CrossFit because I has a basic difference on opinion with the programming. No more and no less.

Haters will hate. Seagulls with squawk, shit and leave. True professional offer an opinion, thought processes and alternatives. I hope that I have treated with topic with the respect it deserves and I hope that you got value from today's post.

If you found this article compelling and informative I would appreciate it if you shared it on social media. Thank you!

To your success!

Rick Copley, Your Best Fitness Coach 

JOIN OUR TEAM! 
"Empowering YOU to be a champion" 

rick@yourbestfitnesscoach.com

352-989-6795

Your Best Fitness Coach Facebook Page 

p.s. Are you an athlete or want to become an athlete? This could be a good resource for you: