I don’t care how many sit ups you do in the gym or at home, if you do not have a solid and consistent diet, those abs will stay hidden. It is crucial to have a strict meal plan if you want those abs to pop.
Importance Of A Strict & Consistent Diet:
All of us have some sort of 6 or 8 pack hiding underneath the bodyfat, it is simply revealing them is where we have the problem. I have a target that I set up for everyday: 3,000 calories (give or take 500), 260 grams of protein, and plenty of water consumption. I achieve this through 6 to 8 meals a day. The most important meal of the day in my opinion is breakfast. I religiously eat 4 to 6 whole fried eggs, 2 pieces of whole wheat bread, and a bowl of oatmeal every morning.
You must commit and make it a priority.
Protein bars and protein shakes are also important to have on hand at all times. I carry a box of bars with me at work so there is no excuse not to meet my protein quota. I will also cook fish and chicken by the bulk. This way it is prepared and ready when I need it. Once you can nail down and stick to a solid meal plan, then it is time to put work in the gym.
Sacrifices
I also drink no alcohol and take no drugs, except caffeine. I drink 2 to 3 cup of coffee throughout the morning and I drink it black. I maintain around a 5% body fat year round. It is a lifestyle that you can choose and is achievable if you just prioritize and make it a goal. I feel better today than any amount of drug or alcohol can make me feel. It is all within your reach! I know because I once thought it was too far out of my grasp.
Is training and doing sit ups enough?
First of all, I did not get my shredded mid section by simply doing the sit ups and hanging leg raises alone. To develop a solid core you must do the core lifts if you want to get the maximum results. It wasn’t until I started to do the squats, deadlifts, and leg presses to failure… blasting my leg workouts like there was no tomorrow, that I started to see amazing results.
You must incorporate the core lifts into your daily weight training routine one way or another.
High-Intensity Abdominal Blast
That being said, lets get rolling onto my ab routine. I treat my abs like any other muscle on my body. I see people doing 5 sets of like 50 reps, thinking that the more they can do the better the six pack. I look at it like this… my abs are just like my biceps, quads, or triceps. I focus on lifts that allow me to reach failure within the 8 to 20 rep range, depending on the day. Using a stopwatch is also crucial when doing my program. Sets, reps, and time in between each set is what makes a high intensity abdominal blast.
Ben Bookers Ab Routine:
Note: 60 seconds rest, 5 sets of 13 to 15
- Set 1 through 3 – hanging wipers to failure, ending with front leg raises to reach the 13 to 15 rep range if needed
- Set 4- alternating knee decline bench sit ups
- Set 5- regular decline bench sit ups
Blast these sets out after hitting the squat rack, leg press, or dead lifts doing 5 sets of 13 to 15 with same amount of rest. Intensity and achieving absolute failure will yield the maximum results. Sometimes I only do abs once a week.
Three days a week is the max that I will do an ab workout. The sets vary between 60 seconds and 3 minutes rest. Some days I only do 3 sets as opposed to 5.
Importance of intensity
OK, it is not that I don’t believe in cardio, it is just that I do not have to do any when I stick to my meal plan, supplement plan, and my intense 6 day a week weight training. You heard me right, I do no cardio, but my training style can be insanely intense! I recommend cardio to those who cannot or will not follow the no alcohol, strict meal plan, training to failure on every set plan, or simply do not have time to workout 4 to 6 days a week.
My daily supplement plan:
4 IGF-2 and 3 drive immediately getting out of bed in the morning- 3 Neovar with breakfast
- 3 RPM and 3 drive one hour pre workout
- 3 neovar post workout
- 4 IGF-2 and 2 L-PM before bed
All of these products are produced by Applied Nutriceuticals, and I have been taking them for a long time now. I began these products before I believed that becoming a fitness model was within my reach.
If you don’t believe me you can go check out my log I kept on my bodybuilding.com account. My bodyspace blogs tell it all. I am bookerbrother on bodyspace and I talk about the first time I would overcome my fear of putting myself out there. Now I am the 2010 bodyspace spokesmodel, and Applied Nutriceuticals company Spokesmodel.
I just entered the Muscle and Fitness Male Model search for a chance at the cover of Muscle and Fitness Magazine, and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
Ben Booker’s Ab Gallery
Failure is the name of the game. Achieve absolute failure in the gym, give your body what it needs out of the gym, combined with a good supplement plan and you cannot go wrong.
Bodyspace: www.bodyspace.com/bookerbrother
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Great interview. Like how Ben lets people know that it’s not just doing the tons of sit ups that will get you the washboard abs but diet and the compound/core lifts (squats, deadlifts). Ben keeps it real.
Good read. I like that there was an emphasis placed on a good diet and high intensity workouts. Keep it up, man.