Six Pack Abs in 2 Minutes Per Day?

I have a protective coating for my 6 pack. They are there, I'm just keeping them safe under 5 inches of protective blubber. Like to keep the women guessing you know!

Hey - this is a damn good site btw!

Jack,

Thanks for the compliment. I am doing my best to make sure this isn't just a bland fitness site with generic fat loss articles. I have no problem talking about controversial stuff or offending anyone with my strong opinions.

If people want typical bodybuilding info, there are a million sites on the net. If they want to look attractive, they will hang out here.

Cheers,

Rusty

I watched the video and tried your advice. i had done the plank before in various woman's magazine workouts but they only tell you to hold it 5 secs, 3 reps…etc.
So the last 2 weeks, I cut out all crunches and sit-ups and did the plank 1-1.5 mins, and the side plank 30 sec each side.
I have seen very noticeable results and instead of just my upper abs being defined, there is more a six-pack.
Hopefully I'll get strong enough to hold it the full 2 mins!

Yeah…2 minutes is kind of tough! It doesn't sound tough until you actually time yourself. What is great about this exercise is that it develops the entire abdominal wall, just like you said.

I've developed tighter obliques and lower abs from doing this and it has made my waist tighter as well. It really targets every muscle in the abdomen really well. Much healthier for your spine as well!

hi i'm a coach at an amateur boxing club and recently my lads are doing planks, many thanks for some great workout ideas. I have in the past and probably will continue with crunches and so on but do ensure correct form and try to keep less strain on their backs. Boxers kinda demand to leave the gym exhausted!!

Shane,

That is great. I imagine planks would be a good exercise for a boxer, since it teaches the guys to keep their abs tight.

You know what you might want to try? Have them do some cardio like jump a rope until they are breathing hard, then have them do a plank at that point. This would teach them to keep their abs tight when they are winded and out breath (kind of like they would feel towards the end of a tough round of boxing). This would hopefully translate over to the ring, so they could take shots to the body better even when they are worn out.

Planks won't produce a 6 pack until bodyfat is reduced allowing for their visibility. There is no miracle ab exercise, whether it be planks, crunches or rotation work, abs are made visible in the kitchen, not the gym.

I agree with you on this point. I just think that planks are a great way to tighten up the abs and display a great six pack…once you get down to a lower body fat percentage.

I'm going to post your comment on the front page of my blog BTW…I do like sharing different opinions.

Rusty

Planks are great, not saying otherwise. Just thought it should be mentioned that bodyfat can't be spot reduced on the human body, that is after all how many late night infomercial pieces of equipment are sold, perpetuating that misinformation about spot reduction around the abdomen. Fat burning belts come to mind immediately.

Thank you for correcting that type-o, by the way

rusty this is awesome I did your ab routine except i went through it twice did plank 2 min side planks 1 min each side. i was suprised after aweek. I think using weights it just made the muscles wider now my waist looks so small and my abs still pop out amazing .. nice workout i was wondering how may times do you do each exercise?

Damon,

I mix it up a bit. I always try to get in the 2 minute plank before I go to bed, but sometimes in the gym I'll do 3 sets of each. The cool thing about the gym is that you can do sets on the "exercise balls". What is great about that is it will make your abs work in a different manner.

Another way of doing…start in the normal position until it hurts, the lift your left arm off the mat and get into position for the right side plank…after that hurts, go back into a normal plank…then roll over to a left side plank. Continue to do this until your abs are blitz. You are basically maintaining some sort of plank position for 5-10 minutes without resting…it works well!

Rusty

I learned about planks from my triathlon coaches — they're great "stabilizer" exercises, strengthening your core, useful especially for long periods of cycling. I did them while, but now — off-season — have returned to more traditional ab exercises. My BF is pretty low and abs fairly defined already, but now I'm going to begin planks again. Thanks for the tip.

hey rusty i was wondering how many days a week you do these planks? do you do them everyday? or just certain days of the week? as always thanks alot rusty!

Rusty,

What would you recommend to lose the body fat. I still have a belly I've been trying to get rid of, and the lower ab routines (roman chair, leg lifts) aren't working as well as I would like. Any suggestions? I usually do my abs after my cardio (treadmill)

Thanks in advance!

Jay

Jay,

Read this:

Stubborn Body Fat

Rusty