Spot on abs: this science-based training routine will help you spot reduce for better abs. Follow the program and you'll be spot on for achieving a chiseled midsection in six weeks

Muscle & Fitness, June, 2007 by Jim Stoppani, Joe Wuebben

26-PAGE AB SECTION

Six-pack Solutions

Summer's around the corner. This special abs section will help you uncover that tight midsection just in time to hit the beach

iNCLUDES

SPOT-ON ABS

This six-week progressive program focuses on your abs with laser-like precision

PAGE 122

SPOT-ON DIET

Go high-protein and low-carb to help eliminate unwanted abdominal dough

PAGE 140

SPOT-ON SUPPLEMENTS

Get ripped to the core with these five scientifically proven fat-burning supplements

PAGE 148

30 WAYS TO LEAVE YOUR BLUBBER

Send your bodyfat packing for good with these 30 tips to live by

PAGE 160

Who would you believe? The Barbie and Ken look-alikes who say on the infomercials that if you use their ab-training gizmos, "You'll lose inches off your waist in just a few weeks!" or the many scientists who say such a claim is totally bogus? After all, attaining a washboard midsection simply by doing an ab exercise for five minutes a day is more or less the definition of spot-reducing, an outdated method of fat loss that had been relegated to a weight-room punch line. Well, now you can stop laughing--it seems the spot-reduction theory may actually hold water. Doing ab exercises for prolonged periods can, in fact, help you get better abs, and we've designed a program for you to achieve just that. All of which makes Barbie and Ken's logic, according to scientific research, brilliant!

SPOT-REDUCTION RESEARCH

OK, maybe Barbie and Ken aren't 100% correct. Although you may not be able to spot-reduce your midsection fat to reveal ripped abs by using some gizmo for just five minutes a day, you can spot-reduce your waistline with the right program.

Spot reduction refers to the ability to train a muscle group, such as abs, with region-specific exercises, such as crunches, in an effort to remove body-fat from just that area of the body. Until last year, if you asked any exercise physiologist if it were possible to spot-reduce your middle, you'd get an emphatic "Hell, no!" Now, that same expert, assuming he or she has been paying attention to the latest research on the subject, would want to retract that statement.

A major study published in a 2006 issue of the American Journal of Physiology uncovered some interesting results, effectively turning the world of exercise science on its ear. In the study, conducted at the University of Copenhagen (Denmark), scientists had male subjects perform single-leg extensions with light weight for 30 minutes straight. The researchers then measured the amount of blood flow to the subjects' subcutaneous fat cells (those under the skin) in both the exercising and resting thighs, as well as the amount of lipolysis (release of fat) from those fat cells. The scientists discovered that the exercising leg experienced a significant increase in blood flow to and lipolysis from the subcutaneous fat cells, compared to the resting leg. In other words, during exercise, the fat cells surrounding the trained muscle released more fat into the blood, meaning a greater quantity of fat is fed to the exercising muscles to be used as fuel.

The results of the study suggest that when you exercise, you do, in fact, burn bodyfat preferentially from the area you're training. Although the study looked at fat on the thighs, it's safe to assume that these results will hold up when you perform exercises for your abs and oblique muscles.

In addition, the findings of numerous studies indicate that exercise programs, particularly those that combine weights and cardio, are very effective at reducing fat from all areas of the body, especially the abdominal and visceral fat that lies beneath the ab muscles and is responsible for the "beer belly" many middle-aged men develop. Outside of being unattractive, this fat is directly related to heart disease, research shows.

The good news for those of you already lifting and doing cardio is that you're ahead of the game. Combine those elements with a program specifically designed to melt the fat off your midsection, like the one in this article, and by the time summer rolls around you'll have changed that potential pony keg to a six-pack.

SPOT-ON ABS

The Spot-On Abs Program is different from your typical ab routine because each workout is based on total time, not reps and sets. The Danish study had subjects train with light weight for 30 minutes. Therefore, similar to the study protocol, you'll work your abs in giant-set fashion, moving from one exercise to the next (4-7 exercises total per workout) with little, if any, rest for a specific period.

During the first week of this six-week program, you'll perform four ab exercises continuously for 15 minutes straight, meaning you'll do one set after another with little to no rest in between. Perform each set with strict form and at a medium pace; don't try to do the reps too fast because it's length of time you're going for, not a particular number of sets or reps. (How many sets actually completed in the allotted time will vary by individual.) In Week 2, you'll do five exercises for 20 minutes; in Weeks 3 and 4, six exercises for 25 minutes; and in Weeks 5 and 6, seven exercises for 30 minutes. Following each ab workout, you'll perform 30 minutes of cardio on a treadmill.