The skinny on abs

Flex, March, 2003 by Lee Haney

Q: Should I train my abdominals with less intensity than I do my other bodyparts?

A: Remember that abdominals are muscles, just like triceps, biceps, pecs and lats. As such, they have to be developed with high-intensity training. Sure, I may have been blessed with a narrow waist, but that never stopped me from giving 100% effort to perfect my midsection.

I always split my abdominal workout plan into two distinct phases. In the offseason, I would superset two exercises per training session. I'd select an upper-ab exercise (crunches) and a lower-ab exercise (hanging leg raises) and do three to five supersets, depending on how I felt that particular day.

Reps would vary according to the difficulty of the exercise. For hanging leg raises, I'd reach failure in the 20- to 30-rep range; for crunches, I'd be able to hammer out 30 to 40 reps with perfect form before fatiguing the upper part of the rectus abdominis.

12-WEEK PROGRAM FOR RIPPED ABS

About 12 weeks out from a Mr. Olympia contest, I would switch over to a giant-set program of five exercises, each selected to stress a different part of the ab complex. Hanging leg raises and bench crunches would remain, but I added twists, hanging knee raises and Roman chair situps to the training arsenal.

If you're in the countdown to a contest or on an ab-specialization program, you may want to follow what I did in my 12-week Olympia prep program. For the first six weeks, I targeted abs two out of every three training days. For the final six weeks, I worked the midsection every training day. The strategy is simple: I perform five consecutive exercises, with little or no rest between movements. The first two giant sets are followed by a two-minute rest interval, but after the last two or three giant sets, I often take no break at all.

It is a good idea to change exercises as often as possible. I do every ab exercise in the book, including pulley crunches and incline-board leg raises, to make sure my muscles never have a clue what's coming next.

One of my favorite expressions is "Don't whip a tired horse!" You can't make progress if you are pushing your body too hard or too fast. I start with two giant sets per workout and slowly build the endurance to work my way up to five giant sets.

Another word of caution: Limit the exercises to two or three per giant set. The Lee Haney 12-week ab program, the one you see in the chart, is based on my preparation for Mr. Olympia contests. There's no reason for you to overtrain in pursuit of ripped abs. Follow my advice and you'll walk a straight-and-narrow path to physique-building success.

To contact Lee Haney, visit www.leehaney.com.

LEE HANEY'S HIGH-INTENSITY ABDOMINAL WORKOUT

EXERCISE *           SETS     REPS

Hanging leg raises    3-5    20-30
Bench crunches        3-5    30-40
Twists                3-5    2 min.
Roman chair situps    3-5    30-40
Hanging knee raises   3-5    30-40

* As this is an advanced precontest (Mr. Olympia) program, you sould
limit the total number of exercises to two or three per workout,
choosing from among these suggestions.

  Done in a giant-set fashion: i.e., three to five exercises performed
consecutively, with little or no rest between movements and minimal rest
(no more than two minutes) after each giant set.