1. Strategies You MUST
Know if You Ever Want
to Stand a Chance of
Getting a Flat Stomach
with 6-Pack Abs
by Mike Geary, author - The Truth about Six Pack Abs,
interviewed by Craig Ballantyne - CSCS, Men's Health Magazine
Training Advisor
Visit http://truthaboutabs.rev-u.com for more videos and information.
Below is an interview that I did with world-famous trainer and Men's
Health Magazine Training Advisor, Craig Ballantyne as he grilled me on
the top secrets for fat loss and six pack abs. Check it out...
CB: Mike, give us a brief background about yourself
MG: Sure Craig. Well, I'm currently a Certified Nutrition Specialist and a
Certified Personal Trainer. I've been dedicated to improving my
knowledge of fitness, both training techniques and nutrition aspects,
for over 15 years now, and I never stop trying to learn more each and

2. every day. I've also been a contributing writer for Muscle & Fitness Hers
Magazine, and I'm the author of the popular internationally-selling
book, "The Truth about Six Pack Abs" which has had hundreds of
thousands of readers in over 150 countries currently.
I just love helping people with this area of their lives, as not only does it
improve their outward appearance and confidence, but more
importantly, improves how they feel and their internal health, helping
them to live longer and healthier lives. It's something I'm very
passionate about.
CB: Okay, so where does the average man or woman go wrong when it
comes to training abs?
MG: Ok, most people are probably going to be surprised with this
answer. In their quest for 'six pack abs', the biggest mistake I see people
making is wasting WAY too much of their time training their abs
directly... pumping away with all kinds of different abs-specific
exercises.
I'm sure you know what I'm referring to. The person is trying so hard to
get those abs to show, that they're spending almost all of their time in
the gym with hundreds of reps of various crunches, leg raises, twisting
exercises, etc. Meanwhile, all of that wasted time directly training the
abs could have been better spent on a properly designed full body

3. workout program that would elicit a much better metabolic response
and increase the fat-burning hormone levels in their body as well.
After all, losing the stomach fat that is covering the abs is the MOST
important aspect for most people to finally be able to make their abs
visible. Unfortunately, pumping away with hundreds of crunches and
leg raises does NOT cause much of a metabolic or fat burning hormonal
response. This is the main focus of my Truth about Six Pack Abs book...
full body training programs and proper nutrition to strip off that
stubborn belly fat and reveal the six pack that's hiding underneath!
Visit http://truthaboutabs.rev-u.com for more videos and information.
Of course it wouldn't be an abs book if I didn't focus on ab
development too, but I make sure firstly that the most important
concepts for lasting body fat reduction are understood.
CB: Do you see any gender differences in mistakes they make? And
more importantly, do you see any gender differences in the response to
various types of ab training?
MG: To be honest, I don't really see any need for men or women to
train differently. Bottom line... the best exercises are the best exercises
regardless of gender.

4. However, in regards to mistakes I see between genders... Yes, I tend to
see women more often are deathly afraid to use weight training with
anything but really light weights. That is a shame, because THE most
effective way to gain control over your body fat for life, is to maximize
your lean muscle that your body carries, as well as working that muscle
hard through intense resistance exercise regularly.
It's important for women to realize that regular strength training using
heavier resistance will NOT "bulk them up" (as long as caloric intake is
controlled), but rather is one of the key secrets for losing body fat and
staying lean year-round. As a matter of fact, some of the leanest
females that I've trained over the years are the ones that aren't afraid
to work hard with the weights.
I also notice that most women (and a lot of guys too) spend way too
much time with slow cardio exercise. This is simply not necessary, and
the way I combine high intensity resistance training into full body
routines provides enough of a "cardio" workout in itself usually. We'll
get back to this in a minute though.
CB: What about ol' school sit-ups? Do you use these? Are they good,
bad, or does it "depend"?

5. MG: Sit-ups are a controversial topic. I don't think they're good or bad
per se, but rather "in between". I didn't include them in my program. I
simply don't feel they are necessary, and I think there are much more
effective abs exercises to focus on. Personally, I almost never do sit-ups
except occasionally for a little variety every now and then.
CB: Give us a weekly sample ab training program. How many days per
week? What are a couple of the best exercises you'd pick? How many
sets? Reps? Rest?
MG: Well, first I'd like to point out that the full body movements that
make up the majority of my programs indirectly work the abs and the
entire "core" area to a fairly decent extent. However, I do include abs-
specific exercises into the routines generally about twice per week. The
"abs-specific" portion of the workouts generally only take about 5
minutes at most with very little rest between exercises.
Once people are past the beginning phase of gaining some initial ab
strength, I try to get them away from the exercises that are too easy,
where someone can do 50 or 100 reps, as is frequently common with
standard crunches. Instead, I like to focus on higher resistance exercises
that actually stimulate the muscle fibers to a much greater degree. One
example of a higher resistance abs exercise is hanging leg raises with a
proper "pelvic curl up".

6. It's funny but usually someone that has been wasting so much time
with hundreds of reps of crunches can usually only do a few solid reps
when they first attempt some of these higher resistance exercises. We
also make sure not to neglect some rotational movements, as well as
some work for the deeper muscles like the transversus abdominis.
CB: What do you use for burning fat, intervals or slow cardio? Or both?
Any gender differences here? Or differences between fitness levels
(beginner vs. advanced)?
MG: In most cases, my answer is definitely intervals... or as I like to call
it "variable intensity training". In general, I think slow steady pace
cardio is a waste of time, especially if the goal is lasting fat loss.
I think people need to get away from this thinking about "fat burning
zones" and calories burned during the actual workout, and look at the
bigger picture of what you're doing in your workout to stimulate the
greatest metabolic response in your body... and the best metabolic and
hormonal response is achieved through variable intensity training and
strength training, not slow steady-pace cardio.
Now I will say that if someone is really deconditioned and can't handle
higher intensity exercise routines just yet, this still doesn't mean that
they can't simply use lower intensity routines, but still use it in a

7. "variable intensity" fashion, by alternating
between higher and lower exertion levels
throughout the workout.
Visit http://truthaboutabs.rev-u.com for
more videos and information.
CB: And finally Mike, 1 or 2 of your top secret nutrition tips for carving
out those abs. Open your vault of info!
MG: Well Craig, I think you'd agree that there has never been a more
confusing time regarding proper nutrition for consumers. Every so
called "expert" out there seems to disagree and contradict each other
on what's the best way to eat for fat loss and overall good health.
One of the most important messages I try to teach my readers in this
world of heavy confusion is that your diet doesn't need to conform to
any of the fad diets... you don't need to go "low carb" or "low fat", or
high or low anything for that matter to be successful in losing enough
body fat to get lean enough to be able to see your abs. I like to try to
simplify things for my readers. I think that balance is the key to success
along with eating a diet that is made up of nutrient dense foods in their
natural state (as unprocessed as possible).

8. In general, it is the heavy processing of foods that makes it wreak havoc
inside our bodies. Most foods in their natural unprocessed state are
inherently good for us. Of course there are always exceptions... a salad
of poison ivy leaves is "natural and unprocessed" but certainly would
not be good for us!
I'll leave your readers with a couple of the most important aspects of
nutrition that help to get you lean for life...
1. Get enough quality protein in the daily diet - not only does it have a
higher thermic effect than carbs and fat (so you burn more calories
digesting it), but it also creates satiety so your hunger is satisfied
longer. Plus it's a building block for maintaining and building lean
muscle... And remember that the amount of lean muscle you carry is
one of the main factors for controlling your metabolism.
2. Think fiber! When it comes to carbs, make sure that almost all of
your carbohydrate intake is from higher fiber sources like vegetables,
fruits, and high fiber unrefined grains. Try to avoid refined sugars and
refined grains as that is one of the main reasons so many people
struggle with body fat. I personally don't eat many grains as I prefer to
get most of my carbs from veggies and fruits, but I do use sprouted
grain breads fairly regularly too.

9. I generally recommend looking for carbohydrate sources that have at
least 2-3 grams of fiber per each 10 grams of total carbs. Remember
that fiber helps fill you up and also slows down the glycemic response
of the foods you eat, all beneficial for getting lean.
3. Don't be afraid to eat fat! Many people try to go way too low on their
fat intake and this can negatively affect hormone levels in your body as
well as causing more cravings. Try to eat enough healthy fats daily.
Good sources are all nuts and seeds, nut butters, avocados, olive oil,
organic meats and eggs, coconuts and virgin coconut oil. On that note,
saturated fats from tropical oils are VERY misunderstood, even by many
nutritionists and other health professionals. Yes they are composed
highly of saturated fats, but are actually beneficial (but that's way
beyond the scope of this article).
4. Avoid the two worst things in our food supply at ALL COSTS:
artificial trans fats from margarines, shortening, and hydrogenated
oils that are in most processed foods and deep fried foods
high fructose corn syrup, which is in almost all sweetened products
on the market

10. Again, if you avoid processed foods, it
becomes easy to avoid these two worst
offenders in our food supply.
Visit http://truthaboutabs.rev-u.com for
more videos and information.
I always contend that once you get a handle
on these 4 main points of your diet detailed
above, the rest starts to take care of itself as you gain control over your
appetite, blood sugar levels, hormone levels, etc. It all falls into place,
and you eventually gain total control over how lean you want to get.