Here’s another awesome post from my good pal Tristan Lewis. Read on for some great core training and fat loss tips…

Hi there everyone,

Tristan Lewis here and I’m excited to be back with a quick post for my mate Callie Durbrow.

I’d like to give you all ‘5 tips that you should focus on when training for ‘six pack abs and proven fat loss’:

These are 5 rules I like to ‘cement into’ my clients mindsets before we begin our training programs so they focus on these and over the progressive sessions they become more aware of their body, their bodies response and also how they ‘should feel’ when performing workouts for fat loss and six pack abs.

Now before we begin, we all are clear that six pack abs and fat loss will NOT be obtained by false theories like ‘spot training’ ’100′s of sit ups’ ‘crunches only’ or any of the other fallacies you can get swept up in regarding results for these two sought after fitness goals.  And I include in that the waste of money that are those ab gadgets you see on late night tv.  They don’t work and any smart trainer will never condone such things.

So two things first: Callie and I will preach all day long the need for compound / multi joint exercise that incorporates many muscles to synergistically work in unison and burn more calories and in turn burn that stubborn belly fat.

And second: of course diet is essential, in terms of eating right and burning off more calories than you consume.

But assuming these two points are covered then below are 5 tips to always keep in your mind and mentally focus on when performing any of the workouts that Callie and I show you that will be designed to both burn optimal fat as well as carve out the lean midsection you crave.

1) Focus on your core during all movements or exercises. I’m a big believer in being fully aware of your ‘core’ during almost all exercises.  It’s easy to get sluggish and even though we are working hard we still ‘slouch’ or let our midsection ‘loosen’ as we perform an exercise.  From here on out focus on tightening your tummy and tensing those abs no matter what you do – from a pull up to a single leg deadlift touch etc.  You’ll begin to ‘ignite your core musculature’ to always be alert and muscles will fire that in the past may have felt they could ‘rest’.  You’ll realize then that you have a solid lean core musculature and know it is always working for you – and improving each session.

2) Breathe! – I have seen so many people hold their breath during abdominal workouts or should I say the exercises that focus mostly on you core.  There is a real need to be able to control your breathing and exhale on your exertion then inhale as you return to your start position.  Get in the habit of controlling yourself in this way – vitally important.

3) Don’t Be Afraid To Train Your Abs.  The reality here is that following a workout that Callie or I set you will not over-train your abs but use the exercises that best work your abs, obliques, stabilizers and core as well as other muscles for both muscular development as well as optimal calorie burning.  If you train right you will be exhausted quicker, have done a workout that will challenge your whole body AND importantly really trained your core and abs the right way.  Too many times people actually don’t train their core ENOUGH, particularly if they just throw in a few crunches – heaven forbid!

4)Don’t be afraid of HIIT – I had a discussion with a few people in my class last night as I gave them a new High Intensity Interval Training workout to do – they were new to class and were concerned when they heard ‘high intensity’ – once we explained that a person can work-out for shorter periods, in small intense interval bursts and do this with both a cardio perspective and a resistance circuit program or bodyweight exercises AND importantly burn 5 or more times as many calories – they immediately got excited – because at the same time, you are not only doing something that will burn calories and melt the stubborn belly fat to show your sexy midsection, but also doing something that all people are quite capable of doing regardless of what they may initially think  – and doing what you initially think is too much’ and then doing it well is an absolute thrill for your self confidence and self esteem…

And this leads nicely onto my last point…

5)  KNOW that you can do more than you probably give yourself credit for. – I have people of sixty years old and up in my classes and they are invigorated to try new and exciting workouts – but the best thing is seeing how each session as I coach them to understand their own amazing capabilities, I see just how enthused and excited they are AND how incredibly well they do – their results are outstanding.  It does not matter our age or background – the workouts now being put together for you by Callie, me or any other ‘smart’ trainer are designed to not just give you results BUT also give you satisfaction to know that you can push yourself to levels you never thought possible.  The days of thinking these cool new workouts are just for ‘muscle heads or super fit people’ are over.  Get ready to be blown away with what YOU can do and then expect the results of proven fat loss, six pack abs AND total body transformation.

You see a lot of us are in the training game for the thrill of seeing people achieve more than they ever felt possible.  I know I am and so is Callie.

We thrive off of seeing you all do amazing things.

So until my next one,

Be safe and be fit,

You deserve it and you are absolutely capable of it AND more!

Cheers

Tristan

MaverickFitnessCoach.com