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Casey Viator, 1971 AAU Mr. America, often used the guidelines in this course.
The following eBook commands your attention, answers your questions, and guides you in a new, realistic direction. And, its FREE.
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Frank Zanes abdominals stand out in my mind as being the best of the bunch. He had it all: lower abs, upper abs, obliques, and the tiein muscles with first-class clarity. His core development, no doubt, played a big role in his winning three Mr. Olympia titles.
2010
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Tom Wykle, a professional water skier, trained with Dr. Darden for six weeks. He dropped 35 pounds of fat, built 3 pounds of muscle, and trimmed 5 inches off his waist.
2010
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Strength training prevents the loss of fluids from your muscles. In fact, strength training can actually build from 1/2 to 1 pound of muscle per week. For this to happen, however, the exercise must be done properly. What is proper strength training? Its certainly more than the haphazard lifting of a barbell or the reckless use of an exercise machine. My duties as Director of Research for Nautilus Sports/Medical Industries for 20 years, and my practical experience in working with hundreds of professional athletes, allow me to boil it down to four requirements. Strength training is most productive when it is slow, intense, progressive, and brief. Lets take a closer look at each requirement. Slow: Observe the typical lifting that goes on in most gyms and fitness centers and youll see repetitions that are performed in a fast, jerky, cheating style. Such a style is inefficient and dangerous. Slow lifting and lowering eliminates most of the momentum from the movement and transfers the resistance on the targeted muscles. The speed of movement that I recommend is approximately 3 seconds to lift the resistance and 3 seconds to lower it. Each repetition should take 6 seconds to perform. A controlled, deliberate repetition produces more thorough muscular involvement and its much safer.
Concerning fat removal, reduced-calorie eating alone does produce scale weight loss. But in almost all cases some of the weight loss comes from the muscles. Losing weight from the muscles is a critical concern: it makes you weaker and, as a result, your physical activities and performances suffer. This bodily state must not occur for long-term success, and its certainly not appropriate for athletes who practice and perform multiple times each week. The ideal condition is to lose weight only from your fat stores. For this to occur, you have to strengthen your muscles at the same time that you are reducing your dietary calories.
2010
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Systematic progress! Thats why more than 50 years ago, strength training was called progressive resistance exercise. During each new workout, a trainee attempted to increase the number of repetitions or the amount of weight or both. This proven system from the past still applies today. Brief: A strength-training routine involving slow, intense, progressive exercise must be short in duration and repeated no more than three times per week. Much of this reasoning has to do with recovery ability and the fact that it does not increase in proportion to strength. None of my trainees perform more than 10 exercises per workout, and no session lasts longer than 30 minutes. In fact, 20 minutes per workout is the norm after an individual becomes more skilled at performing the exercises. Training on three, nonconsecutive-days per week provides your body with needed consistency and ample recovery. Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedules are usually preferred. The following routine involves the Ab Coaster, which is a unique home-exercise machine that targets the lower abdominals. This workout requires only one set of eight exercises. Repeat the routine three times a week, on non-consecutive days.
The Bent-Over Row is an intense exercise for the upper back, especially if it is performed smoothly with a pause in the contracted position.
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your elbows supported on padded armrests, you glide the bench forward and up. Such a motion works your abs from the bottom up, much like the Hanging Leg Raise with none of the problems. The Ab Coaster has my vote for working effectively the often-neglected, lower-ab muscles. What about stacking the Ab Coaster exercises? Well, youve really got to experience this below-the-navel, inside-out-burning feeling for yourself. Once you get the hang of the Ab Coaster (it does take some getting-used to), you can progressively add 5, 10, and 15 pounds of resistance plates to the carriage . . . to make each repetition HARDER. Harder is the name of the game, if you want to force your body to build stronger, better-defined, lower abdominal muscles. Theres just never been a PRACTICAL, PROGRESSIVE way for most men to target the lower abs until the arrival of the Ab Coaster. For more information about the Ab Coaster, go to www.AbCoasterClub.com.
If you can do 12 consecutive, slow and smooth repetitions of the Hanging Leg Raise, you probably have little need for this eBook. In fact, your midsection is probably flat and your lower-abs are well defined. The problem is that the Hanging Leg Raise is extremely difficult for the average man to perform. Most cannot even raise their feet to waist level and pause, much less to the overhead bar. And, holding onto the horizontal bar for 30 seconds or longer, takes muscular hands and forearms, as well as supportive strength in the shoulders and upper back. The Ab Coaster was designed to remove much of the difficulty of this hanging exercise, while emphasizing the positive effects of raising the lower body. Instead of lifting the entire weight of your legs forward and up, you kneel on a bench that rests on a curved track. Then, with
The Ab Coaster works your abs from the bottom up, while limiting stress to your neck, back and shoulders.
2010
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Forward Lift
Ab Coaster Forward Lift (for lower abdominals): Adjust the seat so that it faces forward. Move to the side. Place your forearms and elbows on the arm pads and grasp the handles lightly. Kneel on the seat and hook the front of your feet on the back edge of the pad. Look forward and keep your back straight. Pull your knees forward and up, which moves the carriage, until you fully contract your abdominals. Pause briefly at the top position. Lower smoothly to the bottom. Repeat for 8 repetitions. Ease out of the machine and get ready to perform the Left Side Lift. Ab Coaster Left Side Lift (for abdominals and left obliques): Readjust the seat. From behind, the front goes right and the back goes left, and make sure it locks in place. Move to the side. Place your forearms and elbows on the arm pads. Grasp the handles lightly. Kneel on the seat and hook the front of your feet on the back edge of the pad. Look forward and keep your back straight. Note that your left knee, because of the rotated position of your hips, is slightly in front of your right knee. Pull your knees forward
Side Lift
2010
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The Golden-Age secret is to consume a small meal, 400 calories or less, and to repeat it every 2 hours. To facilitate this process, its helpful to have available nutritious, Over the last two decades my studies have shown that most men can adhere to the same basic foods each day for meal-replacement shakes and protein-energy bars. breakfast, lunch, and snacks. Men do, however, like a little variety at the evening meal. This simplifies calorie counting Six or more of these small meals were consumed each day by and food preparation. serious, old-school bodybuilders.
Try a nutritious shake as a meal replacement.
In comparison, studies show that the typical man in the United States eats only 2.5 meals a day. He usually consumes a skimpy breakfast, followed by a large lunch and an even larger dinner. In fact, his dinner is often stretched into continuous evening and late-evening snacking, with such foods as ice cream, peanuts, chips, cookies, a sandwich or two, and 3 or 4 beers.
Each days small meals are comprised of approximately 50-percent carbohydrates and 25-percent proteins and 25-percent fats. Complex carbohydrates are your recommended sources of energy. In some of the meals, I suggest brand-name products as a guide. After the eating plan, please pay attention to the Notes.
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What to Expect?
If you want a leaner, tighter midsection and clearly defined abs what can you expect from adhering to my 3 SECRETS for six weeks? Research at Sea World in Orlando, Florida, which is reported in my book, The Bowflex Body Plan, offers some insight. In that study, called the Hard-Body Challenge, professional water skiers progressed through a similar program. Their average starting body weight, height, and age were as follows: 188 pounds, 71.2 inches tall, and 27.8 years of age. In only six weeks, each man removed an average of 23.4 pounds of fat and trimmed 4 inches off his waist.
Each of my trainees on the Sea World water ski team, after he finished the six-week program, had a 32-inch waist or smaller.
Since my 3-SECRET formula is comparable to the Hard-Body Challenge, you can expect the same decreases especially if you are of a similar weight, height, and age. In fact, with the incorporation of the Ab Coaster, I predict in many cases even better results. Soon you will experience the winning teamwork of . . . (1) Bottom-Up Exercise, (2) Small Meals Every 2 Hours, and (3) Superhydration. With strict adherence to my 3 SECRETS, you will be well on your way to achieving a rock-hard midsection, a killer six-pack, and the body youve always wanted. Make it happen!
2010
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BONUS SECRET!
Practice the Stomach Vacuum For a Smaller Waist.
The stomach vacuum is a Golden-Age technique that involves an unusual contraction of the transverse abdominis muscle, which stretches horizontally across your midsection. I taught this contraction to more than 100 subjects who went through one of my abdominal-training courses, and most of them got the hang of it quickly. Mr. Olympia, Frank Zane, used a version of the stomach vacuum in all his posing routines. Heres what it entails: Lie in bed on your back. Place your hands across the bottom of your rib cage and the top of your abdominals. Take a normal breath and forcibly blow out as much air as possible.
Frank Zane, Mr. Olympia, shows the stomach vacuum and how it affects the muscles of the midsection.
Suck in your stomach to the maximum degree, but take in no air during the process.You should feel a concave formation under your rib cage. Try the vacuum several more times while lying down. Stand now and get in front of a mirror and try the vacuum. Remove your shirt so you can see whats happening. At first, the vacuum is more difficult to do standing than lying, but with a little more practice, you should be able to master it in a standing position. Practice the stomach vacuum twice before breakfast, lunch, and dinner or six times a day for six weeks and your waist will be stronger and flatter.
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About Ellington
E llington Darden graduated from Florida State University in 1972 with a Ph.D. in Exercise Science. While at FSU, he also completed two years of post-doctoral study in Food and Nutrition. Afterward, for 20 years, he was Director of Research for Nautilus Sports/Medical Industries, where he helped to develop and popularize Nautilus strengthtraining equipment. I n July of 1984, the American Booksellers Association ranked The Nautilus Bodybuilding Book by Ellington as the No. 1 sports/ fitness book in the United States. Furthermore, USA Today selected The Nautilus Diet as the most highly acclaimed fatreduction book of 1987. Since then, Ellington has authored other bestselling manuals including 100 High-Intensity Ways to Improve Your Bodybuilding, Living Longer Stronger, A Flat Stomach ASAP, The New High-Intensity Training, and The New Bodybuilding for Old-School Results. His books have been printed in seven languages with worldwide distribution. E llington resides with his wife, Jeanenne, and son, Tyler, 7, and daughter, Larah, 4, in Orlando, Florida. He manages an interactive web site, www.drdarden.com, and continues to do research, writing, and Intensive Coaching from his private gym.
Photography of Andy McCutcheon (on pages 1, 4, 5, and 6) by Mitch Mandel/Rodale Images, from The New High-Intensity Training (2004) by Ellington Darden, Ph.D.
Ellington Darden
This group of professional water skiers from Sea World in Orlando, with Dr. Dardens Intensive Coaching, shed 120 pounds of body fat in six weeks. To learn more of the details, go to www.drdarden.com and review the article, Florida Dreaming.
2010
Ellington is available for consulting at Email: ell@drdarden.com For more information, see www.drdarden.com.
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