First, some tips I think you’ll really find helpful when it comes to
the abs and 17 different things you can do to improve the way
you look AND feel.
So, let me start with the abs…
Not sure why, but so many people seem to be almost obsessed
with “abs”. Caring more about abs than brains… glad you’re not
like that
While the mid-section is so important to your health and fitness,
how it looks isn’t nearly as important as how it functions. And
whether you are concerned with how it looks or how it functions,
or both, here’s what you need to know…
The primary function of the abdominal muscle is to flex your
torso forward. However, there are also muscles that flex
your torso to the side and muscles that rotate your torso.
Often times you see people on their “ab-roller” every day
doing hundreds of crunches or sit-ups. What a waste of time!
If you want to effectively strengthen your stomach you need
to incorporate the following types of exercises:
Choose at least 1-2 exercises that target the lower abs,
1-2 for the obliques (love handles) and 1-2 for the upper abs.
If you haven’t already, be sure to grab a free copy of my ab
training video, The ABsolute Truth. On this video I share with
you my favorite ab exercises, several for each area and then
even give you a workout you can follow along with.
Ok, and if me giving you 7 of my products for free wasn’t enough,
I’ve got one more goodie for you…
My good friend and fellow fitness trainer, Christopher Guerriero,
has agreed to allow me to give you a copy of his audio program,
“17 Proven Ways To Look & Feel 10 Years Younger In 30 days
or Less!” at no charge.
Here’s just some of what you’ll discover when you listen to this
powerful audio program:
- Instantly and profoundly improve the look of your skin.
- Stop the primary cause of all aging from effecting your looks
and health.
- Experience an abundance of energy all day - every day by adding
this one food to your diet which dramatically improves your health,
and significantly reduces the aging process.
- Uncover what’s in your environment, right now, that’s literally
sucking the energy and the life right out of you - and how to make
one simple change to shield yourself from it’s harmful effects - forever.
- Discover the only supplements that work to clean your system out,
boost your energy, increase your health, and add years and youthful
beauty to your life.
I wanted to share with you the list of the top 5 treatments for back pain, neck pain, sciatica and other related conditions.
But before I do, I just had to share these two emails I just received…
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: martina travaille
Date: Mar 10, 2008 6:21 PM
Subject: backjoy
To: jesse
I am loving it. I am talking about the backjoy. Sitting has been a drag. The backjoy has been such a relief. Since 10 years I cannot sit without discomfort and this is for the first time that I say I feel a relief!! Thank you for inventing this piece of art. I hope I will get much more relief, the beginning is here.
Martina
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Joyce Banttari
Date: Mar 11, 2008 8:17 AM
Subject: Re: Simple Change To How You Sit Can Greatly Reduce Pain
To: Jesse Cannone
Jesse,
The Back Joy is nothing short of amazing! I carry it around with me everywhere I go because I can sit so much more comfortably. Without Back Joy I could only sit for 20 minutes without sciatic pain due to a herniated disc.
Using the Back Joy triples that time before I have to get up and do some stretching. I’m still working on improving muscle balance issues and expect the length of comfortable sitting will improve over time. Thanks for some fine products and continued motivation.
It works incredibly well, is super affordable and you can use it at home, in the car and at work. Just like Martina and Joyce above, you too will be thanking me
Ok, now real quick before I share with you the top 5 treatments, I want to answer a question that I received recently that maybe you too have been thinking…
Here’s the email question I received:
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Jeff Jackson
Date: Mar 11, 2008 8:58 AM
Subject: RE: Simple Change To How You Sit Can Greatly Reduce Pain
To: Jesse Cannone
Jesse,
I don’t understand why you want me to spend $49 after I have already spent $100 on your Lose the Back Pain system. I don’t understand why you tout 2 products that are supposed to do the same thing—- eliminate back pain.
I am using your Lose the Back pain system and am having a little success but I am surprised you are recommending I buy another product, how many products do you want me to buy?
Jeff
——- end Jeff’s email ——–
Hi Jeff and thanks for your email and great question…
The fact is, the two products do two completely different things. Can you get relief with just one, probably. But what we have found in working with tens of thousands of people who suffer from various types of back pain, neck pain, sciatica, etc is that most people get the best results when they combine multiple treatments. And in just a minute I’ll share with you our list of the top 5 treatments…
In this particular case, the Lose The Back Pain system will help you to get relief by identifying and addressing your muscle imbalances and the Back Joy can’t do that… and there are some things the LTBP system can’t do…. for example, it can’t help you sit more comfortably and with better posture, and that’s what the Back Joy does.
Again, I am not saying you need to buy both or everything that we sell… but what I’m trying to do is show you all of the things that we have found to be helpful so you can decide what you want to try. And if you ever have questions please feel free to give us a call… where here to help.
Top 5 Treatments for Back Pain, Neck Pain and Sciatica
Ok, here’s the formula that we have found to deliver the best results:
1. Reduce the pain and inflammation
You can do this with a natural anti-inflammatory like Lifezyme Plus or something similar. Remember, this will NOT eliminate the underlying, physical cause of the problem… it will deal with the inflammation but it is not going to correct muscle imbalances, decompress your spine, force you to sit up straight, etc… the goal is to reduce pain so you can work on addressing the underlying cause(s).
2. Identify and address the underlying, “hidden” cause: muscle imbalances.
You can do this by working with a qualified health care professional who is experienced in muscle imbalances, if you can find one or do it yourself in about 30 minutes or less using our Lose The Back Pain System.
The challenge here is that there are so few health care professionals out there who are experienced in what we call “muscle balance therapy” and that’s why our system has been so successful.
Would it be better to work with someone, of course, but what if you can’t find someone near you or what if you can’t afford all of the visits? Plus, there’s no way on earth that you can get the system and not benefit tremendously. But don’t take it from me, read, listen to and watch the hundreds of success stories on our website.
3. Use Trigger Point Therapy to reduce pain and relieve chronically tight muscles.
You can do this yourself and there are several books on the subject or you can find a qualified health care professional who specializes in treating trigger points. There are therapists who specialize in trigger point therapy and you can also often find chiropractors and massage therapists who have been trained and can help you. I also suggest you check out our trigger point self treatment system.
4. Reduce spinal compression with inversion therapy or traction.
Traction is typically performed by a chiropractor or physical therapist but you can also get great results just by using an inversion table. Inversion therapy has been used for over 2000 years and has been shown to work really well when dealing with a herniated disc. Click here to learn more about how spinal decompression works.
5. Use mind-body exercises and techniques to reduce and “block” pain.
Not only can they reduce pain, but they can also change you mindset and beliefs. One of the biggest reasons so many people suffer year after year with various types of pain is their mindset. They have a negative attitude, they are the people who say “I’ve tried everything and nothing worked.. I’m going to spend the rest of my life miserable and in pain” and they are so close-minded that they’ll walk right past the solution to their problem.
Are there other treatments that work, of course, but in working with tens of thousands of people suffering from back pain, neck pain and sciatica, these are the 5 things that we have found deliver the best results for people.
All my chiropractor friends are going to just love this email….
If you’ve ever considered chiropractic care for your back or neck pain, you may want to think again. Why?
One reason is there have been several recent cases where individuals suffered a stroke after having spinal manipulations done on their neck by chiropractors.
Now, I am NOT saying that all chiropractic care is dangerous…
But I do believe, that most people do NOT need spinal manipulation. Are there some situations where it may be necessary, yes, but not many.
But chiropractic care has a much bigger problem…
The basic philosophy or approach is flawed., Yes, I said flawed, as in it does not make sense. Most chiropractors focus primarily on manipulations and they are trying to force the body back into alignment. Well, it seems to make sense, right?
Problem is, the muscle imbalances are what pulled your body and spine out of alignment to begin with and those same imbalances will still be there after a manipulation…
And those muscle imbalances will pull your body right back out of place, and usually within a day or two… and that’s why, most chiro’s treat their patients 3 times week.
If you aren’t familiar with muscle imbalances I urge you to learn more about them. Start by reading this article about muscle imbalances.
Now don’t get me wrong, most chiropractors are honest and caring people, and I also like the fact that it’s a natural approach to treating various conditions BUT…
Unless you are addressing the muscle imbalances in conjunction with the manipulations, you will likely never get lasting relief because over time the imbalances WILL pull you back into what I call a “dysfunctional” position and the pain will return.
Just ask any one who sees a chiropractor frequently and they’ll tell you that they can’t go long without treatment and many patients end up going weekly or monthly for years, even decades.
Now I know the rebuttal from every chiro to that is likely to be “patients come in for treatments frequently and consistently for months and years because it’s important to keep the spine in the proper alignment”.
While maintaining a healthy alignment is important, it doesn’t require spinal manipulations. Corrective exercises and stretches not only can do the job most of the time, they actually work much better because you are addressing the muscles that are pulling the body out of alignment.
But what about other treatments that chiropractors offer?
Well, it depends on what you are talking about… electrical stimulation? ultrasound? generic exercises? None of these are very effective. But I know that there are some forward thinking chiro’s out there who do more than the same ol chiropractic treatment…
The really sharp ones, the ones I know, incorporate things like corrective exercises and stretches that are targeted to the persons specific muscle imbalances… they utilize muscle activation therapy to strengthen specific muscles… they use manual muscle therapy techniques… they incorporate massage therapy… they use trigger point therapy to eliminate spasms and relax chronically tight muscles, and so on.
They take an approach to treatment that incorporates the whole body, like what I teach in my audio program, The Complete Healing Formula.
The point is this, there are some chiropractors who are great and there are a ton who aren’t. If you work with a chiro and your typical treatments lasts about 15 minutes and includes electrical stimulation and a few quick cracks of the back, I urge you to find another asap and learn about all of the other types of treatments that have been proven to be effective. You can find information on over a dozen different treatments here.
Let’s take a look at what a back pain sufferer will go through in a typical session. First, you do not need to go into full inversion to get the benefits. (Note: It will take time before you will be able to tolerate full inversion.) Here is a simple guide for beginners:
First 2 Weeks: Adjust the table to go to 20-30 degrees for 1 to 2 minutes, once or twice a day. Slowly increase your time until you become comfortable with the process and the position. The best way to tell if you’re getting used to the inversion table is whether or not you can relax while you’re using it.
People spend millions, if not billions of dollars, each year in the quest for a flat stomach. Right now there are dozens of ab exercise devices out there. There’s the ab do-it, the ab rock-it, the ab roller, the ab dolly, fast abs, 8 minute abs, the ab-lounge and so many more.
You would think that with all of these amazing new products that most people would be walking around with that nice, lean mid-section they’ve always wanted. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.
Most, if not all of these products, will do little or nothing to flatten your stomach. And that’s because these exercise contraptions cannot eliminate the layer of fat that lies on top of your abs.
In order to be successful at thinning your waistline you must have a basic understanding of how the ab muscles function and how your body burns fat. The first thing that needs to be understood is the difference between fat and muscle.
Fat is excess calories and is primarily stored in layers on top of muscle tissue. Muscle is made up of fibers that contract or shorten to produce movement.
Fat cannot turn into muscle and muscle cannot turn into fat! However, you can lose muscle and you can gain fat. That’s what happens to most people.
So if your goal is to thin your waist line and have a nice flat stomach, the first thing you need to do is decrease / eliminate the layers of fat that are on top of your abs. We all have a flat stomach; it’s just some of our’s are covered by excess fat.
The most effective way of flattening your stomach is a combination of strength training (with a extra focus on mid-section), cardiovascular exercise (short, hard workouts), and stable blood sugar (keeps you from adding additional fat and makes it easier for the body to use body fat for fuel).
I should also mention that a flat stomach not only looks good but it also prevents muscle imbalances between the hips and abs which cause more than 80% of all lower back pain! So remember, a strong flat stomach means a strong, healthy lower back!
1. You must do some form of progressive strength training
The primary function of the abdominal muscle is to flex your torso forward. However, there are also muscles that flex your torso to the side and muscles that rotate your torso. Often times you see people on their ab roller every day doing hundreds of crunches or sit-ups.
If you want to effectively strengthen your stomach you need to incorporate the following types of exercises:
1-2 forward flexion exercises (reverse crunch, knee raises, crunch, sit-up, etc.)
1-2 side flexion exercises (side bends, side crunches, etc.)
1-2 rotational exercises (trunk rotations, standing twists, etc.)
Choose at least 1-2 exercises that target the lower abs , 1-2 for the obliques (love handles), and 1-2 for the upper abs. There are thousands of ab exercises to choose from - way too many for me to list here, however, I will give you a list of some of the better ones.
Great Ab Exercises
Reverse crunch
Ab Pike
Hanging knee raise
Torso rotation (twist)
Leg lowering
Side bends
Exercise ball crunches
Again, there are tons of choices when it comes to ab exercises and while there are some that are better than others, the key is to just make sure you work hard and progressively!
The abs, are muscles just like any other and should be worked on average 3 times per week. While you can work out daily, base your frequency on how hard you worked them last time. For example, if you worked your core really hard yesterday and are sore, it’s not a good idea to work them hard again today. If you do anything at all, it should be light and just to get them moving.
2. Use short, hard cardio workouts to increase metabolism
Cardio workouts are important because they CAN, if done correctly, increase your metabolism for 4-24 hours or more! This means you are less likely to store any excess calories as body fat because they are more likely to be used by your elevated metabolism. Plus, you are more likely to burn off some excess body fat.
Below is a sample interval workout that can be done with just about any activity (walking, bicycling, swimming, stair climbing, etc.).
Warm up at easy pace 2-5 minutes… Perform 30 seconds of hard work (almost as hard as possible)… perform 1 minute of moderate work (recovery time-catch breath)… Repeat this process 6-10 times… Cool down at an easy pace for 2-5 minutes.
3. Stable blood sugar is the key
And most importantly, you must stabilize your blood sugar! This is by far the most important factor when it comes to burning away that excess body fat and keeping it off! To effectively stabilize your blood sugar you must feed your body frequently; like every 2-3 hours. The key is to give your body only what it needs at that time.
Your body burns calories 24 hours a day, so, why would you only feed it once or twice a day? Give your body the fuel it needs: vegetables, fruits, nuts, berries, whole grains, and lean proteins (chicken, fish, lean beef, eggs, etc.).
Many people are too hung up on how much fat is in food, or how healthy of a choice it is. Calories are calories and it doesn’t matter where they come from. If there’s extra… where’s it going? Yup, you guessed it… body fat!
This is not to say that what you eat is not important because it is, it just doesn’t have that much of an affect when it comes to fat loss. Try to make healthy choices whenever possible, but don’t feel like if you eat a cheeseburger it is guaranteed to be stored as fat. You can learn more metabolism boosting tricks here
4. Get the help of a professional
Unfortunately, most people don’t know enough about the human body, nutrition, or effective exercise to meet their health and fitness goals. Ask yourself this one question, “Am I happy with my current progress or condition?” If you’re not, you should consider getting the help of a qualified personal fitness professional.
Don’t depend on the information you get from magazines or from your local gym/ health club. A qualified fitness professional can help you achieve your health and fitness goals, and in less time than you would imagine.
If you are serious about your health and fitness goals, and you are ready for that flat stomach, I recommend you start implementing the 4 strategies listed in this article. These 4 strategies can help you take control of your metabolism and burn off that excess body fat and having you looking and feeling great!
Well, I hope you found this article helpful.
Feel free to forward it to anyone you know who can benefit from it and keep your eyes peeled for some more great articles.
