Do you want to get in shape? Do you want to have washboard abs? Do you want to lose weight? In ABS-solutely Simple, personal trainer Brian Bebley presents an easy four-part plan for improving your body from the comfort of your own home. ABS-solutely Simple focuses on four main areas: dieting, stretching, the core, and circuit training. Written and designed for the ordinary individual, this diet and exercise book provides easy-to-follow instructions with clear illustrations demonstrating each exercise, helping you build a stronger and more defined body. A nutritional guide is included to assist you in eating well and living a healthier lifestyle. The simple training methods introduced in ABS-solutely Simple have produced positive results for people from all walks of life. Bebley's goal is to help people get in shape and achieve realistic goals without conforming to the unrealistic standards of some of today's gyms.

ABS-olutely Simple

By Brian Bebley

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2010 Brian Bebley
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4502-5091-7

Contents

Introduction............................................................................ixChapter 1 Dieting and Weight Loss.......................................................1Sex facts...............................................................................3Eating small meals and its benefits.....................................................3The glycemic index......................................................................4Dieting facts...........................................................................7Foods that can set you back.............................................................8Ten quick tips..........................................................................9Chapter 2 Stretching....................................................................11Chapter 3 The Core/Abs..................................................................19Major areas of the core region..........................................................20Working the abdominal area..............................................................20The abs circuit.........................................................................21Four gladiator abs routine..............................................................43Chapter 4 Circuit Training..............................................................49W-A-T-E-R!!!!!..........................................................................66How to put together your abs circuit and total body circuit routine.....................66Most commonly used foods for diet preparation...........................................69

Chapter One

Dieting and Weight Loss

I agree with many certified dietary nutritionists: Most diets don't work. The correct way to lose weight is to develop a solid eating plan and stick with it.

Diets make you feel tired. They make you hungry, and they don't last long. The reason is that most short-term fad diets cut carbs, protein, or other essential aspects of a sound natural diet to the point where your body sacrifices muscle in the process of losing weight by cannibalization or because you are just not getting the fuel you need for your workout requirements.

Most people lose weight rather quickly when they start these trend diets, which can open up a whole new can of worms when it comes to your health. But ask yourself at what expense you are losing the weight; the truth of the matter is that the weight never stays off, because most of these diets are not intended as a new way of life.

To sum it all up, there's no substitute for healthy eating. Taking in whole foods is something that will benefit you for the rest of your life!

1. Stay away from liquid calories. The calories in sodas, fruit juices, and beer add up quickly. So switch your soda with water. Use low-fat dressing instead of your regular dressing, and cut out artificial sweeteners altogether. Making these small changes can help you reduce your weight in a big way. 2. Stop eating all those processed meats we all love so much. Processing foods takes out all the good stuff like fiber, vitamins, and minerals and replaces them with fats and sugars; you should be getting all your carbs in the form of whole grains, veggies, beans, nuts, and fruits. 3. Consuming your meals in smaller amounts more frequently is a sure way to get your metabolism going at full speed. The reason is that if you break the four to five meals you currently eat into six or seven smaller meals you won't feel as hungry as you usually do between meals, which won't cause you to reach for something bad like a bag of chips. This instead allows your muscles to have and store the fuel they need for your exercise routines. You also burn calories every single time you eat, so doesn't that make more sense than eating those large meals and feeling bloated throughout the day while your body fights to digest those Super Bowl-size meals?

With your new exercise routines you'll need to boost your protein consumption as well; you should be doing this by eating your proteins throughout the day. This will help your body absorb proteins in a more efficient way so you can call on these resources for energy when needed. Carb and protein combinations are the best way to eat; for example, turkey on wheat or tuna salad. Last but not least don't shy away from carbs. I know that might sound a little odd to you, considering the fact that most trend diets tell you to reduce or cut carbs out altogether. But the truth of the matter is that carbs provide the bulk of the energy needed for your workouts. Your body puts out less insulin after about 6:00 pm, so in turn it's harder for your body to break down those carbs at that point. Potatoes, rice, oatmeal, breads, and all other types of starchy complex carbs should be nowhere near your mouth at this time. When you do eat carbs after 6:00 pm they should consist mostly of veggies, things your body can break down more efficiently, such as cucumbers, spinach, lettuce, and broccoli, for example. Those types of veggies are less filling and good for you too.

Did you know that eating more slowly can assist in your weight loss? The faster you eat, the more calories you consume before your brain even gets the memo. The point is that if you're scarfing down pizza by the slice, before you know it you've taken in more calories than are needed for an entire day in one meal. Eating more slowly gives your body time to register that it's consuming food. So your fullness switch kicks on and doesn't allow you to eat as much as when you're scarfing your food down. Eat more slowly; it's not a race!

Sex facts

Remember, I told you I'd get back to the better sex thing! Well, I hope you didn't think I had a secret solution to all your problems. I don't, but you do; let me explain. When it comes to the bedroom, confidence plays a significant part in your performance. If you don't feel good about the way you look you won't put on the performance demanded.

The bottom line is that the better you look, the better you feel about yourself, and when you feel good about yourself, so does everyone around you, including your significant other.

Being overweight can get in the way of your becoming the person you desire to be in the bedroom, because the years of eating incorrectly and not exercising can affect erections or ED, erectile dysfunction. This is caused by clogged arteries that make it almost impossible for the blood you need to flow toward the penis.

The only solution to better sex is a better and healthier lifestyle that consists of eating better and getting enough exercise.

Eating small meals and its benefits

The more you eat in the form of smaller meals the more your body is forced to work and burn calories.

When you eat large meals in an infrequent way throughout the day, especially while sedentary for several hours of each day, your body is doing nothing significant. Your metabolism slows down because not enough frequent meals are being ingested. The body is being starved in the long term.

Now when you start to take in more calories the body jumps into survival mode and thinks it is starving and will store all of these calories as fat and not use them for the body to process.

If you eat small meals throughout the...