Ultimate Abs

You want chiseled abs but haven’t seen results. Ultimate Abs: The Definitive Guide to Developing a Chiseled Six-Pack offers a science-based approach to abdominal training designed to help you finally achieve the elusive six-pack.

Featuring 130 of the best abdominal exercises, certified strength and conditioning specialist and fitness expert Gareth Sapstead helps you successfully reach your training goals by providing progressions and regressions of each exercise to accommodate your specific fitness level. Whether you are training in a fully equipped gym or at home, Sapstead provides programming that will help you achieve results based on the equipment you have available.

Sapstead’s distinctive approach to delivering effective and innovative fitness content has made him one of the most followed fitness experts on social media and earned him the moniker “the Fitness Maverick.” In Ultimate Abs, he addresses the principles that underpin effective ab training and addresses the misconceptions surrounding abdominal training to cut a direct path to the most effective way to develop a six-pack.

Most resources focus on the concept of core strength training, but Ultimate Abs offers an unapologetic guide to developing chiseled six-pack abs. Although stabilization exercises are included within the book, looks are the priority, providing you with the tools to achieve your goals faster.

Filled with expert coaching cues and an abdominal exercise library like none other, Ultimate Abs is a must-have guide for achieving the abs you have always dreamed of.

Earn continuing education credits/units! A continuing education exam that uses this book is also available. It may be purchased separately or as part of a package that includes both the book and exam.

Audience

Men who want to develop visually impressive abdominals; reference for personal trainers working with these clients.

Part I. The Scientific Approach to Ab Training
Chapter 1. Ab-Building Principles
Chapter 2. Spine and Abdominal Anatomy
Chapter 3. Ab Versus Core Training
Chapter 4. Using Cardio as a Tool
Chapter 5. Four Ways to Track Your Six-Pack Progress

Part II. The Exercises
Chapter 6. Selecting the Best Exercises
Chapter 7. Captain Crunch: Targeting Your Spine
Chapter 8. Targeting Your Lower Abs
Chapter 9. Targeting Your Obliques
Chapter 10. Planks and Other “Anti” Movements
Chapter 11. Exercises to Complement Your Six-Pack Workout

Part III. The Programs
Chapter 12. Body-Weight Ab Workout Programs
Chapter 13. Home Gym Ab Workout Programs
Chapter 14. Gym-Based Ab Workout Programs
Chapter 15. Customizing Your Own Program

 

Gareth Sapstead has a master’s degree in strength and conditioning science and a bachelor’s degree in sports and exercise science, and he holds the NSCA CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist) certification. In the fitness industry since 2005, he has worked with elite soccer players, professional rugby union athletes, and teams across the United Kingdom and Europe as a strength and conditioning specialist. He has also trained Fortune 500 global executives as well as various high-profile clients, physique competitors, and plenty of ordinary people with “dad bods.”

Sapstead’s name and articles have appeared on some of the world’s leading fitness and bodybuilding websites, including T-Nation, Muscle & Strength, Muscle & Fitness, and Livestrong, among others. He has self-published three books and coauthored The Complete Running and Marathon Book (published by Dorling Kindersley). He’s a published researcher in the field of exercise performance and has presented at numerous academic conferences.

"You want a strong, jacked core? Ultimate Abs shows you a much better way to train your abs and obliques. It’s your workout guide for building an athletic core."
—Nick Tumminello, Author of Your Workout Perfected

“Ultimate Abs does more than give you workouts. It teaches the principles of core training, setting you up for sustainable, long-term success.”
—Ebenezer Samuel, CSCS, Fitness Director at Men’s Health

“Gareth Sapstead provides the most complete blueprint for core and abdominal training on the market by taking scientific research and applying it in a practical way to make it accessible to all populations. Ultimate Abs just set the new standard for core training in our field, and nothing is likely to surpass it.”
—Joel Seedman, PhD, Neuromuscular Physiologist, Performance Specialist, and Founder and CEO of Advanced Human Performance

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