When I started my fitness journey 25+ years ago, my goal was to gain strength, speed and size to compete athletically in sports in junior high. This first phase of my journey carried through into high school, and college. However, after college I didn’t have much stock in my goals other than wanting to have rock hard abs! (I know – pretty vain!)
In my quest for a 6-pack, I tried a lot of different training programs and fad diets often spending hours upon hours in the gym, with no success. I literally saw no improvement in months and years that ended up leading me to a plan that finally worked.
Like my experience, the road to reach your goals can be rough and often the results can feel unattainable. It’s common to have new clients who have been working for months to years on their own with little to no progress. Without a plan or a coach it’s difficult to know if you’re on the right path.
Even though my post college fitness journey began due to vanity purposes, I learned there are many benefits to rock hard abs, which include injury prevention, increased confidence, ability to handle stress better, improved sleep, having the capability to play with your kids and pets, improved mental health, and are an indicator of decreased risk of chronic disease – and the list goes on and on!
My goal is to give you the keys to help you find a simple, effective and time efficient plan for you to build the core you’ve always wanted!
Here are the main keys:
KEY #1 – PRIORITIZE YOUR NUTRITION
First, make nutrition your priority! My biggest mistake early in my quest was trying to prioritize exercise before nutrition. I thought by working out for longer I could replace the changes I needed to make in ensuring I was properly fueling my body.
I was wrong. Working out harder or longer did NOT work. I repeat, working out more does not replace nutrition! This is a common misconception that has led to many failed goals, chronic disease in seemingly healthy individuals and long, wasted hours in the gym.
You need to nourish your body to flourish. Nutrition gives your body the vitamins and minerals it needs to function properly. It regulates hormones, mood, helps your body repair from workouts, assists in better sleep which all leads to burning fat and revealing those rock hard abs you’ve always wanted.
With proper nutrition, you can literally increase your results exponentially while spending less than an hour in the gym.
As part of this life change, hire a nutrition coach. The biggest struggle in nutrition for many of our clients is a lack of accountability and no game-plan. A nutrition coach will help you set realistic goals, make a game-plan, wade through all the B.S., and hold you accountable. In my last qualification for the CrossFit Games, hiring a nutrition coach was the key to helping me break through and having success!
Finally, commit to your goal. Write it down somewhere, tell others about it and remember: “A goal without commitment, is just a wish.”
Nutrition coaching, goal setting, game-planning and accountability is what our staff is all about at Lincoln Nutrition & Fitness.
For more help with a nutrition game-plan and accountability, schedule a free consultation with a Nutrition Coach HERE.
KEY #2 – ADD MULTI-JOINTED, FUNCTIONAL EXERCISES TO YOUR ROUTINE
Multi-jointed, functional exercises take your joints and muscles through a full range of motion and are commonly found in everyday life.
Squats, deadlifts, shoulder press and pull-ups are the most potent exercises for building a strong core. During the performance of these exercises, your abs and midline have to work in overdrive to stabilize weight and safely maintain perfect posture through a full range of motion.
On top of that, these exercises elicit hormonal responses that aid in burning fat and building muscle. In terms of building your six-pack, multi-jointed, functional exercises are the key!
To find out if multi-jointed, functional exercises are the right game plan for you, schedule a free personal training consultation HERE.
KEY #3 – TRAIN LIKE AN ATHLETE
Think about a sprinter or a running back. They are typically lean and strong with abs you can see for miles. Their training commonly consists of quick, explosive, and high intensity training that includes lifting weights and sprinting.
If your goal is to build strength in your mid-line, then light to moderate weights taken to failure in intense bouts of exercise are a great way to continue your body’s process of burning fat even when you’re not working out so you can reveal the 6-pack you’ve built!
At Lincoln Nutrition & Fitness, we offer you both nutrition & fitness coaching, from personal training to group CrossFit classes we have the keys to help you build rock hard abs!
Our personal trainers and group coaches value lifting weights, and using multi-jointed, functional exercises performed at high intensity, and ensure that it is performed safely and efficiently. You don’t have to guess what you’re supposed to do and whether you are doing it right! Schedule a free consultation with a coach to see how we can help you with your goals! → I’M READY TO MEET WITH A COACH!
COACH PHIL KNIEP – Owner & CEO of Lincoln Nutrition & Fitness
Precision Nutrition L1 Coach
CrossFit Level 3 Trainer
Endurance Certified
Mobility Certified
Scaling Certified
3x CrossFit Games Qualifier