I'll be right up front with you...2 days after doing this one, you're going to be afraid to sneeze.
And the reason for that is you'll feel like you're going to twist in half if you do.
If you're not familiar with the concept of "anti-rotational" as it applies to abdominal training, it's simple...one of the primary functions of your deep core muscles is not necessarily to rotate your trunk (like you would see during a twisting exercise)...it's to PREVENT that rotation.
These muscles sit underneath the six-pack abs, i.e. "deep."
To really illustrate this concept, imagine holding your arms straight out in front of you, palms pressed together. Now imagine somebody trying to push your arms to the left or to the right while you have to contract your abs to prevent your arms from moving to the left or to the right.
That prevention is anti-rotation.
For this workout, you're going to perform two exercises...one for the upper body and one for the lower body...that force you to engage those deep core muscles to prevent rotation of your torso while you're doing them.
And you're going to do them with no rest...repeatedly...until Lactic Acid literally burns you down to the ground (this Lactic Acid burn is a potent stimulator of Growth Hormone in your body which a key fat-burning hormone).
And yes, this workout sounds horrible...and it is...but it's awesome, too.
Exercise #1 - The Push-Pull Ab Ripper
The first exercise you're going to use is one I that affectionately refer to as the Push-Pull Ab Ripper. This is literally one my VERY favorite exercises that I've ever come up with in all my years of coming up with exercises.
It absolutely SHREDS the deep muscles of the core. You will feel it working those muscles in a way that nothing else can or will.
I HIGHLY recommend practicing this exercise (and the second exercise) a little bit before you get into the workout. You want to know how to get into position, how to perform it, and how to get out of position before you go full power on it.
To do this, you'll need a dumbbell, a high pulley (with single handle) and a flat bench (it doesn't have to be in a rack...that's just where my high pulley machine is).
If you have a short length of chain to extend the pulley down to where you can more easily reach it, that will be helpful, too. And if you don't have a cable machine available, you could also use a rubber training band hitched up high instead.
Set the bench perpendicular to the pulley, not lengthwise. You're going to be resting only your upper back on the bench during the exercise.
For this particular workout, we're looking to use fairly light weight as this is going to be a high-rep targeted workout. I'm using a 50 lb dumbbell for the press part and I've got 50 pounds on the high pulley for the pull part. You want these weights to be even in order to balance the loading on the core. The press weight should be something you could do a LOT of reps with in a normal dumbbell bench press (don't worry, it'll catch up to you).
Hold the dumbbell in one hand then squat down in front of the edge of the bench. If you don't have a chain to extend the cable down, you'll want to grab the handle at this point, before you lie back.
Lie back on the bench and rest your upper arm on it, out to the side. Reach up and grab the handle now, if you didn't do it before.
Now the fun begins...
From this position, do a simultaneous dumbbell press and pulldown/row with the cable handle. The moment you start the opposing movements, you're going to feel serious torque in your deep core muscles as they engage to prevent rotation of the torso.
This deep torque is exactly what we're looking for.
Now, because this is a Lactic Acid training protocol, you're going to go for as many reps as you can get until the burn shuts you down. This should be at least 15-20 or more reps on this first part.
When you can't do anymore reps, switch up your hands. You'll be pressing with the left hand and pulling with the right hand.
Because I can reach the high pulley from the lying position, I chose to switch the dumbbell while resting it on my chest.
If you aren't able to reach up, then sit up, release the handle, change hands while seated, then grab the handle and lie back down again. It'll take pretty close to the same amount of time.
Now perform the push-pull on this side for as many reps as you can get until the burn shuts you down. It will be fewer than the first set because of the build-up of Lactic Acid and general fatigue in the upper body and core. Just do the best you can.
Your core will be nicely lit up by the time you've finished the first exercise.
Now you're going to go straight into the second exercise.
Exercise #2 - Single Dumbbell Reaching Bulgarian Split Squats
This is about the most descriptive name I could give for this exercise. The name is exactly what you're going to do.
The reaching part is what's going to transfer torque through your lower body and core. The focus is on the muscles of the lower back that will engage to prevent rotation, which will give you a somewhat different feel than the first exercise.
Use the same bench and the same dumbbell as you used for the Push-Pulls. Set the dumbbell a little ahead of your left foot when in the bottom of the Bulgarian Split Squat (back foot on bench top). This forces you to reach forward to pick it up.
When picking it up, make sure and keep an arch in your lower back, brace your core and focus on keeping your lower to mid-back area neutral and without rotation. There will be some rotation in your upper back as you reach forward.
Come up to almost vertical with your torso, as you bring the dumbbell to the normal position for a Bulgarian Split Squat.
Now come up to the top position.
Come back down to the bottom position, then reach forward and set the dumbbell back down on the ground. Set the dumbbell fully on the ground, releasing the tension in the lower back and core.
Then repeat the process, picking it up, bringing it up and back and then standing up. Go for as many reps as you can get until Lactic Acid shuts you down.
With this exercise, the back leg will be under tension, so when you switch legs, you will get fewer reps on the second side leg.
Again, start the dumbbell just a bit forward, reach forward, then bring it up and back then perform the split squat.
Perform as many reps as you can get until the burn ends it.
Now...that wasn't so bad, right? Here comes the nightmare...
Do it again...and again...and again...
Go through the same non-stop cycle that you just finished 2-4 more times (3-5 total rounds, in other words).
This will absolutely CRUSH your cardiovascular system as it works every single major muscle group in your body as your body is struggling to deal with the flush of Lactic Acid building up literally everywhere.
The deal here is that we're strategically shifting that build-up around (upper body / lower body) so that you can keep going for as long as possible...all while trashing those deep muscles of your core the entire time.
In the demo video, I show going through 5 cycles of the exercises, alternating limbs. I've sped it up to double time for the first round then 5X speed for the next 4.
The nightmare isn't over.
Take 3-5 minutes rest.
After this first round, you will be struggling to catch your breath for quite awhile after...it's called "oxygen debt." Because you're working at or above your Anaerobic Threshold (the point at which lactic acid starts to build up) the entire time, your body has to play catch-up to get oxygen back into the muscles. That's the debt.
And that's why you need a fairly long rest period here. If you go into the next set too soon, you'll run out of gas FAST.
For the next round, I recommend reducing the number of cycles through. I did 3 on my second round then 1 on my third round.
If, for example, you did 3 cycles on your FIRST round, drop it to 2 on your second round, then 1 on your third round.
And definitely take the full 3-5 minutes rest in between each one. You'll need it and it'll make the training that much more effective by helping you to recover more (so you can do more reps) than if you take very short rest.
I would suggest doing just three rounds of this. The last round should take everything you've got, grinding out as many reps as you can while the burn courses through your limbs...
...in a good way.
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