Welcome to the UpSwong Ab Lab.  Here we will be divulging info to help you wade through the plethora of routines, guides, pills, and “secrets” out there to get you the mid-section you’ve always wanted.  Students who arrived late to class can view the UpSwong Abs introduction here.

Today’s lesson is short but critical:

If you want to see your abs, or even just have a nice flat stomach, body fat level is crucial.

You can do crunches all day long or the most killer ab routines you can find, but if you have excess fat around your mid-section you will not see “washboard” abs or have a stomach like Jamie Eason.

This does NOT mean that you shouldn’t keep crushing all that ab work though.  It only means that doing abdominal training does not spot reduce fat around your stomach.  What it does do is build up strong, sexy ab and oblique muscles that WILL be visible once you lose the fat.

If the guy in the picture below gained 50 pounds of fat his abs muscles wouldn’t go away, they would just be covered up.

So what we’re going to teach you here at the UpSwong Ab Lab is how to uncover YOUR abs and get what’s been hiding under there lookin’ its best.

Stay tuned for Part 2 where we’ll be dispelling a major myth and getting you on your way to UpSwong Abs!

One of the most common questions I hear is “how can I get a flat stomach?”

Closely related are its siblings:

• How can I get my abs to show?
• I’m a relatively thin person but I can’t seem to lose this stubborn belly fat?

At reunions we often run into its cousins:

• What are the best exercises I can do for my stomach?
• I’ve been doing X number of (insert exercise here) so why can’t I see my abs yet? (hint: you’re too fat)

And finally those relatives you’re never really sure about. Your Mom always glazes over the details…he’s your Uncle Joe’s half-brother’s wife’s sister’s dog walker…

• What’s the deal with this “revolutionary” 10 minute routine that is guaranteed to flatten your stomach?
• Have you heard about these pills I can take that will give me shredded abs while I sit on the couch?

I initially planned to make a single post addressing stomach swongs but then realized there is quite a bit to cover. I’ve received some really good questions and while they are all related to flat abdominals, each have a very different theme. For example one asked about the best ab exercises that would also be safe for the lower back and another question asked if I had tried a new weight loss supplement and what I thought of it. These topics and more will each be covered in a separate post that will make up the series – UpSwong Abs.

UpSwong Fitness is the section of UpSwong dedicated to covering all things fit.  Working out, strength training, injury prevention and rehab, competing, nutrition, supplements, dieting, weight loss, weight gain, lifting for women, and more.

I get asked so many great questions via Facebook, YouTube, email, and forums that I’d like to start building an archive of answers to share with everyone.

If you would like to submit a fitness question please use the submit a question form or send an email to fitness@upswong.com.

Please check out the Pledge a Penny for a Pound Challenge to support Breast Cancer for Wendy’s Warriors in the SSA Asylum Power meet this Saturday October 17th. Powerlifter Mike Moore plans on lifting a total of 1700-1800 pounds this weekend to raise money for the fight against breast cancer.  You can pledge here or make a donation here.

From Mike:

“Why I’m Lifting?

As most people, I had heard about breast cancer, but I didn’t know much about it nor did I personally know anyone who had it. That all changed about six years ago when my closest friend and training partner, PJ, called me to say that the lump that was found in his wife’s breast was cancerous. I have known PJ a long time, and this was the first time I ever heard him break down. His wife Wendy has also become a very close friend to me over the years and this just broke my heart and brought me to tears. How could this happen, this isn’t fair, this is a dream, this can’t happen to my friends, all these thoughts and more went through my head and I wanted to do something but I felt helpless. Wendy accepted her cancer and was determined to fight it head on and beat it! She had the operations, did the chemo and things looked good for a few years. Then two years ago, she had a recurrence, and for these last two years she has been fighting. She’s still determined to beat it, and I KNOW she will!

As a powerlifter, I thought I knew all about strength and what it meant and took to be strong. Wendy showed me that I didn’t and then proceeded to show me what TRUE strength is! She has shown me true strength everyday; she doesn’t have the luxury to be weak. She has to battle this disgusting disease everyday. She stays strong not only for herself but for her husband and her two great boys. She lives everyday to the fullest; she is the meaning of real strength and she inspires me so much. I can only wish that I was strong like her. Wendy is the strongest person I ever met.”

Read more about the Pledge a Penny for Pound Challenge and click here to pledge or here to make a donation.

Thanks for taking the time to check out this post!

Stella and I have become quite serious about our daily walking regimen. We crush a fast pace for about 30 minutes daily and we’re both in pretty damn good shape from it. But winter is coming up and what’s poor Stella to do? Behold… the Snuggie for dogs…