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By: Daniel Gastelu After reading my first article about Bill Grant's Arms Workout, many people commented about how awesome Bill's abs looked when he lifted up his shirt in one of the video clips for just a few seconds. So, when word got back to Bill about this, he wanted to make sure that the people coming to Bodybuilding.com got his inside story about building great abs.
The MPEG files are higher quality (640x480) and take longer to download. The MPEG files are recommended if you wish to view the videos as reference, motivation and a reminder that a 58-year-old guy works harder in the gym than you do.
If you are using a dial-up modem, it is highly suggested that you use the WMV files.
I met up with Bill again at Diamond Gym to video tape him doing his basic abs workout. When you view Bill's introduction to this workout, many of you might be surprised to learn about his big secret for building professional-grade abs, because when it comes to this, less is better.
Now I know this notion may stir things up a bit, because most people knock themselves out, and never have abs come close to the way Bill's abs look, but when you hear what he has to say, and watch his abs workout, Bill's approach will make perfect sense. Bill admits his abs are one of his strongest body parts, however, he still has to train them properly so they pop, and are the right size, with that V-shape everybody wants. Building your abs to be aesthetically the best to win bodybuilding contests is a much different goal then building your abs for optimum sports performance. Additionally, Bill emphasizes that good abs (abs that pop, that is) are also a result of good nutrition, and getting your body fat levels down to a point that reveals muscle definition.
Oh yeah, Bill even took his shirt off to show you his abs at work. Something you do not see professional bodybuilders doing very often, especially at 58 years of age. As I mentioned in my first article, Bill Grant is Mr. Bodybuilding, and is at near contest readiness all of the time. I have to admit, while I have been training every day for most of my life, working with Bill on these Old-School Bodybuilding articles and videos has inspired me to pump up my workout intensity a few notches. Bill and I have also teamed-up to create the Nutrition and Training Super-Seminar so people can spend the day with us, learning the science and practical applications of doing training, nutrition and supplements right. I hope to see you some day at one of our Super-Seminars. But in the meantime, enjoy this and other Old-School Bodybuilding articles and videos.
The abdominal muscles are antagonists to the back muscles. The abs are engaged when sitting, standing, lifting, walking, running, jumping, throwing, and bending/moving the trunk of the body. Properly conditioned abdominal muscles help to unload the back muscles. For health and athletic performance, it is important to have well developed and strong abdominal muscles. Therefore, the abdominals should be exercised progressively using heavy workloads to build strength. A word of caution however, it is recognized by the medical community that abdominal exercises need to be performed properly, especially if you have a back problem.
 Click To Enlarge.The Anatomy Of The Abs. People with back problems need to use exercises that minimize the motion of the hip and forward curvature of the spine. If you have back pain problems, among other things, it is a sign of muscle imbalance and muscle tension, and even intervertebral disc problems. It is best to work with a physical therapist under the supervision of a doctor to identify what is causing your problem and can create therapeutic stretching and strengthening program for you to correct these muscle imbalances. The same is true for people with bad posture, and hip pain; get it checked out. Working with a professional physical therapist is not just for old people, but for the young as well. Athletes typically have muscle imbalance and tension problems in the back and hip areas that lead to a life of "back pain" later on. It is best to correct these muscle imbalance problems early in life to avoid developing back pain, hip pain, and intervertebral disc problems, by making sure you have adequate muscle balance and flexibility.
 Click To Enlarge.As the abdominals are antagonists of the back muscle it is important to keep them strong. A general observation among experts is that most people have weak abdominal muscles in general, but especially when compared to the strength of their back muscles. So those crunches performed while lying on the floor may tighten and tone up the rectus abdominis, but they do very little for building and increasing the strength and size of this muscle. To review, when we speak of the abdominal muscles we are generally referring to the muscles that occupy the front and side of the lower trunk of the body, found between the ribs and the pelvis. The following list will review these muscles, their names, and basic functions.
Some of the major back muscles that are antagonists of the abdominal muscles include:
Bill's ab workout demonstration consists of machine crunches and leg raises. Bill chose these exercises so you can get the best ab workout in the shortest period of time. Bill has experienced the best abdominal muscle development using these two primary exercises. In a future article we will get more detailed instructions about fine-tuning the abs for contest preparation.
Bill generally performs three sets, 15 repetitions, of machine crunches, twice a week.
Bill generally performs two Sets, 15 to 20 repetitions of leg raises, twice a week.
It seems that there are dozens of additional exercises that can be performed for the abdominals. Bill tends to avoid the exercises that work his obliques directly. He has determined that for his body type, he does not want to increase the size of his obliques. If you are looking to build up your obliques some examples include:
Aside from bodybuilders who are training for body proportions, not necessarily physical performance,
Make sure to work on your total body and mid section flexibility training a few to several times a week as required.
Many people have e-mailed us about offering Bill Grant's Old-School Bodybuilding SeriesTM videos on DVD. We are in the process of doing this and plan to offer Bill's basic 4 day per week workout on DVD along with extra exercises and tips; which is due out October 2005.
Article Copyright © 2005 Bill Grant Nutrition and SUPPLEMENTFACTS International LLC. All rights reserved. Video Copyright © 2005 Bill Grant Nutrition. All rights reserved.
Contact Bill@billgrant.net or dan@supplementfacts.com with input or questions regarding this web cast workout video lesson series.
Notice and Disclaimer: This article is not intended for use as a substitute for consultation with a qualified medical practitioner. If you have symptoms of any illness or injury, it is essential that you see your doctor without delay for proper treatment. These videos are for education and entertainment purposes only. We strongly recommend that you consult a physician before beginning any exercise program. The viewer should understand that participating in any exercise program can result in physical injury and agrees to do so at their own risk. Additionally, Bill Grant is an advanced level bodybuilder and you should not expect to be able to follow his training program as demonstrated. Recommend this article to a friend by e-mail here! Visitor Reviews Of This Article!
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Introduction
