Abs of the Month - Jon Huston

Continued

Vascularity: Vascularity, or the presence of veins in the skin overlying your abs, is a real eye-catcher to most people. Not even the top level pro’s all have this. It is something that is bodybuilder-specific and only comes in towards the end of contest preparation. I am fortunate to have this and it really helps to add to the overall impression of my physique.

ABDOMINAL PROGRAM

Listed below is a sample program that you can incorporate into your bodybuilding training to help achieve a well-balanced physique.

Program I:

Leg Lifts (on lat bar): 3 sets of 20 repetitions

Crunches with Legs Elevated: 3 sets of 50 repetitions

Cable Crunches: 3 sets of 20 repetitions.

Using a rope attachment on a cable machine, get on your knees and bring the rope down and in towards your knees. Use a minimal weight just to counterbalance your bodyweight.

Program II:

Leg Lifts (on bench): 3 sets of 20 repetitions

Crunches with knees bent: 3 sets of 20 repetitions with 2-3 second hold at top

Flutters on Bench: 3 sets of 60 seconds

While sitting on the end of a bench extend your legs. Alternate bringing them up and down while keeping your knees fully extended. Progress by not using hands for support.

You will notice that I do not include working the External abdominal obliques in my training program. I do this simply because these are not muscles you want to come in big at a show. Lots of people will do side-bends with dumbbells, side crunches, or twists with a bar. These exercises will only make the obliques large and make you look like you have “side-handles” so I recommend staying away from them unless you want that look.

As I mentioned before, the abdominal region will only look larger unless you trim off the fat and excess water before a show or going to the beach. You do this through cardiovascular conditioning and dieting.

CARDIOVASCULAR CONDITIONING

This is perhaps the single most important part of bodybuilding for many competitors. Cardio is a piece of the puzzle that is added at varying points of pre-contest preparation. For myself, I add cardio in about 10 weeks out from a show. This is ample time to eliminate body fat and subcutaneous water. Personally, I prefer the treadmill because it is easy and I have one in my home. But you can use elliptical runners, stationary bicycles, or swimming. I will describe the progression I used this year in preparing for my contest.

Week 10 (ten weeks) Morning treadmill x 30 minutes.

Week 9: Morning treadmill x 30 minutes

Week 8: Morning treadmill x 45 minutes

Week 7: Morning treadmill x 45 minutes

Week 6 & 5: Morning and Evening treadmill x 30 minutes

Week 4 & 3: Morning and Evening treadmill x 45 minutes

Week 2: Morning and Evening treadmill x 1 hour

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