Mark Hamilton Age: 19 Height: 6ft Weight: 185 pounds Body Fat: 7% Waist Size: 32" Resides: St Louis, MO I began weight training in high school and began to see I real results when I started separating my workout into different days. When I started I did the same workout every time I was in the gym. I worked for 2 days and took a day off. It didn't take long to realize this plan wasn't going to get me anywhere. I read up on the subject and talked to a lot of local bodybuilders, and then switched to a 5 day cycle. I started to log everything when I started my new program, but that started problems with my workout. It's good to track results, but I found that I was more concerned about simply lifting more than I did the time before.       I would get too relaxed if I did more than I did the last time, and this cut a lot of workouts short. So at this point my program was a simple outline of what order I would work out my muscle groups. I only recorded results every 4 rotations, and this has worked very well for me. After day five I either start again or take a day off depending on the first muscle is feeling. Day 1: Legs, Day 2: Chest & Arms, Day: 3 Shoulders, Day 4: Back, Day 5: Abs Mark's New Photo Below (March 2006) NUTRITION I have always had a very fast metabolism, so for me getting as many calories as I can works very well. Sticking to 5-6 smaller sized meals per day is essential and would encourage all new trainees to concentrate on getting their diet in good order first and foremost. Diet is the most important factor in achieving a great body and great abs, so it must be taken seriously. ABS The most important part of my ab routine is diet and cardio. It doesn’t matter how strong and in shape your abs are if you can’t see them. Many people I know try to spot reduce which just doesn’t work because that’s not how are bodies work. You have to bring your total body fat level down for your abs to become visible and this can only be done by increasing cardio activity and eating right, you can’t just reduce fat in certain areas like your abs, without losing it from your face, neck and even your feet!. Most people will start to see some ab definition at around 12 percent body fat. I work out my abs 2 times a week. On Monday I train for strength, and on Thursday for endurance. I also do 30-45 minutes of cardio at least 3 times a week. And on both days that I train abs I break them down into lower abs, upper abs, and oblique muscles. An easy way to determine if you are targeting your upper or lower abs is that if you are bringing your torso towards your legs it’s working upper abs, and if you are bringing your legs towards your torso it’s lower abs you are targeting. Good Luck Guys Mark