The Abdominal Training Secrets Interview – Tom Venuto

Here’s a little something something from Tom Venuto..author of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle, the very popular fat burning-muscle building ebooks!
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The Abdominal Training Secrets Interview
With Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
Burn the Fat
And David Grisaffi, CHEK, CFT, PN
www.FlattenYourAbs.net

TV: Hi David, thanks for taking the time for this interview
because I know how busy you are and that, among other projects, you run
a training studio in Tacoma, you’re a wrestling coach and you keep a
full client load. I’ve known you for a couple years now through the
Internet and the emails we’ve sent to each other and you’re very well
known within the fitness industry – especially in the sports training
field. But on the off chance that some of the people listening to this
interview don’t know who you are, would you give us a quick
introduction and tell us little bit about your background, how you got
started in this field and how you spend your time now?

DG:
Well I was always a sports enthusiast my entire life. I can remember I
was the only 9-year-old watching Monday night football and taking
stats. I did all the usual sports – football, soccer, wrestling,
swimming, baseball and tennis. Never did much with basketball. Being a
genetically “blessed” Italian, I didn’t think the height requirement
was going to be on my side. I excelled at wrestling. That sport alone
taught me about nutrition, supplements, work ethic etc. I really have
to thank wrestling for getting me into this field. I now coach high
school wrestling, baseball and youth football. I keep really busy with
my 3 children, Addision (13) Garrison (10) and my little man Carson
(7). I taught school for a couple of years and then decided to go into
personal training.

TV: You have quite a
few certifications, one of them is certified personal trainer, one is
certified golf trainer – or “golf “biomechanic” to be exact – but what
is a “Corrective High Performance Exercise Kinesiologist?

DG:
That’s an intense certification program where you learn from one of the
foremost experts in the conditioning field, Paul Chek, who personally
developed and cultivated the program. The certification revolves around
the dynamics of kinesiology, physiology, functional anatomy and mind –
body – spirit relationships. The program has four levels and I’m
currently a level II, where we learn physical assessment, posture
analysis, gait analysis, primal movement patterns, length-tension
testing and range of motion testing. My Golf biomechanic certification
is also from the CHEK institute. This is where we learn how the
relationship between muscles and muscle groups affect the golf swing
and how to improve it. In the winter of 2002 I also became one of the
first Nutrition and Lifestyle Coaches from the CHEK institute. This
program was developed to help practitioners deal with nutritional and
lifestyle needs of their clients. The certification teaches how
symptoms of disease and stress can be prevented through diet, exercise
and stress management. I’m currently a level II Nutrition and lifestyle
coach.I can‘t say enough about how Paul has helped me become a better
trainer and person. There is more to this than just exercise.

TV: And I understand that there’s only a small handful of people who have those credentials, is that right?

DG:
Yes, I think, at last count about 1000 have received a CHEK
certification but there are only about 35 in the world with all three
certifications including the level two’s. So it all costs time, energy
and brain work Tom, but for someone who wants something different and
out of the box thinking, it’s great. Not to take away from any other
certification programs; heck, I love the ISSA, Ian King, Charles
Poliquin and many others…

TV: That’s
impressive, congratulations. So if I understand your philosophy
correctly, the big difference between you and other trainers and
especially trainers who only do bodybuilding and nothing else, is that
you help your clients not only look good, but also with functionality,
performance and correcting existing injuries or potential problem areas
or imbalances that could lead to injuries in the future. Did I miss
anything or would you say that’s a pretty good description?

DG:
That’s right…you have to evaluate your client thoroughly for strengths
and weaknesses to get the best results. Sometimes without a good
evaluation you can miss something that could help prevent or fix an
injury or cause someone not to excel.

TV:I
think it’s really important what you’re teaching people because as a
bodybuilder myself, when I first started many years ago, the ONLY thing
I cared about was looking good and having muscles and abs and low body
fat, but true fitness is a lot more than just looking good. For one
thing it’s health above all else. In addition to that, if you don’t
have strong, flexible and balanced development, then sooner or later,
you’re going to get injured or you’re going to find that you can’t
enjoy the sports or recreation activities you want to, and ultimately
you might even find yourself restricted from normal daily activities
like squatting, bending and lifting things around the house, which is
exactly what happens to most people when then get older. But still, the
fact is, everyone wants to look good, they want the six pack; they want
muscle definition. So how do you balance the form aspect – the looking
good part – with the function aspect – which is the strength,
flexibility, balance and performance part?

DG:
I believe we develop from the inside out. If you have good insides, you
will have a good outside. What I mean is that diet, nutrition and water
intake have a great deal to do with how good you look on the outside.
So to look good – the “form” part – I start with overseeing my client’s
dietary intake. I don’t go as far as telling them exactly what to eat,
but I give a lot of suggestions. As for the “function”, I always think
of the body as a whole, not as parts. Yes, if you’re a bodybuilder and
that is your gig, then heck yes, think in parts. This really depends on
the client and their goals, but you always need proper flexibility,
strength and balance in the whole body as a unit.

TV:
You train regular people and you also train professional athletes,
especially boxers and golfers. Is there a big difference in how
athletes and regular people should train?

DG:
Each of them has distinct differences. So to plop down a “canned
program” for everyone would lead to failure and would reflect poorly on
me. I take each client one at a time. In my Flatten Your Abs e-book, I
provide many different levels so each individual can pick the level
that fits them best when they start out. Everyone is not equal. The
boxers in general, are more athletic, so one big difference is that I
change their program more often to keep them fresh. Let’s say I have 6
weeks before a tough fight, I may change the workout 3 – 4 times. Their
nervous systems are highly adaptable and need the change. Someone who
just wants to start a basic weight-training program could stay on the
same program for the entire 6 weeks and get results. This is because
their nervous systems are not as highly developed.

TV:
Lets talk about six pack abs and flat stomachs, because that’s another
one of your specialty areas and that’s what I really wanted to focus on
in this interview the most. You wrote a course on abdominal training-
it’s called FIRM AND FLATTEN YOUR ABS
and you’re now offering it as an e-book download on the Internet and
it’s starting to get really popular. What made you decide to write a
book about abdominal training when there’s already so much information
out there?

DG: Hmmm.…to be honest
it was my friend Don Lemmon. He invited me to write a chapter about
core conditioning in his book, and I said “sure”. One thing lead to
another and that one chapter developed into an entire e-book of my own.
I had never done an entire book before with editing, pictures and so
on, but I just took a lot of the information I had learned from
experience and from all my mentors, put my head down, went to work and
wrote the FIRM AND FLATTEN YOUR ABS
e Book. It took me about 3 months. I guess one of my main motivations
for writing it was because there is so much bad information and so many
bad abdominal machines and devices out there…

TV: I noticed you don’t recommend ANY sit ups in your course. Why is that?

That’s
correct. After studying many greats like Vladimir Janda, Diane Lee,
Paul Chek, Richardson and Jull, I discovered that the hip flexors
(illiopsoas) are frequently overworked and that can lead to muscle
imbalances and low back pain. So I said, why continue aggravating the
problem with sit ups? In my e book this is a topic I cover in detail.

TV:
So why are sit ups still so popular and why are they still used as a
standard exercise in fitness testing and for sports or military
conditioning? Is there ever any reason that anyone would want to do sit
ups or in your opinion is that an exercise you should NEVER do?

DG:
People are hard to change, Tom. But once you learn what can happen from
overusing exercises like sit ups, you’d be doing yourself (and trainers
their clients) a disservice by continuing this practice. Many studies
have also shown the hip flexors are recruited to do most of the work,
so sit ups are not only ineffective but they can also strain your back.
Now to be fair, there are correct ways to do a sit up. One is to take
the Law of Reciprocal Inhibition into account. That means if one muscle
is working, the other must relax. So if you’re doing sit ups, you
contract your hamstrings and glutes by pushing your lower legs against
someone’s hands, small dumbbells or over a heavy weighted barbell. This
will shut off the illiopsoas and your abs will feel it in the morning
because they are now doing more of the work.If I prescribe sit ups, I
simply have my clients do Janda sit ups. For the e book, I left out sit
ups completely because of the overuse and injury potential situation.

TV: Are there any other ab exercises that are really common in the gym but you wouldn’t recommend to your clients?

DG:
Unfortunately, many of the abdominal exercise gadgets on the market are
ineffective and sometimes even unsafe. I would stay away from the Ab
Roller or Torso Track because these machines can create muscle
imbalances. I’m also not a fan of machine crunches because these
machines – like all machines – stabilize your body and isolate the
rectus abdominis, which doesn’t allow for true functional movement.
Let’s see, what else? Russian twists on a roman chair with a plate
sound like a good way to ruin your lumbar spine. Torso twists on a
machine fall in that category too.

TV:
Yeah, those rotary torso machines are always being used in every gym
I’ve ever been in. What about the ab machines you see on TV – ANY of
them any good?

DG: The infomercial
ads on TV try to make the machines and devices seem new, fun and easy.
Everyone wants nice abs fast and easy. But nice abs do not come in a
machine! The first step is a not a machine, it’s a proper diet based on
the individual. I would say your E book Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle is one of the best on the shelves these days when it comes to nutrition and the motivational techniques to stay on the plan.

TV:
So what’s probably on everyone’s mind now is that if sit ups and most
machines are out, that must leave crunches as the exercise of choice
right?

DG: Yes and No – crunches
have become more popular because of the popularity of ab rollers and
crunch machines. But like sit ups, crunches are overused and misused -
frequently! Floor crunches also limit your range of motion compared to
using a Swiss ball.

TV: A lot of people
wonder about those giant exercise balls – You call them Swiss balls,
some people call them stability balls – I noticed you included quite a
few ball exercises in your course. What’s so great about those things?

DG:
Simple…it places more demand on the neurological system and that makes
the abdominal workout more effective. According to some studies, the
recruitment of the abdominals was almost double when the subjects used
the Swiss ball. The oblique’s contribution was increased by over 4
times due to the Swiss ball. You also get an extra 15 degrees range of
motion doing crunches on a Swiss ball compared to floor crunches. Plus,
have you ever done an advanced exercise on a Swiss ball? You sweat more
and breathe more heavily. Why, because your nervous system and entire
body are working harder to do all the stabilizing work. For example,
the Prone Bridge exercise forces the rest of your body to stabilize you
so you don’t fall off the ball. Think of it as a light switch turning
on.

TV: So using a Swiss ball “flips the
switch on your nervous system,” I’ve never heard anyone put it that way
before… Interesting. So what are a few of your personal favorite
exercises for developing a good-looking and strong set of six pack abs?

Well,
my system starts with good neurological programming of the core
muscles. Build the base and then add layers. Some of the exercises I
personally like are:

* Prone Ball Roll
* Lateral Ball Roll
* Prone Jackknife on swiss ball
* Swiss ball Side Flexion
* Forward Ball Roll

It’s easier to see them than to try and describe them, so if you want a visual, you can see the pictures here On This Web Page. You can also see a total of 42 exercises including about a dozen ball exercises in my e-book, Flatten Your Abs and that includes multiple photos of each movement showing start and finish positions.

TV:
Alright, next subject: what’s the deal on training abs every day – you
hear different opinions on this all the time – are you supposed to work
them daily or not? And why?

DG:
There are different opinions on this. Personally, I think they should
NOT be trained each day. There are situations where you could train
muscle groups on consecutive days, like when you work different
sections of the abs. I stand by the philosophy of lower abs first,
obliques and then the rectus abdominus. Why? Each takes a different
degree of neurological programming. But in general, I follow a less is more
philosophy for abs. I don’t want people getting over trained and
injured. A good diet combined with an effective exercise program
designed for the individual is the key for fat loss. Add in a good core
exercise program such as Firm and Flatten Your Abs and you have the
recipe for success.

TV: Okay, here’s
another burning question that’s on everyone’s mind: A lot of people do
abdominal exercises every day because they think that will burn the fat
of the stomach. You and I know that doesn’t work. For the record, would
you explain exactly why ab exercises don’t burn fat off your abs?

DG:
For one thing, fat is stored all over your body and the distribution of
fat stores is mainly genetic. Men tend to store body fat in their mid
section first. Women have a hard time losing the hip and leg weight
because of child-bearing genetic code. Second, and most important,
abdominals come from low body fat and low body fat comes from good
nutrition, not specific exercises. I really believe that you are what
you eat. If you are “dirty” on the inside, you will be “dirty” on the
outside.

TV: Ok, let’s talk about core
training now. A lot of people have heard of core training because it
has now filtered into the mainstream, with best selling books, videos
and exercise classes at health clubs and so on, but for the people who
still don’t know what core training is could you give a simple
explanation?

DG: Training the core
is a very important issue for all people of all ages. There are two
different muscular systems at work when dealing with core conditioning.
They are referred to as the inner unit, which consists of the
transverse abdominis, diaphragm, multifidus and pelvic floor these are
deep abdominal muscles and are important to core stability and
function. Then there are the outer unit muscles, which are all the
prime movers of our skeleton system. You must get the inner unit
working well before you embark on a hard core conditioning program.When
conditioning your core, think of yourself as a big top spinning with
everything emanating from the middle (core) out. If you wobble in the
middle, you will, in theory, become off balance and fall over faster.
This sets yourself up for decreased performance and increased injury
potential. Show me a weak core and I will show you many orthopedic
injuries. Remember, getting injured should never be part of an exercise
program. To prevent injury, develop a base and concentrate on building
a functional inner unit. Protecting the spine is high on the hierarchy
of survival. To protect the spine and its important function, we must
understand what makes the inner and outer unit muscles work. Working
the inner unit muscles simply leads to better core control.Your ability
to respond to situations in everyday life from bending down to get your
keys you dropped on the ground to putting your baby in his or her crib
will be greatly enhanced when you have trained this system correctly.
An important point I’d like to make is that most people do not get a
good evaluation before starting a core training program. People just
jump right into a core conditioning class or advanced movements they
see in a magazine and this leads to many orthopedic injuries. I’m not
saying they need a PhD in functional anatomy, but they should know what
type, how much and how long they should do each and every exercise.

TV: You talk about functional training and functional movement in your program – what’s that all about?

DG:
Functional training is popular today as it well should be. It really
revolves around integrated, multi-dimensional movements that sometimes
change speed in all planes of motion. I don’t want to get into a deep
discussion about exercise kinesiology or biomechanics, so just think of
everyday life: How many leg extensions or leg curls do you perform in
everyday life as compared to squats? Squatting down is a natural,
everyday movement. In other words, it’s “functional.” I strongly
suggest avoiding the overuse of machines and starting to design your
training in a functional manner.

TV: You also mention the word “integration” frequently through out your book, what do you mean by that?

DG:
This is connected to the functional training I was just talking about.
Like I said before, it means we do not condition or train by isolating
muscles. We bring together all the muscles of the body to work as a
unit – that’s integration. Try to do a bicep curl on a machine, then do
a curl with a single heavy dumbbell. You will notice right away that
your entire body must stabilize and work together for you to curl that
dumbbell.There are times you have to break this law, such as after knee
surgery when you will not squat until you’ve done some leg extensions
with the physical therapist, or in the case of bodybuilders who
intentionally isolate, but those are the exceptions not the rule.

TV: On your www.flattenyourabs.net
web page, you say that your program will help prevent and even
eliminate back pain. Why do you think so many people have back pain,
what does ab training have to do with it and how does your course help
eliminate back pain or help avoid getting it in the first place?

DG:
Great questions. Most back pain comes from the inability to stabilize
the spine. We are designed to sit upright and move, not sit all day
long. Did you know that sitting acutely raises pressure between each
spinal segment? Each segment has stabilizer muscles (the multifidus).
When we perform our desk job or sit at computers your stabilizer
muscles do not have to work as hard, so they become weaker. Why would
they work when that 300 dollar chair does it for them? Then we think we
can go out and play 18 holes of golf and POW the back goes out! Do this
experiment: Sit on a Swiss ball fitted for your height and you will
notice a big difference in the way you sit at your desk. You excite
those spinal muscles to do their jobs. There are plenty of exercises to
help with this with in the e book. To get relief from minor back pain
or to prevent back pain in general you must work the entire inner unit
and core muscles.

TV: You were talking
earlier about developing a base and adding layers. I know that a lot of
people start a strength training program to look and feel better but
their workouts actually cause injuries and back problems because they
use bad form or they pick exercises that are too advanced for their
level of fitness. In your program, I noticed you have the routines set
up in levels of difficulty – 7 levels actually – and you talk about the
importance of developing the right foundation with simple conditioning
exercises for the first few weeks, then gradually moving into the more
challenging movements. How do you know where to start and which
exercises to choose and which to avoid so that you don’t hurt yourself
by doing something over your head? I mean, I know you wouldn’t train
one of your overweight clients on their first workout the same way you
train your pro boxers, right?

DG:
There are some simple abdominal tests in the eBook that will give every
person a baseline to start. For as long as I’ve been doing this I have
found very few people – even good athletes – that pass the tests the
first time. Each person should start at the beginning. The question is
how long do you stay at each level. An athlete will advance faster due
to a better integrated nervous system. But everyone should start off
slow!

TV: David, if there’s so much
misleading and false information on abdominal machines and fat
reduction on TV and in the magazines these days, how do they keep
getting away with it and why don’t more people know about the
techniques you teach?

DG: Some
people do know about the types of training I use, just not the
mainstream yet. Also many of the ads for ab training call for minimum
work. …Flat abs in 3 minutes a day is quite appealing to most couch
potatoes, so they keep buying it.

TV: I
agree totally. I saw that they have “six second abs” now and people are
actually buying this stuff. Ok, one last question. I know your eBook
has dozens of ab training and fat loss tips, and you’ll probably say,
“Just buy the book,” but would you indulge us and tell us three of your
most important secrets for getting firm and flat abdominals?

DG:
Sure… ONE, Get a proper evaluation. I would suggest looking up a CHEK
practitioner in your area. There are many things that can help you with
rock hard abs. But without knowing your metabolic type, stress levels,
food intolerance, eating proper organic foods to avoid pesticides,
chemicals and so on, you could go round and round and never get those
abs. In other words, fix your insides so you outsides look great! TWO,
do not stop learning – continue educating yourself. Most plans are
doomed from the start because people tend to want the quick fix so they
fall for gimmicks that with a little education they would know
better.THREE, follow the exercises with proper form. Do not just go
through the motions to get the reps done.

TV:
This has been great David, definitely very enlightening and again, I
really appreciate your time, thank you. If someone wants to contact you
or if someone wants to order a copy of your e-book where can they find
it?

DG: Well Tom, thank you and
thanks for your great web sites and information. You’re a great person
to work with and I salute your commitment to natural fitness and
health. I can be reached at my website and you can also get the full
information about the FIRM AND FLATTEN YOUR ABS program there as well.
The site URL is www.flattenyourabs.net

TV: Thanks again David, It’s been a pleasure.

Click here to visit David Grisaffi’s Flatten Your Abs Website

About the Authors:

Tom Venuto
is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, an NSCA-certified personal trainer
(CPT) and a certified strength & conditioning specialist (CSCS).
Tom is the author of the #1 best-selling e-book, “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,”
which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using
the secrets of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn
how to get rid of stubborn body fat and increase your metabolism by
visiting: www.burnthefat.com.

David Grisaffi
majored in physical education and holds multiple certifications
including 3 from the prestigious CHEK Institute: Level II high
Performance Exercise Kinesiologist, Golf Biomechanic, and health and
lifestyle counselor. He’s also certified by the ISSA as a personal
trainer and specialist in performance nutrition. David has been a high
school wrestling and baseball coach and is currently an independent
trainer and strength coach. He has been sought after by some of the top
athletes in professional sports including world champion boxer Greg
Haugen and professional golfer Michael Putnam. David’s ebook, Firm And Flatten Your Abs is
an online best seller which teaches you how develop “six pack abs”
while improving strength, function and athletic power at the same time.
Find out more at www.FlattenYourAbs.net