7 UNDERGROUND
SHORTCUTS FOR
GETTING SIX
PACK ABS
BY MIKE CHANG
ISSA CERTIFIED
PERSONAL TRAINER
YOUR SIX PACK ABS
COACH
Copyright 2010 Mike Chang Fitness SixPackShortcuts.com Introduction I have a confession to make. When I told some of my friends that I planned to name my online fitness course “Six Pack Shortcuts,” a few of them actually laughed at the name. One conversation that I remember particularly vividly was with my friend Alex. Alex never used to work out in the past, but at the urging of a few friends and myself he was about to begin an exercise program. Here’s what our conversation went like: I told him about the Six Pack Shortcuts program, and he loved it...but he wasn’t too excited about the name. “Mike, you can’t call it Six Pack Shortcuts,” he said indignantly. “Everyone knows that there are no shortcuts to getting six pack abs. Of course everyone wants them, but the only way to get them is through obsessive dieting, working out constantly, and sacrificing your lifestyle. That’s just reality. All those ‘shortcuts’ that they promise you on the infomercials are just scams.” “Well, you’re right about one thing,” I told him. “Most of the ‘shortcuts’ being marketed for getting six pack abs ARE scams. And there’s definitely no magic pill that you can take that gives you six pack abs instantly, with no effort.” “But,” I continued, “From getting abs myself and also from training clients for so many years, I know that there ARE many real shortcuts which you can use to get six pack abs far faster than the average guy. This is because 90% of the effort that the average guy puts into getting six pack abs is a complete waste. There is so much misinformation out there, that if you just start doing the RIGHT things with your eating and workouts, you’ll see dramatic results in your abs in as little as a few months.” “A few MONTHS?!?” he asked incredulously. “How can that be possible? I know guys who have been trying for YEARS to get a six pack, and they STILL can’t see their abs.” “Well, as I said before it basically comes down to applying certain “shortcuts” to getting six pack abs that most guys don’t know about. You leverage your workouts and eating so that every little bit of effort produces BIG results. This is what we designed the program around...there are over 30 different shortcuts that guys can use to get more results in less time.” “Can you share a few of them with me?” he asked? “Sure. I can give you seven simple but VERY powerful ones – just by using these you’ll have a big advantage over every other guy trying to get in shape. Copyright 2010 Mike Chang Fitness SixPackShortcuts.com Shortcut #1: Cut The Ineffective Forms Of Exercise From Your Workout Routine
“Here’s a huge one,” I began. “I would estimate that about 90% of the time that most guys are spending doing exercise is essentially wasted. Nobody has ever taught them the RIGHT way to work out – so they spend hours upon hours doing things that have been scientifically proven to do almost nothing for your physique and abs.” “Really?” Alex asked. “Like what?” “Well, the biggest time‐waster in my opinion is long, slow, steady state cardio. Guys have been taught that they must jog on a treadmill or ride on a bike for hours on end to lose weight – but in fact, research has proven that cardio is actually extremely ineffective for weight loss.” “For example, if you were to ride a stationary bike or use an elliptical machine at a light pace for an hour, you’d only burn about 300 calories. That’s about as much calories as are in a few handfuls of potato chips, or a big glass of orange juice. And you’d have to do it for an HOUR to burn that much! Long, slow cardio just doesn’t burn very many calories. It’s also incredibly boring, and wears out your body making it harder for you to do workouts that are actually effective.” “Then why do you see so many guys on treadmills at the gym?” “It’s basically because nobody really knows what they’re doing, so everyone just plays ‘follow the follower.’ Everyone figures that since long, slow cardio is so popular, it MUST be the right way to exercise. After all, that many people can’t possible be wrong...right?” “But if you really look at the research – and the history of the fitness industry – you’ll see this ‘follow the follower’ line of reasoning is completely flawed, and very dangerous. And you can also verify this just by looking around your local gym... you’ll see that most of the guys on treadmills have mediocre or poor physiques.” “Wow...that will definitely save me a lot of time just knowing not to do cardio. Are there any others like that you can tell me about?” “Definitely,” I replied. “Have you ever seen guys who do big ‘circuits’ of weight machines, and never touch the free weights?” “Yeah,” Alex said. “You mean to say that these guys are wasting their time too?” Copyright 2010 Mike Chang Fitness SixPackShortcuts.com “Well, not quite as badly as the treadmill guys. They are at least building some muscle from their workouts...but they could be doing it much faster and easier if they trained mainly with free weight and body weight exercises, and used machines either very sparingly or not at all.” “But the free weights seem so hard,” Alex objected. “And aren’t barbells and stuff like that just for meatheads? I thought that all smart guys knew that machines were better.” “Well, of course lifting free weights are hard – if you’ve only trained with machines before. That’s because if you train mainly with machines, you’re developing very little real strength. You can lift an impressive looking stack of plates on the machine, but you don’t develop the stabilizing muscles required to lift a real object unassisted by pulleys and cables. And what most guys don’t know is that STABILIZING and CONTROLLING the weight is actually a very important part of the lift – and with a machine you are robbed of this source of muscle gain.” “Once you know how to lift free weights though, they’re actually just as easy as machines. You just have to overcome that initial hump of frustration, where you’re lifting much less weight than you think you ‘should’ be.” “And of course, lifting with free weights does NOT mean that you’re a meathead. If you train with strict attention to form, free weights are actually significantly safer than machines. You don’t have to be like those guys who toss heavy weights around with terrible form just to impress other dudes in the gym – you can train with free weights in a very safe and scientific way.” “Hmm...well now I’m beginning to understand.” Alex said. “I’ve basically been training with cardio and weight machines only up until now. And you’re telling me I’d get results much faster if I cut these from my workout routine.” “Right ‐‐ just by cutting those two ineffective forms of exercise out, and replacing them with effective exercises, you’ll make WAY faster progress than other guys. All of their gym time will be essentially wasted, while you’ll be squeezing the maximum possible muscle gain and fat loss out of yours.” “And cardio and weight machines are two of the biggest culprits, but of course there are many others as well. You can literally spend YEARS on this stuff with no results...or you can take the ‘shortcut’ of learning the RIGHT stuff, and get results right away.” Shortcut #2: Short, Consistent Workouts “Here’s another one that screwed me up back when I first started. I really wanted abs, so when I’d go to the gym I usually spent over an hour there – and sometimes two. I figured the more time I spent in the gym, the faster my progress would be.” Copyright 2010 Mike Chang Fitness SixPackShortcuts.com “But isn’t that true?” Alex said. “I mean, I always thought that guys with six packs basically spent their lives in the gym.” “No, it’s just one of the most pervasive fitness myths. ‘Marathon’ workouts are actually not very good for getting six pack abs at all, for three main reasons.” “First of all, doing more sets of exercises in the gym does not necessarily translate into more muscle. Most guys dramatically over‐estimate the amount of stimulus their muscles need to grow. In fact, doing too many sets of exercise can actually cause you to LOSE muscle, because you break them down too much through exercise, and never give them a chance to recover and rebuild themselves. I myself maintain my abs with only 30 minute workouts – and I also recommend that most time a client ever spend in the gym is 30 minutes.” “Second, doing marathon workouts saps your intensity. It’s just not possible to go all‐out for two hours straight – you begin going easy on your lifts, because you have to just to get through such a long workouts. And since intensity of effort is exercise more important to muscle growth than volume of exercise, you end up losing more than you gain.” “And finally, there’s a very important psychological reason why short workouts are better – long gym sessions are psychologically grueling, and make it exponentially more likely you’ll skip workouts or quit the program altogether. And if there’s one thing that all guys with abs have in common, it’s consistency. If you dread going to the gym, this is a major problem because it will interfere with you consistently getting the workouts done.” “That makes a lot of sense,” Alex replied thoughtfully. Shortcut #3: Increase Your Metabolism To Lose Weight “Here’s another huge one. Everyone always tells you that the only way to lose weight is to eat fewer calories. But what if I told you that there was a way for you to eat just as many calories as you are right now, or even MORE, and still lose weight?” “I’d say you’re pulling my leg,” said Alex. “Right – but then look at the way I eat Copyright 2010 Mike Chang Fitness SixPackShortcuts.com myself. Of course I focus on eating mainly healthy foods, but you yourself know that I consume a HUGE amount of food every day, and far more calories than the average person.” “That’s true,” he said. “You must have killed eight plates at the buffet the other day! I’ve never seen anyone eat as much as you before, and still stay lean. But I always just figured that was because of your genetics.” “Actually, my natural ‘natural’ genetics are to be fat – as you’ve seen from the pictures of me before I started working out. But the reason why I’m able to stay lean is because I apply this shortcut to weight loss.” “Well, what is it?” Alex asked eagerly. “It’s simple: A person with more lean body mass is going to have a higher metabolism, because there is more active tissue that your body has to expend energy to maintain. If you can gain a significant amount of muscle, your metabolism will be significantly increased. This means you’ll be able to lose weight, even when you’re eating plenty of food.” “That makes a lot of sense,” Alex said. “I suppose that’s why a 200 lb. guy needs way more food than a 100 lb. girl.” “Right, same principle. If you have 170 lbs. of lean mass on your body, you’ll be burning many more calories than if you only had 140.” “But I heard somewhere that a pound of muscle only increases your metabolism by 6 calories per day. Is that true?” “There have been studies that have found that, but they are flawed because they only take into account your complete resting metabolic rate. That is, you’d only burn 6 more calories per day if you literally laid in bed and didn’t move a muscle all day. But studies which factor in normal daily activity – walking around, sitting and standing, occasionally playing sports, etc...show that the real number of extra calories you will burn per day before factoring in your workouts is fifty calories per day, per pound of extra muscle.” “Wow...I can see how that makes a huge difference.” “Right. That’s how I’m able to stay so lean, while eating like a horse. It’s also really the only sustainable way to stay lean – I mean, how long can you really starve yourself for? Increasing your metabolism is just a much better way to lose weight, and a key shortcut to getting six pack abs.” Shortcut #4: Cook A Week’s Worth Of Healthy Food In Advance Copyright 2010 Mike Chang Fitness SixPackShortcuts.com “What about for your diet?” Alex asked. “It’s so hard for me to eat healthy...I’m always trying, but it seems like I can never really stick to it consistently.” “Most people can’t,” I replied. “In fact, about 95% of people who try to go on diets fail to lose any weight, and actually end up gaining more fat than they originally had in the end. So it’s not just you – it’s just that we as humans have very little willpower, which is why most “conventional wisdom” diets have 95% failure rates.” “So how can I lose weight then?” “Well, it’s pretty simple – I believe that you can control your behavior with pure willpower for about an hour a week. After that, it just doesn’t work – willpower just doesn’t last that long. So you need to do something highly leveraged in that hour that ensures you’ll eat healthy for the rest of the week.” “What could I possibly do in an hour that ensures I eat healthy for a whole week?” “It’s surprisingly easy: just cook a week’s worth of healthy meals, and stock your refrigerator with them. This will ensure that you’ll eat healthy for a whole week. If you don’t, you’ll have to waste money on food, plus you’ll feel like an idiot for cooking the food then not eating it. Plus, you’ll have a healthy meal in minutes anytime you want it – you won’t eat unhealthy food because it’s more convenient. Virtually 100% of my clients eat healthy for a week while doing this – even the ones who struggled with conventional diets.” “I can’t believe how simple that is,” Alex said. “But I see exactly how it works. I know that if I spent the time and money to make a week’s worth of healthy food I’d definitely eat them – I’d feel like I was crazy if I just cooked a bunch of food, and threw it all away.” “Right. And this little psychological trick is another important shortcut to getting a six pack that most guys don’t know about. In fact, it’s one of the principles my Zero Willpower Eating System is built around. Of course, there’s much more to it than that – you have to know the right foods to eat, how to prepare them so they taste great, and you need a system for cooking them with minimal time and effort. But once you learn this, you’ll have a massive advantage because it’ll become far easier for you to eat clean.” Copyright 2010 Mike Chang Fitness SixPackShortcuts.com Shortcut #5: FOCUS – Only Learn One Or Two Key Habits At A Time “Here’s another big one,” I continued. “Getting six pack abs is mostly a matter of establishing good eating and exercise habits. In total, I would say that there are 12 key habits that are responsible for about 90% of your results in your physique.” “That sounds like a lot,” Alex said. “How can I learn all of those?” “It is a lot – if you do it the way that most ‘fitness gurus’ teach, and try to learn all 12 at once. The vast majority of people who try and do it this way fail – it’s just not possible to actually implement that many changes in your life at the same time.” “So then how do you do it?” he asked. “Easy – focus only on learning one, or at the most two key habits at a time. Only move onto the next ones once you have the previous ones down solidly. Start with the most important habit, then go to the second most important, and so on until you’ve incorporated all 12 into your life.” “That sounds a lot easier.” “Definitely, because the hard part about establishing good habits is making the initial change. The first few weeks are very hard, but once it’s become your routine it’s very easy to maintain. This is another key principle that Six Pack Shortcuts is built around – in each phase of the program, you’ll be focusing on implementing one of two key habits into your life. This way, you don’t get overwhelmed and confused, and your chances of success are far higher.” Shortcut #6: Use A Multi‐Phase Plan To Focus On One Goal At A Time Alex looked at me quizzically. “But doesn’t that make things more complicated? I mean, why not just follow one program the whole time that will let you achieve all your goals?” Copyright 2010 Mike Chang Fitness SixPackShortcuts.com “That’s actually a good question, and it leads into another key shortcut to getting six pack abs. And that is, following a multi‐phase plan does not make things harder. It actually makes things much EASIER and SIMPLER, because you can focus on achieving one single goal in each phase.” “This is HUGE psychologically,” I continued. “For example, it’s very hard to try and both gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. Because if you’re doing this, your weight will essentially remain the same. Even if you’re making gains in terms of body composition, you won’t be able to see results very quickly and dramatically. You also won’t know whether or not what you’re doing is even working for a few months.” “But if you focus ONLY on gaining muscle, then you’ll know much faster. If your lifts are going up, and you see more muscle mass in the mirror then what you’re doing is working. The same with losing fat – if your measurements and weight are going down, but all your lifts are staying the same then you know you’re on the right track. Trying to measure and work on both at the same time is just too hard and confusing.” “There are also important physical reasons why focusing on one fitness goal at a time is essential. If you’re trying to lose fat, you will have to eat less than normal. You’ll still feel fine, but you probably won’t actually be able to make gains in strength and muscle size. And vice versa.” “Is that why you made Six Pack Shortcuts a four phase plan?” “Right – it evolved into a four phase plan because that’s what got the best results for my clients in the shortest time.” “In Phase I, we focus on building your metabolism. We show you the exercises that pack on total body muscle. This makes losing weight much easier in later phases, and provides a solid base of muscle which we can sculpt the fine details into later.” “In Phase II, we focus on burning your belly fat. You’ll get a simple eating and exercise system that will make you lose fat fast. Especially when coupled with your accelerated metabolism we built in Phase I, it’s by far the fastest and easiest way to lose weight.” “In Phase III, we focus on building your core muscle. We show you the total body exercises that build a tastefully muscular, “fitness model” style six pack. And THIS is also when you get my full arsenal of direct ab exercises – now that you’ve lost your belly fat, this is when they really make a difference.” Copyright 2010 Mike Chang Fitness SixPackShortcuts.com “An finally, in Phase IV we focus on getting you a fully‐defined six pack, and on maintaining your abs for life. In the previous phase you see ab definition, but in this phase we put the finishing touches on so that all of your abs are completely defined. You’ll also learn how to maintain your abs permanently with minimal effort.” “Ah – now I see,” Alex replied. “That way you only have to worry about progressing in one area at a time, and in the rest you just have to maintain what you already have. That does make things a lot simpler.” Shortcut #7: Getting Coaching From The Best Alex said “I’m definitely beginning to understand how there ARE shortcuts to getting six pack abs now. I can see how most guys literally waste YEARS doing ineffective things, and they would get results much faster if they just did the things that worked right off the bat.” “Right,” I said. “But I still haven’t told you about the ULTIMATE shortcut to getting six pack abs.” “Really...there’s an ultimate shortcut? What is it?” “I call it the ultimate shortcut because just by using this one, you’ll automatically have access to all the rest. And that shortcut is: getting coaching and training from the best.” “Why is that so important?” Alex asked. “I mean, aren’t all personal trainers and fitness experts the same?” “Most definitely not. The right trainer can make a MASSIVE difference in your results, and get you abs in weeks rather than years. But unfortunately, many trainers will actually teach you the WRONG stuff, and leave you worse off then when you started.” “So how can I tell the difference?” “Well, there are three main criteria that I look for.” “First of all, the trainer must be in great shape. If you’re currently getting advice from someone who has a mediocre or poor physique, you’re making a horrible mistake. You have to ask yourself – if their advice is so good, why don’t they use it to get six pack abs themselves? There’s no real answer to that, other than to conclude that there is something about either their attitudes towards fitness or their specific techniques that is producing poor results. I’ve seen MANY trainers in mediocre shape give advice to clients, and unsurprisingly their advice is almost universally bad.” Copyright 2010 Mike Chang Fitness SixPackShortcuts.com “Secondly, the guy must have transformed his body. You don’t want to learn from someone who’s just a genetic freak, and who naturally has six pack abs without having to do any work. This is because a person with “average” genetics like you and I will not be able to reproduce their results, even if we do the same things.” “Finally, he must also be a great trainer, in addition to being able to get great results for himself. There are many guys who can get killer results in their own body, but who don’t really enjoy teaching others. And there are many guys who just don’t have the skills required to be a great trainer – it requires an entirely different skillset to effectively teach and mentor a client, than it does to just train yourself. You need to make sure that the guy you’re getting advice from also has a track record of getting great results for his clients – that’s how you’ll know you’ve found the right guy.” “Hmm...that sounds a lot like you!” Alex said with a chuckle. “Yes it does, and that’s no coincidence. Since these are the standards that I hold fitness experts to when I’m looking for advice, they’re also the standards that I strive to uphold myself.” Six Pack Shortcuts: The Fastest Way To Burn Belly Fat And Get Six Pack Abs “So I heard your Six Pack Shortcuts course is coming out soon,” Alex said. “What’s that all about?” “Basically, it’s the fastest way to burn your belly fat and get six pack abs. It’s the program that worked to get hundreds of my clients six pack abs, most of them in just 12 weeks. It’s delivered through a series of professionally produced online videos you can either stream or download. In other words, it’s like having me as your on‐
call personal trainer 24 hours a day, and at a fraction of the cost.” “Nice,” he replied. “I’ll be looking forward to it!” This report was created by Mike Chang, ISSA Certified Personal Trainer and Six Pack Abs Coach. To learn more shortcuts for getting six pack abs, go to: SixPackShortcuts.com Copyright 2010 Mike Chang Fitness SixPackShortcuts.com 