As we get more conscious about out health and fitness, more and more people are trying to learn how to build muscle effectively. One of the biggest areas of interest is celebrity workouts and today we are going to delve into the Sylvester Stallone abs workout to explain how "Rocky" achieved his physique.
Make no mistake about it, the sculpted six pack you see in the Rocky movies didn't come cheap. However, if you can combine this style of training with some of the proven muscle building principles towards your diet and rest you will see fantastic results with it.
Despite sticking to the old classic moves, this workout delivers a very intense session. However, if you are trying to copy the style of The Italian Stallion you were probably expecting this much.
There are a few exercises today which you'll already be familiar with but those which present a new challenge will be fully explained for you.
* Crunches on the floor or with an exercise ball.
* Twisting Crunches
* Elevated Knee Raise.
* Rotary Oblique Twists.
* Abdominal wheel rolls.
The first exercise on today's schedule is the good old crunch. If you are able to perform this on the floor without any equipment then you should do that, however if you want to use an exercise ball to provide comfort for your back then this is a perfectly fine adaptation to make. In fact, Sly made this change himself in the late 1990's after injuring his lower back on a during a stunt on the disaster movie Daylight.
Attempt to perform three sets of thirty repetitions of the floor crunch. If you find this too difficult, you can start by aiming for fifteen and working your way up to the target figure at a later date. The key to crunches is maintaining a slow tempo, really focusing on the contraction of the upper abs each time you reach the top of a repetition.
By adding a twist to the end of each crunch you'll be able to perform the second exercise in Sly's routine. Again, this can be performed on an exercise ball if you wish. This targets the muscles which you'll notice on the outside of your stomach, called the obliques. To further advance this move when you feel ready, try bicycle crunches.
The hanging knee raise is an exercise which is performed incorrectly by most gym members. People tend to place too much emphasis on their legs and this results in a good workout for your hip flexor muscles but leave the abs relatively untrained. The golden rule for this particular exercise, which was adopted by Sly himself, is to bend at the knee to eliminate the temptation to swing. Contract the lower abdominal muscles to lift your knees up. Focus on rolling your abs back as you complete the move, making this a very tough exercise.
Perhaps the most surprising move in today's session is the next exercise, which Sly credits with building his best ever midsection during the mid-to-late 1980's. The torso twist is an often overlooked exercise which targets your obliques. However, by performing this move on a decline bench you will be able to switch the target to your entire core, incorporating every single muscle in your stomach and lower back. This is a great move for building core strength.
Finally, we move onto the wheel. This piece of equipment has existed in gyms for many decades and remains one of the most underutilized pieces of kit. The reason this exercise is kept until last is because you won't want to work out any longer if you get this technique correct.
Come up onto your knees and simply push the wheel out in front of you as far as your balance will allow, the roll it back towards your body. Try to perform thirty repetitions without resting. As you progress here you will notice that you are able to wheel further away from your centre of gravity and provide yourself with an even tougher workout. To begin with, however, try to reach shoulder level with the wheel on each rep.
Make no mistakes, the Sylvester Stallone abs workout is every bit as tough as you would expect it to be. However, if your primary goal is to learn how to build muscle with classic, old school moves then this workout definitely has some great benefits to it.
Make no mistake about it, the sculpted six pack you see in the Rocky movies didn't come cheap. However, if you can combine this style of training with some of the proven muscle building principles towards your diet and rest you will see fantastic results with it.
Despite sticking to the old classic moves, this workout delivers a very intense session. However, if you are trying to copy the style of The Italian Stallion you were probably expecting this much.
There are a few exercises today which you'll already be familiar with but those which present a new challenge will be fully explained for you.
* Crunches on the floor or with an exercise ball.
* Twisting Crunches
* Elevated Knee Raise.
* Rotary Oblique Twists.
* Abdominal wheel rolls.
The first exercise on today's schedule is the good old crunch. If you are able to perform this on the floor without any equipment then you should do that, however if you want to use an exercise ball to provide comfort for your back then this is a perfectly fine adaptation to make. In fact, Sly made this change himself in the late 1990's after injuring his lower back on a during a stunt on the disaster movie Daylight.
Attempt to perform three sets of thirty repetitions of the floor crunch. If you find this too difficult, you can start by aiming for fifteen and working your way up to the target figure at a later date. The key to crunches is maintaining a slow tempo, really focusing on the contraction of the upper abs each time you reach the top of a repetition.
By adding a twist to the end of each crunch you'll be able to perform the second exercise in Sly's routine. Again, this can be performed on an exercise ball if you wish. This targets the muscles which you'll notice on the outside of your stomach, called the obliques. To further advance this move when you feel ready, try bicycle crunches.
The hanging knee raise is an exercise which is performed incorrectly by most gym members. People tend to place too much emphasis on their legs and this results in a good workout for your hip flexor muscles but leave the abs relatively untrained. The golden rule for this particular exercise, which was adopted by Sly himself, is to bend at the knee to eliminate the temptation to swing. Contract the lower abdominal muscles to lift your knees up. Focus on rolling your abs back as you complete the move, making this a very tough exercise.
Perhaps the most surprising move in today's session is the next exercise, which Sly credits with building his best ever midsection during the mid-to-late 1980's. The torso twist is an often overlooked exercise which targets your obliques. However, by performing this move on a decline bench you will be able to switch the target to your entire core, incorporating every single muscle in your stomach and lower back. This is a great move for building core strength.
Finally, we move onto the wheel. This piece of equipment has existed in gyms for many decades and remains one of the most underutilized pieces of kit. The reason this exercise is kept until last is because you won't want to work out any longer if you get this technique correct.
Come up onto your knees and simply push the wheel out in front of you as far as your balance will allow, the roll it back towards your body. Try to perform thirty repetitions without resting. As you progress here you will notice that you are able to wheel further away from your centre of gravity and provide yourself with an even tougher workout. To begin with, however, try to reach shoulder level with the wheel on each rep.
Make no mistakes, the Sylvester Stallone abs workout is every bit as tough as you would expect it to be. However, if your primary goal is to learn how to build muscle with classic, old school moves then this workout definitely has some great benefits to it.
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Writer: Discover how to build muscle with personal trainer Russ Howe PTI's easy post revealing the sylvester stallone abs workout today.
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The Sylvester Stallone Approach To Building A Sculpted Six Pack