ATHLEAN-X founder Jeff Cavaliere is breaking down how you can sport a better midsection. In an August 4 YouTube video, the fitness coach broke down his 13 rules to help you maintain ripped abs year-round.
With over 14.3 million YouTube subscribers, Cavaliere has become a trusted authority in the fitness community. He offers fans science-backed dieting frameworks and training breakdowns, suitable for lifters of any experience level. Maintaining a ripped six-pack is among the most common fitness goals, prompting Cavaliere to unveil how he gets the job done 365 days a year.
Jeff Cavaliere’s 13 Rules for Abs Year-Round
- Drink 16–20 oz of water upon waking
- Order of Ab Exercises
- Divide your plate like a clock
- Stop counting reps; make every rep count
- Make sure the pelvis moves through space for Lower Ab Quality
- Get shoulder blades off the ground + fold the rib cage
- Daily small helpers: green-tea extract, red-pepper flakes, cinnamon
- Add Ginger Daily
- Breathe correctly on every rep
- Allow a responsible nightly treat
- Train serratus + obliques with corkscrews
- Nutrition is the foundation
- Avoid Extreme Nutrition Tactics
Drink 16–20 oz of water upon waking
Cavaliere emphasized that proper hydration sets the tone for the rest of the day, which can significantly impact workout performance.
Order of Ab Exercises
The order in which you complete your ab exercises matters. Cavaliere believes it’s best to start with leg-focused movements before using ab exercises that engage the entire body.
Divide your plate like a clock
At each meal, he explained that you should divide your dish like a clock. The largest section should be fibrous vegetables, followed by protein, then starchy carbs, and finally fats.
Stop counting reps; make every rep count
When it comes to resistance training, he believes quality always beats quantity:
“Speeding through repetitions just to reach a certain number is not going to get you the results you want. Instead, they should look more like this. I know it looks slow, and I know it looks deliberate, but really what you’re getting is a quality contraction.”
Make sure the pelvis moves through space for Lower Ab Quality
By squeezing the adductors, Cavaliere revealed that it’s easier to target the lower abdominal muscle fibers.
Get shoulder blades off the ground + fold the rib cage
Folding the rib cage and keeping the shoulder blades off the ground are key form tips during sit-ups.
Daily small helpers: green-tea extract, red-pepper flakes, cinnamon
Spices and supplements can also have an overall benefit on fat loss.
“Sneak in the things that have a marginal impact on their own, but together, can actually make a difference. That’s where I reach for three things that I use every single day.”
Add Ginger Daily
Ginger is another food he’s adopted into his daily nutrition plan and said it can help decrease muscle soreness.
Breathe correctly on every rep
Correct breathwork during repetitions can have a major impact on progress:
“As you do a typical crunch, yes you want to exhale, but you don’t want to actually push your stomach out as you do it. A lot of people confuse the exhale with the pushing of the stomach. You actually want to do the direct opposite. Blow air out while pulling your stomach in, we call this cinching,” Jeff Cavaliere said.
Allow a responsible nightly treat
An enjoyable nightly treat can keep you from veering off a diet plan.
Train serratus + obliques with corkscrews
Cavaliere also pointed out that training the serratus and obliques with corkscrews helps sculpt a better midsection.
Nutrition is the foundation
While working out can have a positive impact on body composition, he warned that you can’t outtrain a bad diet.
Avoid Extreme Nutrition Tactics
Lastly, he cautioned against crash dieting or extreme nutrition tactics for getting in shape.
“It’s the bigger picture items that we are maybe not necessarily ready to come face to face with or change are oftentimes really standing in the way, and those extreme tactics are never necessary. It’s just what we use to distract ourselves.”
Cavaliere continues to offer his fan base practical health and fitness advice. With these 13 rules, he believes anyone can sculpt a more defined midsection with effort and consistency.
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