The title of this blog is a little misleading… these two things don’t really go together (although I wish they did). I wanted to do a fitness myth and fact, and also provide another installment for National Cookie Month – so, you get abs and cookies. Enjoy!
Fitness myth – Doing crunches is the best way to get abs
False. Crunches have been a staple exercise in many training plans, but they’re not going to help you find that 6-pack anytime soon. The key to seeing the lines in your midsection is all about fat loss. The saying that abs are made in the kitchen is totally true. You won’t see them until you drop the body fat sitting on top of them, and that happens over time with a consistent diet.
The progression from off-season to on-season as body fat is lost.
The fact is that everyone HAS abs – we were all born with them. Just like all the other muscles in your body, in order to see them more clearly, you need to build them and then uncover them. The best way to build them is to perform compound weighted exercises which activate your core – think of deadlifts and squats, heavy training moves which recruit your core.
My abs are my trouble spot, they take forever to show up, it’s the one spot on my body that insists on holding fat as long as possible. They require complete consistency with my diet. i’m hoping that through more off-seasons and building more mass, they show a little easier each year. And that cupcakes and peanut butter help build them… No?
What is your “core”?
Your core goes far beyond the visible 6-pack we see on fitness models. There are layers of muscles within our trunk which make up the “core”, including muscles running up our spine. It’s important to work your entire core for functional use, stability, posture, agility, and injury prevention. Include a variety of movements such as reverse crunches for your lower abs, oblique work, planks, and back extensions.
At my leanest point, one week before a competition.
Dessert time!
And now, cookies… or cookie-muffins (a near fail). Possibly the strangest looking baked good I’ve ever made, but they taste great! Lemon and raspberry flavors combined, and somehow they became a purple ball. The batter was slightly too runny for a cookie, so I put them in a mini muffin tray instead (there’s always a solution). In light of the holiday, I should have posted the pumpkin pie cookie recipe today, but I never think ahead like that.
Yup, they’re purple. Very purple. Kyle thought they were burnt… Don’t judge on appearance!
- 1 cup + 2 TBSP oat flour
- 2 tsp coconut flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup apple sauce (unsweetened)
- 1/4 cup egg whites
- 1 tsp Stevia
- 2 tsp Stevia brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 TBSP lemon
- 1 small container of raspberries
Even better – two toned!
- Preheat oven to 350, spray muffin tray with coconut oil
- Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl, add liquid ingredients
- Add the raspberries last and mix (this will turn the batter a pretty shade of purple)
- Always taste test the batter to make sure it’s as sweet as you want (and that the lemon flavor comes through)
- Spoon into muffin tray and bake for about 15 minutes. Ignore the odd color and enjoy!
Happy Thanksgiving weekend everyone!
Iron Forged Fitness 