Abs with Minimal Overhead

After my last write-up, a few friends asked about my regimen. So, I wrote it up below. It'll be fun for me to read in the future, and I hope that it inspires someone. You can see results by scrolling down.

I was motivated to get abs because I wanted to see myself in top physical condition at least once in my life. I come from a bigger family, and I was overweight as a child. Logically, if you can't get abs in your 20s, it isn't going to be much easier with the decline of hormones and obligations in life. Unfortunately, I missed my goal of getting abs in my 20s. But, I returned with a new perspective after recovering from an accident that put me out for 2+ years at the age of 28.

I wanted two key things for my health-related goal:

1. Reduce the number of health-related decisions made each day.
2. Reduce time spent on this each day. My decisions and time went toward Verdict.

The Exercises

I watched Jeff Nippard's video on exercises that cause the most ab activation. I did those exercises every other day in a two-day split. For tracking, I used Strong with 1 minute between reps and sets. I kept my lifts at the same weight through the cut. It's a mistake to try to increase — I explain below.

Day 1

• 6am: Push 45mins
• 1pm - 4pm: Find time to cycle (LISS) for 1 hour around meetings.

Day 2

• 6am: Pull 45mins
• 1pm - 4pm: Find time to do abs for 30 minutes, cycle (LISS) for 30 minutes around meetings, then light leg work.

I had access to a small gym with dumbbells up to 50lbs, kettlebells, a pull-up bar, an ab wheel, and a stationary cycle. No barbells.

The Diet

• 10am: Oatmeal, breakfast of Champions.

  • Whole grain oats, flax, chia, blueberries, strawberries, cinnamon, salt, half a banana, a scoop of protein powder, and cocoa nibs. ~300 calories.

• 1pm: Snack was usually one of these.

  • Greek Yogurt, ofc without sugar added, with half a banana, berries, flax, chia, and cocoa nibs. ~300 calories.

  • Popcorn, a giant bag with seasoning. ~300 calories.

• 5pm: Chicken thighs and rice

  • Chicken thighs over breasts are essential. They taste better. Chicken thighs meal prep better because they don't dry out. You shouldn't try to do the brown rice and broccoli thing, unless you love it. The macros/insulin spike difference is marginal, and you're less likely to adhere. I ate sushi rice or long-grain white rice with broccolini or other greens. ~600-1000 calories.

I snuck in the occasional ice cream cone, pizza slice, Smart Sweets, or burger on weekends and some weekdays. This diet allows flexibility. Additionally, the times are no accident — it's intermittent fasting.

Double fisting Handel's Ice Cream on March 8th, 2022. Yes, both were mine.

That's all in terms of the physical world. If you want the mental tips, read on. The final results are in the section after.

The Secret

The battle is a mental one. It's especially not about lifting heavy. It's not about doing an insane amount of cardio. It's about following the schedule. It's about adherence. If you try to lift heavier or do an insane amount of cardio, you won't be able to adhere.

The 1200-1600 calories above is a lie. I had that on some days. I would treat myself on other days when I wanted pizza or ice cream. Fact is, I was burning a ballpark of 2600 calories a day. A slice or cone wasn't going to do anything.

If you want sustainability... sin and indulge a bit, but don't forget that you need streaks of days where you nail it.

My Strong app from January 2022 to May 2022

The Results

My last surgery was on June 11th, 2021. While recovering, I didn't want to be in a caloric deficit. So in September of 2021, I started doing abs, push days, and pull days. I ate very clean. I had an infection in my ankle and read that sugar doesn't help — go figure. I ate a lot of chicken thighs. As a result, I was on a considerable caloric surplus.

January 2022, I felt comfortable going on a deficit. My bone had 6 months to heal. This was when I started the diet and exercises above. This is how I looked.

Tap at your own peril.

March 2022, I had what I would consider abs. After that, I eased off the pedal and introduced more cheat days.

It's about 2 months into the cut with lights at the right angle.

Afterwards, I had more strict days and continued with the exercises for March, April, and May. I was extremely consistent with my exercises and allowed flexibility in my diet. On May 24th, 2022, a few friends and I gathered to compare results before binging at several restaurants in Las Vegas. You can see the results below.

Unfiltered living the jacked nerd lifestyle.

I'm thrilled with the results. I don't aspire to aesthetically look better than this. I've had conversations with people trying to look much bigger and fill up a t-shirt, but in all likeliness, their standard is skewed by pop culture. I'd recommend looking at natural bodybuilding competitions and setting your standard based on that rather than Chris Hemsworth or Kumail Nanjiani.

Final Thoughts

Everyone should see the best versions of themselves and support seeing the best versions of their family and friends. It's not superficial; it's about your health.