Flatten Your Abs
By David Grisaffi - Review

Review by Rahul Alvares

"Flatten Your Abs" turned out to be one unexpected read. In a nice way that is! Authored by David Grisaffi, at sixty pages it is a relatively small book.

Let me make clear at the start some of the things about this book. This book is not a "six-pack in six weeks" training schedule. Because it is not cosmetic in its approach you won’t find much information on extreme dieting and fat loss pills...except a little on why you should stay away from both.

"Flatten Your Abs" is a compilation of exercises that is designed to target core training and spine stability over just washboard abs.

Let me quote Grisaffi himself to explain better.

With over forty exercises, the book is very comprehensive in tackling the subject of abdominal training. You might be surprised to know that there is not a single sit-up exercise in the book. The exercises, like I mentioned, are basically targeted at core training.

Almost all are bodyweight exercises. And many are brand new to me (that means I haven’t seen them elsewhere).

The training exercises also are complete in that there are different exercises for all the different muscles of the abdomen, i.e. transversus abdominus, rectus abdominus, external obliques and internal obliques. For balanced development of the core, lower back training has also been included. For that, a few lunges and squats have also been incorporated into the program.

The exercises with their descriptions and photographs comprise about half the book. The other half deals mostly with questions and supplementation.

The questions included are the most common ones beginners might ask:

Supplementation has been explained in detail. All the fat-loss potions and powders (chromium picolinate, caffeine, citrus extract etc.) have been reviewed with their pro’s and con’s listed. Actually, Grisaffi seems to have included this section only to make the reader realize that real permanent success comes primarily from regular exercise and a good, natural food diet.

The exercises included in the book, though challenging, are not very intense. Even then, I still think an advanced bodybuilder will find much that is of use to him at least as far as core training is concerned.

Most of the exercises require little or no equipment. The Swiss Ball, however, makes a big feature with almost fifteen exercises devoted to it alone. That, of course, won’t be a problem for trainees who have access to one. But I don’t own one. Neither does my gym have one. As a matter of fact, I have never even seen a Swiss Ball except in pictures. You could imagine, therefore, that those fifteen exercises will be of little use to me until I find myself a Swiss Ball.

Another device required (though not absolutely compulsory) is a blood pressure cuff. The cuff is used as a guidance device to ensure proper contraction of the right abdominal muscles with the performing of the concerned exercises.

Core training being downright necessary for every person, I highly recommend this book to everyone including the advanced bodybuilder.

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"Flatten Your Abs"

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