I have the V and don't do reverse leg lifts. They're mostly a hip flexor and lower back exercise, not a lower abdominal exercise. Reverse crunches are way better, easier to maintain proper form on, and consequently are less likely to give you lower back pain (which is caused by fatiguing the lower back and over-strengthening the hip flexors that can happen with reverse leg lifts).

EDIT: Do them if you want. They're just not necessary to obtain that "V" shape. I would personally avoid them, much like I avoid movements with a lot of lower back flexion. The risks far outweigh the benefits.

Wow...thats pretty intense man. lol now i know why I don't have abs. Im not even close to your caliber of training.

I've always managed to have a flat stomach though. But I truly believe it is in large part to dieting and very little of it came from my training regiman. To be honest with you, my ab exercises were pretty basic, bland and quite boring. I used to incorporate exercises into my program such as ab crunches w/ those scissor like machines. Leg raises, side twists for the obliques, leg crunches and thats about it. My reps would range anywhere from 50-100 and I would train them about 2-3 times per week...But I screwed up because I think I had issues with technique and resting in between sets.

I think abs are the hardest to train because this part of the body demands technique more so than any other body part. I mean you can cheat a little in doing other body parts and get away with it, but no so with abs. I think your technique has to be down and very efficient. i used to always rush when doing my reps for abs, but I think thats a poor way of doing it. I think the best way to go is really slow like your saying and just squeeze and contract the muscle, and breathe. Im beginning to think high reps, and fast is not necessary. As long as you do it correctly, and feel the burn, you know its working. Plus, i think it is also a muscle group that has a quick recovery rate more so than others, so resting in between sets is very crucial. And you have monitor your resting periods.

this is just an area Ive been really poor on but will improve. Just haven't put enough emphasis, focus on this area of my body. but thanks for the tips man. appreciate it. Keep up the good work.

It really doesn't take that long to do this routine. Maybe 15-18 minutes per day on Mondays/Fridays, 10-15 on Tuesday/Saturday.

And +10000000 on the technique part. That's the real key.

For whatever reason, I couldn't sleep last night. I went to the gym, came home, got laid.... then just was WIDE awake. We went to bed at 11:00pm. Tried to go to sleep around 12:40am... and was just wide awake. Didn't get to sleep until after 2:00am.

I was going to blow off the gym this morning, but I was wide awake at 5:40pm.

Hopefully, I can squeeze a nap in today somewhere. I know my body needs sleep to recover from the abuse I am giving it... but apparently, my body disagrees.

Will do 36 minutes on the eliptical this morning. I'll grab a protein shake when I get back. Weds is typically a day off from lifting. I may try to work in some core exercises depending on how tired I am.

Been there man. Been there. You're not the only one.

I can relate. I know this feeling. Plenty of times this has happened to me. You go to bed at a particular time and you want your body to shutdown but it can't right? yup...Thats very familiar. Interestingly enough, I've always encountered this problem when I trained late at night. I think that could be the link to the problem by being or doing something active late in the day.

Its just that exercising or whatever activity is causing you to be active increases your bodys core temperature and makes you more alert. Not a good thing to have at a particular time of the day when its required to shutdown. exercising late at night goes against the bodys demands of "shutdown mode". And it all varies on the intensity of the activity as well. The more intense your activity the higher your bodys core temperature increases and it could take up to several hours before it returns to normal. It just all depends on how your body responds to the type of activity you're doing. Musta been a good nights sex lol...It is a compliment to your body to go to bed when its temperature is normal. And if you could avoid late activities in the day, do it.

I remember learning this the hard way lol...I would do karate sessions late at night, around 9 and finish at 10...The workouts were incredibly intense that when I was done, I came out with an abundunce of energy..Would then go home, watch a bit of tv or read a book no problem and then go to bed around 12am. And no way did it happen. I was wired in bed, and it would take my body approximately 4 hours to cool down. With that being said, I wouldn't sleep till like 4am in the morning. It was nuts. So I stopped training late at night and coincedentally my sleep improved. Significantly.

But yeah that may be your problem as well? Of course sleep deprivation can derive from many other things such as stress, alcohol, eating late at night, etc. but one thing I do know, here's a tip for ya, if you ever feel you experienced a night where you're sleep deprived, its best not to train the very next day because chances are your body is "taxed" from the lack of sleep which prevents full rest and recuperation for your muscles. And that stunts the growth in the muscles, where they're not able to grow to their full potential. and So the way your body works is that it needs more rest in order to replentish itself fully, not only to make up from the lack of sleep from the night before, but so your muscles can grow to their full potential by getting the proper amount of rest and recuperation it needs. Be very careful. Lack of sleep can lead to overtraining. if you could take a nap, do it.

Did some cardio circuit training today.

1 circuit:
60 jumping jacks
20 spiderman pushups
20 walking lunges
20 spiderman climbs
60 seconds wall squat
60 seconds plank
10 burpees
50 high knees

Rest 1 minute, do three sets. Puke after optional.

Did 30 minutes of HIIT cardio after.

Came home, waited 2 hours, ate 1/2 cup plain yogurt, 5 oz of cheese and 12 almonds. Still haven't had my second meal yet.

Hit the gym for my 36 minutes of cardio. Had a vanila bean torte protein shake from Syntrax....nasty with water... won't have that flavor.... EVER again.

Had two pieces of multigrain toast with natural peanut butter. First time using natural peanut butter. Other than the three hours it took me to stir it up... not bad. Actually, it had a good flavor, but stirring it up was a bit of a chore.

Grabbing subway for lunch.... with unsweet tea.

Day off for me today. Good, too, because I have a lot of finals stuff to work on.

Good luck on the finals.

Cold has caught up to me again. I took last night and this morning off trying to get more rest.

Thanks. Was up all night working on them last night. Not hitting them gym until 1/2 hour from now.

Workout today is 8 sets of this:

Barbell + 25 lbs

10 Deadlifts
10 Bent Over Row
10 Hang Cleans
10 Lunges (alternating)
10 Push Press
10 Squats

Doesn't sound too hard until you remember there's no rest in between. Really a great circuit routine.

After that, I'll do core stuff.

Beta-alanine is the shit. That is all.

Got back on the horse today. I did 40 minutes of cardio.

So far, I have had a protein shake, a grilled chicken multigrain bagel with eggs and cheese.. and OJ to drink.

Then, I had a six inch ham and turkey sub on honey oat bread with a side of baked lays and an unsweet tea.

Wife is making home made Ravioli tonight... And, after she puts in all that work... no way I am going to decline. But, I do wish she took my eating as seriously as I am trying to do.

I can't wait to get in the gym.

Did my last heavy day while on my super-restrictive diet. Felt good.

Eating 7 oz of grilled chicken, 1 sweet potato, 8 oz of grilled steak and 5 oz of cheese today. Not a whole lot of food.