4 and 3 and 2 and 1 and get those sit ups right and,

Tuck your tummy tiiiiiiiight and,

Do your crunches like this…..

– Kanye (probably)

If you wish, you can grab the N.W.A. Newsletter Playlist on Spotify here, all of the songs that have been featured in the newsletter are on the playlist.

Happy Friday, Coach J here from Anyman Fitness – and welcome to the latest edition of The N.W.A. Newsletter.

Each week with the N.W.A. Newsletter, I give you the best Nutrition, Weightlifting, and/or Attitude advice for you to start to use in your life today.

Tens of thousands of people have used this exact newsletter to gain muscle, lose fat, and become a better version of themselves…

Without any further ado, let’s get started..

N.W.A. Tip Of The Week

Often when I send over a training program to a new client, I get the following question:

“Where’s the ab work?”

It seems like many of us are conditioned that in order for a fitness program to be effective, ab work is a must-do.

Forever, we’ve seen fitness gimmicks and workout videos designed to work the abs – ab blasters, 6 minute ab videos/workouts, and who could forgot those weird crunch-assistance metal things where you sort of “rolled” your way to a crunch.

One of my buddies in high school had one.

I don’t think he used it more than 5 times…

Okay, so let’s talk ab training.

There are a few reasons why I rarely prescribe direct ab training for clients.

Most people do ab work as a means to flatten their stomach.

Almost universally, this is why people spend their time doing crunches and sit ups.

They think if they just do enough of them, they’ll have a flat stomach.

NOTHING could be further from the truth.

Doing abdominal exercises in an attempt to flatten your stomach is a total waste of time.

If you want a flat stomach, don’t do ab work – focus on losing body fat.

The idea that you can target fat in the stomach via sit ups/crunches is called “spot reduction” – it is a fitness myth that’s been around forever, and it’s false.

There is only ONE way to lose body fat in your midsection – be in an overall, daily (and consistent) calorie deficit.

Doing constant abdominal work will likely make your belly bigger, not smaller.

Think about it.

Your abdominal muscles are just that – muscles.

What happens when you do curls every day?

Your biceps grow, correct?

Guess what happens when you are constantly doing “abs”?

Yep, you got it – they will likely grow bigger as a result.

I have seen many instances over the years of clients doing a “30 day abs” challenge, doing planks and sit ups every day, who end up with a wider midsection than before.

It always baffles them, but in reality, it makes perfect sense.

They have hypertrophied their abs, which is the opposite of what they intended to do.

Also, if you are doing squats, deadlifts, presses, and rows with intensity, you are already working your abs isometrically.

Lifting heavy to failure is a total body endeavor; in most cases, that’s all you need to hit your abs properly.

But what if your goal IS to gain muscle in the abdomen region?

Some people like that.

Should they train their abs directly?

Yes, of course, training your abs directly will always make them grow faster than hitting them isometrically via compound exercises.

If you want to grow muscle in your midsection, and you wish to directly train your abs, here’s my advice for you:

Forget about bodyweight abdominal exercises.

Things like crunches, leg lifts, leg raises, sit ups, etc are fine, but there’s a big problem with them – they are difficult to use progressive overload with.

If you want to have bigger/stronger abdominal muscles, you need to overload them, same as any other muscle group.

If you attend a gym, this is easy.

Find an abdominal machine, and do 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps twice per week.

Track your weights.

Use perfect form and the FULL range of motion.

Once you hit your rep ranges, add some weight next session, rinse and repeat.

If your gym doesn’t have an abdominal machine, the cable crunch works great.

If your gym doesn’t have any abdominal exercises, you could perform sit ups while holding plates or dumbbells.

Start with bodyweight and once you can do 3-4 sets of 15 reps, start to hold the weight across your chest as you do them.

You could also do this with a dumbbell as well if you prefer.

If you have zero equipment, my suggestion is to do planks for time, and each session, try to beat that time.

Do 3 sets of elbow planks to total failure, tracking the time for each.

Add up the total time spent planking.

Each week, try to beat the aggregate, total time.

This is another way of progressive overload that will work.

All this being said – if your main goal of doing ab work is to make your stomach flatter, focus on your diet FIRST, get lean enough to see your abs, and then decide if you want to make your abs bigger in order for them to appear more defined.

So, if we ever team up together 1:1 – now you know.

That’s exactly why I didn’t give you any “ab work” in your program.

Fun Fact – I almost never do any direct ab work.

I’ve never needed it to have a defined midsection, and I’d rather spend my time doing other exercises in the gym.

1:1 coaching spots for 2026 are filling up quickly.

If you’re serious about nabbing one, I’d recommend applying for a spot here soon…

Here’s an example from a recent 1:1 client who lost 53 pounds in my program:

To learn more about this unique, “All In” experience, tap here and fill out this quick form – it will go directly to my email inbox.

Looking forward to speaking with you.

January-23-2026

N.W.A. Tip Of The Week

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