Are You Dissatisfied With Your Abs?
Does it seem a distant dream for you to own a rock-solid center? Can you only hanker in vain for the chiseled magnificence of a Greek statue? Have you given up on owning the tensile functionality and explosive power of a cage-fighter’s core?
Then that’s a crying shame. Because, let’s face it, the abs are the measure of a man. Like it or not, there’s a reason our culture is obsessed with abs: they signal egregious masculinity. Guys, you can pump away at those guns all you want—but your gut speaks the real truth about your stature as a man.
So, to give up on your abs, in our culture, is to quit on being a real man. You’ll lose respect from others and you’ll lose respect for yourself. Don’t be that guy!
If you don’t already own man-defining abs—or have despaired at EVER gaining them—then here are the reasons why you are failing (choose any and all that apply, be honest):
You don’t eat right. You don’t drink right. You don’t rest right. You don’t live right. You don’t practice right. You don’t do the right exercises in the right way for YOU, at the right time and in the right progressions. Almost certainly, you are not motivated right. And you haven’t been inspired right—fired up right.
The good news is that any and ALL of these issues can be fixed—if you just put into practice the life-saving wisdom of a Man whose "diamond-cut" abs do all the talking for him. Call him the Mensch of Abs, if you will—Mr. Danny Kavadlo.
But be warned: this is going to mean being prepared to work like a MAN on your body—in EVERY dimension of your life. If you are looking to gain respect—or regain respect—then you are about to discover everything you need to know, to make it happen for real.
So let me welcome you to the complete training secrets of a modern-day abs-master. It’s all here: 25 years of hard-scrabble knowledge earned the street way—through iron-willed practice and sustained, consistent, brutal effort. Mistakes made, lessons learned, old-school style...
In the Abs Gospel According to Danny, training your abs is a whole-life endeavor. It’s about right eating, right drinking, right rest, right practice, right exercise at the right time, right motivation, right inspiration, right attitude and right lifestyle.
So, yes, all of this Rightness gets covered in Diamond-Cut Abs. But let’s not confuse Right with Rigid. Apprentice in the Danny School of Abs and it’s like apprenticing with a world-class Chef—a mix of incredible discipline, inspired creativity and a passionate love-affair with your art.
"Danny has done it again! Diamond-Cut Abs is a no-nonsense, results driven approach that delivers all the goods on abs. Nutrition, training and progression are all included, tattoos optional!"—ROBB WOLF, author of The Paleo Solution
Here’s a Taste of What You’ll Get When You Invest in Diamond-Cut Abs
Part I An Abs Odyssey
Chapter 1 Cultural Obsession...1
Why there is no one-size-fits-all program for training your abs…3
Danny’s big promise: why you will get everything you need to know about sculpting and maintaining amazingly defined and beautiful abs…4
Chapter 2 Abs Defined...11
You cannot fake the funk—getting clear about what it’ll take to Man up and earn that six-pack of your dreams…11
The What of the What: basic anatomy and function: know your abs-tech details so you know what you are working on…12—15
What the core really consists of…it’s more than most people think…15
Chapter 3 Personal Obsession...17
The extreme value of push-ups and pull-ups for Danny-like abs…18
Danny Obsessed: 300 reps, 5 days a week for 10 years = close on 8 million reps!—yet Danny’s functionally stronger and aesthetically more appealing NOW with WAY less reps. Discover why…19
Danny’s personal mission for you: distinguish the fitness BS from the hype…21
Why protein supplements are a waste of money…21
"There are a lot of abs books and products promising a six-pack. What sets Danny's book apart is the realistic and reasonable first section of the book… His insights into nutrition are so simple and sound, there is a moment you wish this book was a stand alone dieting book."—DAN JOHN, author of Never Let Go
Part II Nutritional Musings
Chapter 4 Primordial Soup...27
How to bring back the joy to your fitness-nutrition program…28
Why you need to develop and maintain a love affair with food—if you want that manly six-pack…
Chapter 5 Common Sense Vs Over-Compartmentalization…31
Why what we eat is single most important decision we can make about our abs…31
Why Danny’s Dietary Advice has proved 100% effective for those who have followed it…33
The 3 golden keys you must consider when choosing the right foods to feed your abs…35
Why you should eat THESE fats every day for great abs…36
Why sugar is the #1 nutritional enemy of defined abs…37
Why Danny’s abs were at an all-time best after 90 days without THESE two nutrients…39
Why you should eat organ meat, for an extra edge in your abs training…42
Why you need FAR less protein in your diet…44
Chapter 6 Weighing in on Weight Loss...47
The 3 major keys to successful fat reduction…48
How to shed body fat now…48
Why a food’s fat content has no bearing on whether it will fatten you…49
Why you should ignore the BMI…50
The role of sacrifice in obtaining ripped abs…50
Chapter 7 What I Eat…54
The secret of "mostly"…54
For the love and care of food…54
Danny’s 3-Day sample food log…56—57
Chapter 8 The Fast and the Curious…59
The 4 Steps of the Beginner’s Cleanse…60
Fruit n Veggie Cleanse—optimal duration of…61
Juice Fast…62
The 7-Day Plan—Fruit n Veggie/Juice fast…62
Danny’s 4 favorite juices…63
The True Fast…63
The Absolute Fast…64
4 big tips for safe and successful fasting…64
Chapter 9 More Food for Thought…67
The perils of genetically and chemically compromised foods…67—69
How to avoid toxins in your food…69
Food’s most powerful secret ingredient…69
Chapter 10 Top 10 Tips for Tip Top Abs…72—75
Why water is SO important for your abs…72
"As soon as I received Diamond-Cut Abs, I flipped to the table of contents. Amazingly I found what I have been fruitlessly looking for in ab books for decades: 66 pages dedicated to NUTRITION. Kavadlo passed his second Marty audition by not echoing all the bankrupt politically-correct, lock-step, mainstream nutritional commandments. When Dan starts riffing about eating like a horse, eating ample amounts of red meat, shellfish and the divine pig meat (along with all kinds any types of nutrient-dense food), I knew I had to give my first ever ab book endorsement. When he noted that he drank whiskey while getting his abs into his all time best shape, it sealed the deal for me. Oh, and the ab exercises are excellent."—MARTY GALLAGHER, 3-Time Powerlifting Champion, Author of The Purposeful Primitive
Part III Training Your Abs
Chapter 11 Make an Executive Decision…79
Why and how your abs training should be like a martial art …79
Chapter 12 Fundamentals of Abdominal Strength Training…83
The 10 Principles you must follow for every rep of every exercise…83—89
THIS principle makes you stronger, more shredded and more anatomically aware…83
THE #1 Principle you’ll need to employ for spectacular abs…91
Chapter 13 On Cardio…93
The limitations of cardio for abs training—and what you should do instead…93—97
Part IV The Exercises
Each drill comes with explanatory text, recommended set/rep range plus a specialized Trainer Tip
Chapter 14 Danny, What Do You Do?...101
Danny’s 50+ best abs and abs-related training exercises…101
Chapter 15 Core Curriculum…105
Crucial exercises for overall gains…105
How to perform the perfect squat—the most functional exercise on the planet…105
How to perform the perfect push-up—the ultimate upper-body exercise…108
How to perform the perfect pull-up…111—112
Chapter 16 Beginner Abs…116
Full Body Tension Drill…116
How to have complete body awareness through progressive, isometric tensing…116
The Plank…117
The Side Plank—to emphasize the obliques and lateral chain…119
Lying Bent Knee Leg Raise…120
Lying Knee Tuck…121
Sit-Up…122
Modified Side Jackknife—to help beginners target their obliques…123
Crossover…124
Bicycle…125
Straight Arm/Straight Leg Crossover…126
V-Leg Toe Touch…127
Why No Crunches?—And the #1 reason not to bother with them...127
"Danny Kavadlo's book might be titled 'Diamond-Cut Abs' but the truth is that it goes way BEYOND just ab training. Danny has actually created a guide to Physical Culture & LIVING healthy. The traditional fitness industry has gone astray from what the body truly needs. Since 1989, I've read a ton of abs-related books—and they don't scratch the surface of what's inside Danny's masterpiece. From powerful nutrition methods to training the entire body with a holistic approach, Diamond-Cut Abs is a vital addition to anyone's library. I LOVE it!"—ZACH EVEN-ESH, author of The Encyclopedia of Underground Strength and Conditioning
Chapter 17 Intermediate Abs…130
Unstable Plank—a fun way to add an extra challenge to the traditional isometric standard…130
Seated Knee Raise—the missing link between floor-based and bar-based abs training…131
The N-Sit—an iso that helps set you up for the L-Sit…132
Jackknife—a fighter’s favorite and a most excellent motha for firing up those deeper abs muscles, building better full body coordination—and progressing to the Dragon Flag and Hanging Straight Leg Raise…133
Side Jackknife—masochists will welcome intensifying their abdominal agony when they flip the great classic on its side…134
Advanced Sit-Up—Bad Boy Danny’s tweaks will up the ante here in a pleasantly nasty way (curses optional)…135
Lying Straight Leg Raise—and how to make it even harder…136
Grounded Wiper…137
Danny adores the classic Windshield Wiper—but it’s a helluva challenge. The GW helps you rehearse the movement pattern before taking on the full-on manliness of the WW…137
Throwdown…138
Here’s another old school classic that should be part of any serious practitioner’s arsenal. The explosivity will have your whole body screaming in indignation—fortunately…138
Side Plank Hip Raise—notorious for being deceptively challenging, includes leverage tips to progress the hardness…139
How to Hang…140
How to grip the bar to really squeeze the most out of every rep…140
Why you should avoid Assistance Straps—and the better alternatives…140
How to employ a flex hang to add a unique neurological twist and increase upper body muscle activation—Highly Recommended by da Abs Bossman!...140
Hanging Contest…141
A fun competitive spin on hanging—but here’s some important tips on how to keep it real…141
One Arm Hang…142
Did someone shout Man Maker? The OAH is a total body drill that will make the boys cry and the men grin with pain—plus bonus tips for optimal vengeance on that brutalized six-pack…142
Ab Wheel Roll Out (Bent Knee)…143
An old time classic—incorporates stability, strength and focus in a truly unique way…143
Hanging Bicycle—last step before conquering the Hanging Knee Raise, plus common mistakes and how to fix them…144
Hanging Knee Raise—one of the most important of all abdominal exercises. Master it here…145
"Danny's new book definitely hits the mark. Diamond-Cut Abs outlines pretty much everything you'd ever need to know about building the best midsection your genetic potential allows for and without the need for any equipment. Keep up the great work, Danny!"—BJ GADDOUR, CSCS, author of Men's Health Your Body is Your Barbell
Chapter 18 Advanced Abs…147
SERIOUS training now! These moves are all full-on, full-body. Emphasis is on every cell in your bod. No mercy. Tremendous demand on the abs—requires heavy-duty injection of Will, complete harmony of mind and muscle, steely strength. Think you are a Man? Measure your Manliness here and report back…
The L-Sit—you will feel it everywhere. How to do it and how to extract the ultimate mechanical advantage…147—148
Gecko Hold—a "limited contact" plank that poses a unique strength challenge. A ripped six-pack is meaningless without the strength to back it up—get that strength with the GH…149
Ab Wheel Roll Out (Straight Leg)—incredibly challenging for all levels, full body tension is key, regressions included for ramping up to complete studliness…150
Hanging Leg Raise—one of Danny’s favorites, for good reason, 6 controlled reps and you’re doin’ good…151
Washing Machine—this infamous move is a key step to mastering the mighty Windshield Wiper, regressions and progressions to full MANitude provided…152
Windshield Wiper—brace yourself buddy, the going just got a whole lot harder. Builds and requires tremendous upper body strength…153
V-Leg Wiper—ho! This is a true brutalizer of the core plus a helluva glute-banger, to boot…154
Perfect Circle—an exaggerated WW for the MEN who can hack it …155
Skinning the Cat—a precursor to many extreme bar calisthenics moves and a phenomenal abs exercise in its own right, with some optional grip strategies…156
One Arm Flex Hang—this just about breaks the mercury on the Achievometer, hyper-challenging, requires an incredibly strong upper body …157
Dragon Flag—one of the all-time sexiest moves on the planet and a Bruce Lee trademark, you gotta get this one down if you want to truly strut your Man Stuff. Bad Boy Danny likes to hold it for an iso. Can you?...158
Tuck Front Lever—this regressed version of the Front Lever still requires a brutal level of upper body power. Have at it!…159
V-Leg Front Lever—another extremely difficult move, with some favorable leverage variations to help progress it…160
Front Lever—this one tops the Manometer for sure. A masterful and utterly unforgiving move that will simultaneously torture your abs, lats, glutes, arms, shoulders and everything in between. No mercy here and hopefully, none asked for…161
Chapter 19 Supplemental Stretches…173
Why stretching IS important—and the 9 surefire benefits you’ll gain from right stretching…173
The Hands Up—the 4 main benefits to this, Danny’s first stretch before a workout…174
Forward, back and Side-to-Side Bend—great prep before the Crossover, WWs and anything that targets the obliques…175
Hands Down—another fantastic stretch for the entire front of the body…176
Seated Twist—targets abs, lower back, shoulders, hips and chest…177
Hip Flexors Stretch—and why this should be included before any abs workout…178
Deep Down Squat—for overall mobility, health and wellness…179
Chapter 20 Workouts...181
9 sample combinations for different levels—a beginning guideline…181—185
On the importance of mixing it up and shocking the system…181
Part V Abs and Lifestyle
Chapter 21 Viva La Vida…190
Abs and the quality of your life…190
A life-oriented approach to training…191
Chapter 22 The Mud and the Blood and the Beer...193
Coffee, alcohol and other beverages—how to handle in regard to your training…193—195
Chapter 23 Seasons...197
How to adopt and adapt your training to the changing seasons…198
"Danny flexes his expert advice in a way that's solid, applicable and often entertaining. If you want the abs of your dreams, stop looking for the quick solution everyone claims to have and get ready to learn how to maximize your efforts towards your very own set of Diamond-Cut Abs."—MIKE FITCH, creator of Global Bodyweight Training
