54 MUSCLE & FITNESS / NOVEMBER 2017
CARDIO
To get the most bang for his buck,
Abel opts for high-intensity interval
training (HIIT) over steady-state
cardio. His favourite: bike sprints.
Here’s the workout: get on a
stationary bike and do 30 seconds
of all-out sprinting — “Trying to kill
yourself for those 30 seconds,”
says Abel. Then rest for 90 seconds.
Repeat for a total of 10 rounds.
Do this twice per week.
“When you do HIIT, the calorie
burn goes on afterward,” says Abel.
“You might not be burning as many
calories during the workout, but
your metabolism is boosted for
the rest of the day. With HIIT cardio,
you can maintain more of that
hard-earned muscle mass.”
Other good cardio activities: hill
sprints, track sprints and “deadmill”
sprints (running on a turned-off
treadmill at the highest incline).
BARBELL CURL S
Hold a barbell and curl the weight
to your shoulders while keeping
your upper arms at your sides.
Hold the contraction at the top for
a second, then slowly lower the bar
to the bottom of the movement.EZ-BAR SKULL
CRUSHER X
Lying on a bench, press an EZ-bar
over your chest. Lower it towards your
forehead, then drive it back to the top.ABEL SAYS: “With arms, I make sure to do
plenty of work on both the biceps and the
triceps. And just like with all my muscle
groups, I start with relatively heavy weight
for the first few exercises. Later, I go a little
lighter and do more reps to further deplete
the muscle. But when you’re trying to build
muscle, you want to lift as heavy as possible- especially early on in the workout, when
you’re fresh – while keeping good form.”