52 MUSCLE & FITNESS / NOVEMBER 2017
NUTRITION
ABEL PRACTISES CARB
backloading. He’s been
doing it for about two years
to great effect. Here’s how
it works: in the morning he’ll
have healthy fats like eggs,
almonds, beef and coconut
oil. For lunch he has
vegetables and a chicken
breast. Before his
afternoon workout, he
drinks a protein shake.
After his workout, he has
another protein shake
with a bowl of cereal (for
some fast-acting carbs).
Then about an hour later,
he’ll have most of his carbs
for the day. These come
in the form of a solid meal
of white rice, a salad or
steamed vegetables and
low-fat beef or chicken.
Before bed, he’ll have a
casein protein shake with
some peanut butter mixed
in, just to have something
in his stomach overnight.
“Carb backloading gives
me more energy throughout
the day,” says Abel. “I don’t
have a crash, like I did
when I got up in the
morning and had oatmeal or
whatever. And by getting
carbs after your workout, it
helps replenish the
glycogen that you depleted
when you were training. So
it helps rebuild that muscle.”EXERCISE REPS
HANGING LEG RAISE 15
ROPE CABLE CRUNCH 12
DECLINE SIT-UP* 20
CABLE WOODCHOP 15 (EACH SIDE)
FRONT PLANK 1 MIN
*Do 10 weighted, then drop the weight
and crank out another 10.ABS WORKOUT
ABEL’SDIRECTIONS: do this as a circuit
for four rounds.CABLE WOODCHOP S
Holding the handle of a high pulley
with both hands, stand with your
feet shoulder-width apart. Rotate
your torso diagonally downwards until
the handle ends up past your opposite
leg, keeping your arms straight.HANGING LEG RAISE X
Hang from a pull-up bar with a wider-
than-shoulder-width grip. Brace your
core and lift your legs up, keeping them
straight throughout the duration of the
movement. If that’s too difficult, start
with your knees bent and work up to
extending your legs.ABEL SAYS: “This is the one muscle group I train in circuit form. But just like with any other
muscle group, I lift as heavy as I can, using good form. So I’m going for 10 to 15 reps for each
exercise. I don’t love doing ab work – honestly, I hate it –but I work them all the time because
I know I need to.”AESTHETIC TRAINING