By  Calzadilla, BA, CPT, ACE Raphael

Chief Fitness Pro

You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you cannot do.
-- Eleanor Roosevelt

One of the most rewarding things about being a personal trainer is that you get to see a client's progress. A good personal trainer should insist on progress. With my clients, I always have specific goals and time frames related to body fat, scale weight and sometimes, clothing size.

I do the same thing with exercise performance. I train clients to get better and to perform activity they never thought possible. This applies to weight training, cardiovascular endurance and flexibility.

I want you to experience that same type of progression. Hopefully you've been reading my articles and progressing week to week not only with your workouts, but also with your eDiets nutrition plan. Hopefully, your body fat and weight have been dropping and your exercise performance gaining momentum. I didn't say I expected perfection, but definitely progression.

Now it's time to apply this progression to your abdominal muscles.

I've constructed a brief but intense abdominal routine that should only be used by those who are ready to take it to the next level. It's not for the beginner or for those with injuries.

For those who read my articles on a regular basis, you know that I always teach that in order to get a flat and tight mid-section, you need to reduce body fat through a calorie-reduced nutrition program and by incorporating weight training and cardiovascular exercise to stimulate the metabolism.

This rule always applies.

Remember, one hundred or one thousand stomach crunches per day will not flatten the mid-section. Intense and effective abdominal exercises combined with diet, weight training and cardio will make your abdominal muscles firm, tight and visually appealing.

This article will focus on three advanced abdominal exercises that will strengthen and tighten your tummy, but I'm going to say it again -- your food intake must be effective and consistent.

After providing each exercise and a description, I'll explain exactly how I want you to perform it, as well as how frequently. The key to the effectiveness of any exercise is based on proper technique, sufficient intensity and intelligent frequency. Please note, you will need access to gym equipment for this specific workout.

Next Page: The Workout