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Table of Contents
Disclaimer ..................................................................................................................3
Introduction ...............................................................................................................4
Rationale ....................................................................................................................5
Understanding the Plan ............................................................................................7
Phases of the Plan ......................................................................................................8
The Spec Ops Secret ................................................................................................11
Nutrition ...................................................................................................................16
Hormones .................................................................................................................18
Exercise Descriptions ..............................................................................................41
Additional Secrets for Staying Lean .....................................................................107
Specforce Supplement Stack ................................................................................109
Conclusion ..............................................................................................................115
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Disclaimer - Please Read This
The information provided in this workout program is for educational purposes only.
The author, Todd Lamb, is not a doctor and this information shouldn’t be taken as medical
advice.
You should get a physician’s approval before attempting any of the information in this
program. This program is designed for healthy adults of 18 years and older.
If you have any existing injuries, conditions or health issues, please seek your physician’s
approval before attempting any type of information in this program.
The author is not liable or responsible for any damages, resulting from the use of this
program.
**The user acknowledges any risk of injury, caused or alleged, with the use of this
information. If your physician advises to not use the information provided in the program,
please abide by those orders.**
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transcribed, transmitted, or
translated in any language, without the written permission and signature of Todd Lamb and
Rogue Syndication Inc.
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Introduction
Welcome to the SpecForce Abs Program and User Manual. In this manual an explanation
of the program movements along with the rationale behind why I have approached ab
development from a holistic 360 degree perspective. This manual is supported by video
to assist you along the way.
I will also cover the nutritional information required to actually remove belly fat and give
you the results you are after.
My approach is a combination of the most effective exercises for building a strong lean
midsection supported by nutritional principles that work.
I think it is important to point out that regardless of your age or gender, proper abdominal
and trunk development is very important for long term health.
What I outline in this manual works for both women and men of all ages. Creating strong
abdominals, obliques and posterior chain should be the foundation of any program that
involves fat loss and movements where you are doing resistance training whether it’s
bodyweight or using weighted movements.
The problem with many approaches to creating and displaying abs is that the training is
linear in its methodology and doesn’t take into account the actual physiological function
of the abs and trunk.
By introducing a training methodology anchored in the function of the abs, we are able
to create a midsection that not only looks like sculpted art, but functions to prevent injury,
improve strength and supports long term health and wellness.
This program and its ability to reduce belly fat and create a slim strong midsection works
equally as well for women as it does for men.
We start out with very basic movements and progress to some movements that at first
glance, might seem intimidating or overwhelming.
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I cover these more complex/compound movements in detail, and make no mistake about
it… by the time you get to these movements you will be more than ready and I will be
there to guide you.
Rationale
An Operator requires the ability to function across a wide range of movement planes and
the abdominals, more correctly, the trunk must be able to support these movements to
ensure that injuries are avoided. Which in truth is no different than how you move every
day.
It is also why Special Forces operators (man or woman) have lean muscular and well-toned
mid-sections.
Proper Ab development is what gives an Operator the ability to be agile with a 60 lb. ruck
(or bergen depending where you are from), throw an injured mate over their shoulder and
get to safety or stand and fight.
Now you might be thinking I’m not headed into battle or don’t require a shooting
stance that puts 9X the bodyweight load on your low back, but in addition to creating
an attractive physical appearance, strong abs and trunk dramatically improve your
performance across a broad range of areas including the bedroom!
The benefits move beyond external performance but also your internal systems which
reduces your risk of diabetes, certain types of cancer and heart disease.
You may only simply want to develop your abs and reduce belly fat so your mid-section
is eye popping with the added benefit of having the stability of a stone pillar. Perfect! You
are in the right place.
Development of the abs to the point where you can both visibly see them and enjoy
proper functionality has been the subject of both popular culture and popular science. For
this manual I have stuck with science, because in the Spec Ops world, exercises that work
have been studied to death and I wanted you to be exposed to the best information.
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It is highly unlikely you have done a program that approaches development of your
complete trunk from top to bottom and front to back.
By taking the 360 degree approach to your abs and trunk you are ensuring long term
health and a life filled with activity, mobility and enjoyment.
I have selected a regime of exercises that are scientifically proven to recruit and develop all
aspects of your abs, obliques and posterior chain.
Something else you should know is that you don’t need to be able to do every exercise
outlined in this manual to get the results of a flat belly with strong abs.
There is a combination of weighted and non-weighted exercises for building your mid-
section. I progress you through both and you can start the program at any point based on
your current level.
This is a progressive program that consistently builds and you have the flexibility to
progress at your own rate.
We all have limitations we must work around. I have certainly have injuries that I must
manage just like many of you.
There are no exercises that are TOO hard for you in this program. When you can complete
one step, this means your body has developed the tissue and motor control to allow you
to begin your next progression.
Whether you are a 75 year old Grandmother of 6 or a 21 year old man who is ready to join
the military the only thing that is likely to be different is your rate of progression.
There won’t be a single person who is not able to do the program and get a benefit from
each and every phase.
Some may simply decide that they have achieved the lean belly in the early stages and
don’t wish to progress to the advanced moves while others may decide the later phases
are an exciting challenge.
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The bottom line is this. Properly supporting your spine by developing the abs and trunk is
a critical key to remaining youthful, confident and amazingly energetic.
Reducing belly fat and lowering your body fat percentage will reduce your exposure to
unwanted disease.
This will ultimately improve the quality of your life moving forward.
Understanding the Plan
The most well-known and prominent abdominal muscle is the rectus abdominis. It is
the long, flat muscle that extends vertically between the pubis and the fifth, sixth, and
seventh ribs.
A strong tendinous sheath called the “linea alba,” or white line, divides the rectus
abdominis down the middle, and three more horizontal tendinous sheaths give the
muscle its familiar “washboard” look in Operators.
The rectus abdominis helps to flex the spinal column, narrowing the space between the
pelvis and the ribs. It is also active during side bending motions and helps stabilize the
trunk during movements involving the extremities and head.
We are going to develop the abdominis, but also the obliques and erectors (well the entire
posterior chain) in this program.
Ab development program is broken down into various stages of development by
classification of Phases and subphases.
I am about to go to geek factor 9 which is similar to Defcon 5 so strap in.
There are three phases; Alpha, Bravo and Charlie. Depending on your current level of
strength you can start at any phase.
It is important you begin the Ab development program with the appropriate phase as you
will not be able to progress if the exercises are too difficult.
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The Ab manual has different phases that build in a level of difficulty and stress placed
on the body. This rationale is based off of a few simple but foundational strength and
conditioning theories;
Progressive overload principle: The principle is described as ‘The systematic increase
in training frequency, volume and intensity in various combinations. Typically as intensity
increases, volume decreases. (NSCA. P421)”.
This principle determined the skeletal structure of the Alpha/Bravo/Charlie phase
progression. With each phase there is a gradual increase of stress placed upon the body.
This increased stress results in a renewed demand for tissue adaptation.
SAID Principle: Is an acronym for ‘ Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands’.
‘The underlying principle is that the type of demand placed on the body dictates the type
of adaptation that will occur (NSCA p379).”
Due to the end goal of the program, which is the ability to perform some very high
skilled core movements; we will need to develop strength in the positions outlined in the
program.
We need to stress the appropriate musculature and time domains for that particular skill.
What are the Phases?
The Recon Phase is a movement preparatory phase where we address tissue quality and
introduce the basics of creating abdominal tension.
Mobility is addressed in the thoracic spine, using active flexion/extension drills, rotation
drills and self- mobilizing protocols.
Tissues that share a close relationship with spinal position are addressed through self-
myofacial release techniques; these tissues include the Diaphragm, Latissimus Dorsi,
Erectors, Psoas and Illiacus.
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The Alpha Phase is the most important of the ab/trunk development program in that it
lays foundational strength. If you never do anything other than the Alpha Phase you will
still develop the abdominal musculature required to display your abs.
Alpha phase ensures appropriate muscle recruitment of the core; activating central to
peripheral. Correct movement mechanics require the ‘core’ to be recruited first, this
ensures the spine maintains a neutral position.
The ‘Core’ is a grouping of muscles which includes the; TVA, Internal Obliques, Diaphragm
and Pelvic Floor. These tissues work in a three dimensional manner to keep the spine
stable. Spinal neutral position is important in that it decreases chance of injury and
increases the ability to transfer power through the extremities.
Once the ‘core’ has adequate strength, peripheral tissue recruitment is introduced to the
drills; this includes an increased demand for trunk musculature; rectus abdominus, the
erector, scapular musculature and hip musculature.
This inside-out method allows for quick progression and the ability to execute the drills
properly. Quality of movement is most important, in that you can’t fake strong, so
skipping progressions won’t get you far. During this phase we will find where spinal
neutral is and create positional awareness.
The Bravo Phase is an extended phase that significantly increased the stress placed on
the trunk. Initial progressions of the Bravo Phase focus on positions slightly out of neutral;
this includes positions that emphasize global extension and flexion.
These positions are safe for the spine as the entire spinal structure work together to
create a slight concavity (global flexion) and slight convexity (global extension). The
musculature working around the spine is actively co-contracting to fine tune and control
these movements. Intermediate progressions of the bravo phase increase the demand on
more peripheral tissues. The shoulders and hips will be challenged in both mobility and
stability. So make sure you do only what you have prepared yourself for. Your body won’t
lie!
The advanced progressions of the Bravo Phase are the exercises that must be proficiently
executed in order to progress to the Charlie Phase.
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The Charlie Phase is highly advanced and it may take substantial time to reach this
progression depending on your level of ability. You may even choose to never complete
this phase of the program which is why it was put in as an optional bonus to provide you
with a challenge. You will certainly achieve results in your abs without going to this phase.
This phase brings all other progressions to “life”, which means you have developed the
tissue and your central nervous system is firing and recruiting all of the necessary motor
units in proper sequence. These movements require substantial awareness and control of
body mechanics. Simply put, once you are at this level you can do anything!
Since many of these exercises work perpendicular to gravity the core must be extremely
strong to maintain a neutral position. Static shoulder strength is imperative as the hands
are the only point of contact to stabilize the body.
Rationale within the phases:
Volume and intensity:
Each phase has a number of exercises within it. The general structure of the ab manual
is to have the volume increase of each exercise, once you can complete a given exercise
with the full volume of the last step, it is more demanding to increase the intensity of the
exercise rather than continue to stress the body by increasing the volume.
This is why there are so many phases and subphases. The intensity of the exercise
increases with each phase. When you begin the next phase the volume drops down to
accommodate the increase in stress.
Quality:
Quality is probably the most important aspect of any program. These exercises done
accurately and appropriately will stress the body and demand a change.
Done improperly the exercises will feel easy and could lead to an injury. Only increase the
volume if you can complete the given number of sets and reps with quality reps, if you
begin to get sloppy and loose tension, then regress to the previous step or stay at the
current progression/phase.
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Description:Welcome to the SpecForce Abs Program and User Manual Alpha phase ensures appropriate muscle recruitment of the core; activating central to.
