A Flat Stomach ASAP (Paperback)

by Ellington Darden (Author) "ABS-olutely fabulous: The craving for chiseled stomach muscles," blazed the front-page headline in USA Today (May 21, 1996)..." (more)
Key Phrases: trunk curl with twist, multiexercise machine, reverse trunk curl, United States, Perfect Score, Barry Ozer (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Ellington Darden tells the truth about his subject: you can't get a tight, muscular waistline from doing just a few minutes of abdominal exercise a day. (This from a guy who has actually hawked an ab-training device on infomercials.) In Darden's book, ASAP stands for "awareness, science, application, and persistence," and his program promises that, if you work really hard, you'll see results in six weeks. That doesn't sound like much of a promise, but considering how many people work out for months--if not years--and don't see any results, Darden's book is a dash of welcome hope and reality.

Product Description

A GREAT BODY BEGINS WITH A FLAT STOMACH

The secret to losing waistline pounds and inches quickly is ASAP, an acronym for Awareness, Science, Application, and Persistence. This successful method for achieving a lean body and a flat stomach includes a powerful new concept called superhydration. It's a fact: drinking large amounts of water daily synergizes your eating and exercising, accelerating fat loss and stomach flattening. Now nationally renowned fitness expert Ellington Darden brings you the program that tells you how to reshape, tighten, and shrink your stomach the way top competitors do -- and to do it faster than you dreamed possible. With step-by-step instructions, Dr. Darden details a method that can help you lose from 7 to 11 pounds of fat and 2 1/2 inches from your midsection in as little as two weeks -- and see even more dramatic results in six weeks. Discover:

The no-fad eating plan based around five daily "minimeals"

Exactly how to superhydrate to accelerate weight loss

The super-slow style of strength training that brings super-fast results -- in less than thirty minutes a session.

Designed specifically for busy people, A FLAT STOMACH ASAP is your daily plan of action -- whether at the gym or at home, with or without equipment -- to get the look you want as soon as possible.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (January 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671014080
• ISBN-13: 978-0671014087
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #238,304 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing results, June 1, 2000

By A Customer

What Darden advocates in this book is a reduced calorie eating plan, drinking a whole lot of icy water, and a series of intense, deliberate, strenuous mussle building workouts. The three work together to produce amazing fat-loss results. I'd note that while the diet is somewhat restricted, it is macro-nutrient balanced in carbohydrate, fat and protein, unlike many fad diets. However, becasue of the reduced caloric intake levels, it is not an eating plan designed to be kept after the program. Those looking for other dining options and recipies can check out Darden's "The Nautilus Diet" for options that work in conjunction with the ASAP plan. P.S. I'm a strong proponent of the ASAP plan, becasue it worked amazingly well for me. This program, and specificaly the SuperSlow exercise techniques, alowed me to build many pounds of muscle mass, without any type suplementation. I also lost nearly 20 pounds of fat.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good!, July 12, 2001

By	Spencer B. Clark "spencerbc" (San Ramon, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This scientific approach to a flat stomach is logically presented and fairly easy to read and understand. I've been using some of his principles (the super hydrations technique and the exercises) with some success.

There are two reason why I didn't give this book 5 stars: 1) The diet is just too rigid. I mean very rigid. You have to buy a certain brand of bagel and THAT'S IT. There were no substitutions on the menu. I can't live like that. And 2) There was very little about a maintenance program to follup up with. The exercise program looked progressive, but the diet part of it wasn't.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Guide for Effective Exercise with Gimmicky Title, August 30, 2002

By	Dan Sherman (Alexandria, VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I liked this book despite the "ASAP" part of its title (ASAP being an acronym for some principles the author presents). Darden presents a program that lasts for 6 weeks but can then be adapted over the long term to improve overall muscular strength and weight of all muscles, not just abs. The key to the exercise component is to do a small number of exercises (some with weights, some without) at a very slow and controlled pace until individual muscles are fatigued. I have had good luck with this approach in strength training and think it works well to develop muscle without causing you injury.

As a book on using the "super slow" strength-training approach to exercise, it is quite clearly written with good instructions. I found the diet parts less interesting, in that there really isn't anything new there, though recommendations for diet are clear. It basically says you need to cut calories by eating certain types of food to lose weight, and can do so most efficiently in combination with exercise.

This is a very good exercise book that is effective, easy to understand,and that comes at a good price. I would recommend it highly.