Steve Gray prepares for another live TV workout, as Brendon carries the water he wants them tighter and more toned. There were tears this morning I can tell you, what's the point of having sparkly silver Calvin's if you don't have the abs to best show them off! So I am to the rescue, I can see a gay fitness emergency at 50 paces and as the self styled celebrity trainer I am planning to be I am going to make the world a better place by helping make Steve's abs the most awesome looking in the bloody universe and while I'm at it I'll share my secrets with the rest of gaytopia too. It has to be said that it's not just exercise that leads to ab nirvana. Your ab muscles can be so tight you could flick $2 coins off them but no ones going to notice if they are covered with a layer of fat. Steve doesn't have to worry there but it's hands out of the Good Morning biscuit tin from now on! But back to the fun stuff, the exercises. If you are one of those people, like Steve, who has spent countless years doing crunchies I need you to put your hands in the air and step away from the ab curler. Our two main sets of abdominal muscles are deep (for stabilizing and balance) and superficial (to make us look hot) and have fibres that stretch down from under our rib cage through to our pubic bone so fashioned crunchies are going to give you an awesome top half but below the waist you'll still be saggy. Any ab workout therefore needs to target above and below the waist at the same time (lesbians will find this type of above and below the waist multi tasking easy- for the boys, practice makes perfect). Abs are tricky wee buggers though, they are always calling the lower back in to do the hard work so they can go chill out like a nelly bottom. You'll need to focus on squeezing your abs in while doing any abdominal work. Imagine you are wearing a pair of tiiiight trousers that suck everything in just nicely, your abs should feel restrained but you can still breathe (just). Abdominals should feel contracted throughout your routine, as soon as you relax your abs will turn off and let your back do the work again. Abs like working slowly with controlled repetitions, Steve knows it's not about going as fast as he can to get it over with quickly, he focuses on technique to get the best results. For Steve's ab workout, go to http://www.julzdarroch.co.nz/, and next time you see him, take a poke and see how firm he's getting. Julz Darroch is a Wellington-based Personal Trainer and Fitness Educator who uses her 15 years experience in the fitness industry as an excuse to regularly torture Steve Gray and the Good Morning team live on TVOne each Tuesday. Send your fitness-related questions and personal training enquiries to julzdarroch@actrix.co.nz . Julz Darroch - 19th June 2008