Burn Off Your Gut for good!

Legendary Abs Blaster T.J. HOBAN Shares the Secrets of His Rock-Hard Midsection Training

He’s the proud owner of the greatest abdominals ever. Since his first national magazine cover for Exercise & Health over a decade ago, he’s become one of the hottest physique models in the world, landing clothing and exercise equipment print ads and appearing in countless fitness magazines. But never has T.J. Hoban revealed his personal abdominals and obliques training regimen. Until now.

“To me, anybody can have great abs if they really want to,” says Hoban, 5’-11” and 175 pounds. “It’s a matter of discipline and persistance. It helps to have good genetics, but the muscle is there on every man. Bringing them out may be harder for some guys, but not impossible.”

Hoban, who lives in Los Angeles, was a skinny kid who transformed through training and good nutrition. He developed a beautiful physique from top to bottom, but it is his world-class abdominals that drop jaws. So just how did he do it, and how does he maintain them?

“By doing the right exercises, in the right order and with the right number of repetitions,” he explains. “What I do works for me, but every man must figure out what’s best for him. The exercises themselves are fairly standard. What I do is progressively train, starting with three sets of 20 repetitions each of what I consider the easiest exercises. Then I continue with two sets of 15 reps of tougher exercises, and I finish with one set of 10 reps of the hardest exercises.

“Other men might find some exercises I consider hard to be easier for them, and some that are easy for me may be harder for others,” says Hoban. “That’s why it’s important to work out your own regimen. I perform this workout every other day, and it takes about an hour, because it’s important to do the repetitions slowly. I’m usually at home with music or the TV on.”

Hoban recommends doing one set of 15 reps of each exercise to start, and working up. And there’s one other important aspect to chiseling great abs.

“A very low-fat diet is vital,” he says. “To really bring out the abs visually you can’t have anything in front of them. It’s just muscle and skin. Eating fat-free is probably the hardest part of gaining great abs, because that’s a lifestyle change. But if you really want your stomach muscles to shine, you’ve got to change your eating habits. If you do, and train really hard, you’ll have the best abs ever. Believe me, they’re worth it.”

Photography by Jason Ellis