Cory Lagasse says he doesn’t do much direct work on his abs. When you consider this fact, then see his symmetrically fawless eight-pack you might be tempted to call him a liar or dismiss him as just one more genetically gifted freak.
Before you do either of those things, though, consider another fact: Lagasse is a competitive strongman and IFBB pro physique competitor. Those two seemingly disparate pursuits have more in common than you might realize, and Lagasse is walking proof of the efficacy of his fitness strategy: Train like a strongman, but don’t eat like one, and good things will come.
Lagasse eats 5,000 calories a day when he’s training for a strongman competition, and cuts it down to 3,000 per day for physique, sometimes only two weeks apart. “You can’t eat junk like the other strongmen, but you still need the calories,” says Lagasse, who fills his diet with white rice, grass-fed beef, chicken, whole organic eggs, and the occasional side of grass-fed bacon, but no dairy.
Cory’s Indirect Ab Workout
Exercise
Sets
Reps
Front Squat*
6
10
Log Press
7
10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2
Push Press**
10
3
Farmer’s Walk
4
40 yds
Dumbbell Row
4
10
*Perform as a warmup, gradually working up. **Perform EMOM—every minute on the minute.
