Personal Trainer has Six-Pack, but cannot do Sit-ups due to Crohn’s

• Insider was told by Ben Carpenter that he has a six-pack, but can’t do a sit up.
• Carpenter’s definition of ab is due to his low body fat, which is a result chronic illness.
• He also exercises his core muscles by doing pull-ups (bench presses), and squats.

Former fitness model and personal trainer Ben Carpenter claims he has washboard abs but doesn’t train his core and can’t do sit-ups.

British trainer, who built up A 178,000 strong Instagram communityHis science-backed fitness programs have given him a physique most people want, including a six-pack.

But this isn’t due to endless sit-ups and crunches. It’s his leanness.

“I don’t train my abs,”Carpenter spoke to Insider “I can’t remember the last ab exercise I ever did.”

Carpenter states that he cannot do a sit-up if he lies down on his stomach.

Crohn’s disease has caused Carpenter to have very low levels of body fat.

Carpenter doesn’t train his core because he has never been forced to work harder for a more defined body.

Spot-fat reduction — trying to lose fat in a particular body part — is impossible, so endless crunches or sit-ups wouldn’t be much use to someone trying to get a flat stomach or a six-pack.

Although the abs can be muscled like any other, it is important to eat in a calorie deficit in order to lose fat around the midsection.

Carpenter suffers from irritable bowel disease and Crohn’s, which means he has always been lean — and on two prolonged occasions during his early 20s, unhealthily so.

He believes his lackluster core training is down to “laziness.”

“For a long time, probably because of Crohn’s disease, I’ve had a body fat level so low that everyone has assumed I train my core,”Carpenter stated. “Because of that, I’ve just never bothered.”

He stated that he has stomach problems and struggles to gain weight.

“Because I have been genetically blessed/cursed with inflammatory bowel disease, by most stereotypical cultural standards, I’ve always had aesthetically pleasing abs. So I just don’t do anything,”Carpenter stated.

Carpenter engages his core for other exercises

Carpenter’s motivation when training is to increase strength in movements such as the bench press and squats. However, Carpenter has never felt like he wanted to improve his abs while working out.

“Doing things like pull-ups with an additional 70kg (150 lbs), there is definitely core engagement there and an isometric hold position,”He said. “But an actual sit-up with full hip-flection, I can’t do it.”

Ben Carpenter (@bdccarpenter), shared this post.

Carpenter stated that many people admire his body and want to learn his tips for losing weight. However, he also wants people to understand that being lean does not necessarily mean you are healthy. Carpenter will be publishing a book in 2022 that will give his fans an insider’s view of his journey.

“There’s an automatic assumption that I am healthy, happy, and fit based on how I look, but I’m not that fit,”He said.

Carpenter recalls times when he was severely overweight for photoshoots. “malnourished,”He would be out of breath as he walked up the stairs and pull his hamstring to tie his shoelace.

“But the photo would look good for social media,”He said.