#000456
Combat Abs: 50 Fat-Burning Exercises That Build Lean, Powerful and Punch-Proof Abs
Matt Furey
*Combat Abs* is Matt Furey's contribution to the bodyweight-training revival he helped lead—a program of fifty exercises aimed at building a midsection that is, in his words, 'punch-proof' as well as lean. Furey, a former national and world grappling champion turned fitness entrepreneur, made his name preaching old-school calisthenics over gym machines, and this book applies that philosophy to core training. The exercises need no equipment and lean on the isometric and dynamic-tension methods Furey favors; one, he likes to point out, can be done almost anywhere, even sitting in traffic. The tone is brash and motivational, very much in the direct-marketing style that made Furey a phenomenon in the early 2000s fitness world. It's not a scientific text, and it doesn't try to be. But as an accessible, equipment-free guide to functional core strength, it's punchy, practical, and easy to actually follow.
more…less ▴
The author
Matt Furey is an American fitness author and entrepreneur, a former collegiate and world shuai-chiao (Chinese wrestling) champion who became known in the early 2000s for reviving old-school bodyweight training and for his energetic direct-marketing style. His book Combat Conditioning made him a phenomenon; Combat Abs extends the same approach to the core.
The book
Published around 2001 through Furey's own Gold Medal Publications, Combat Abs presents fifty exercises intended to build lean, powerful, and "punch-proof" abdominals. The routines require no equipment, drawing on isometrics and dynamic tension, and are pitched as doable almost anywhere—Furey is fond of noting one can be performed while stuck in traffic.
How to read it
The style is brash and motivational rather than clinical; there is little exercise science here, and the marketing voice is unmistakable. Judged as what it is—a practical, equipment-free core program in the calisthenic tradition—it is approachable and genuinely usable, especially for readers who prefer functional bodyweight work to gym machines.
For more context
It sits alongside Furey's Combat Conditioning and the broader bodyweight-training resurgence of the 2000s.
Sources - Goodreads - Amazon listing
- Type
- Book
- Author / Maker
- Matt Furey
- Publisher
- Gold Medal Publications
- Year
- 2001
- ISBN
- None
- Shelf
- Craft & How-to
- Location
- Colorado