Is it narcissism to focus on obtaining a specific look on our own single body part? Perhaps, but both men and women alike desire that chiseled ab look.
We are funny (and sometimes pathetic) creatures, aren’t we? Now that we’ve given ourselves an excuse to be shallow, shameless and…sliced up, it’s time to point out how to get there. While the formula is uncomplicated, the desired result requires a level of devotion most folks are unwilling to give.
I briefly touched on the necessity to carrier lower body fat in order to have visible abdominal muscles here, but given the general level of confusion on this topic, I figured I’d take a deeper dive.
Here is the single key to acquiring your six pack, expressed in three different ways.
- Get lean
- Lose body fat
- Improve your body composition.
From livestrong.com:
Just being able to see your abs is a little different than having a shredded six pack. Guys will be able to see their abs from around 10 to 12 percent body fat and possibly as high as 15 percent, notes strength coach Marc Perry. To really reveal definition requires getting to 6 to 7 percent, or even 3 to 4 percent for bodybuilding contest condition. Female bodybuilders are generally around 10 to 12 percent and you might be able to see abs up to 22 percent, adds Perry.
That’s right. No matter how much you squat, how many sit-ups you perform daily or how many gimmicky ab machines you purchased at 2:00am, we can’t see your beauties if you have a layer of fat covering them.
Let’s take a step back and examine the obvious. It’s not necessarily healthy to have body fat low enough to expose these muscles. According to the University of Pennsylvania (pdf), body fat percentages lower than 8 percent for men and 14 percent for women carry an increased risk of health issues.
Trying to achieve a body fat percentage that is so low it affects your essential fat stores is not healthy and can cause many health complications. Some storage fat is also necessary as it is used to protect organs in the chest and abdomen.
Still want abs? I thought so.
Your first move is to go get your body fat measured. Most quality health clubs offer caliper skinfold testing. They’ll likely pinch your fat at three (at least) different locations. Generally the chest, abdomen, thigh, arm and back are among the chosen sites. The measurements are used to estimate total body fat with a small margin of error depending on the accuracy of the tester. But don’t stress about perfect accuracy. You just want a baseline; you’re not a bodybuilder yet.
Once you know your magic number, you’ll know how many games you need to win. I suggest keeping body fat percentages in your back pocket and focusing on how you feel and look, but if you want to be scientific, test yourself repeatedly over the course of the weeks that you are focused on nutrition and training. Take your measurements under the identical conditions every time. First thing upon waking always makes sense.
Here they come, your necessary steps to lower your body fat:
1. Eat at a calorie deficit.
From straighthealth.com:
A calorie deficit is a state in which you burn more calories than you consume. For example, if you burn 2,500 calories per day but only eat 2,000, you have created a deficit of 500 calories per day. A calorie deficit forces the body to use non-food sources of energy (typically body fat though the body can also burn muscle tissue for energy) to make up for the shortfall causing weight loss.
2. Train with weights.
From nerdfitness.com:
When you strength train with heavy objects (or with intense body weight training), you get stronger and keep the muscle mass that you already have. On top of that, you also push your metabolism into an “afterburner” effect which burns extra calories even after you are done working out.
3. Replace all processed foods with veggies and animal proteins and all sugars with fruit.
Think about all the junk you consume that comes in a package. What if you ate vegetables at the moments in which you normally eat processed food? How lean would you become?
Boom, shredded abs and unprotected organs.
Can’t wait for your photo shoot,
Kap
Ryan says
Great post, Kap. You hit it on the head…..until most people realize how much garbage food they consume, changes in appearance will not change. One thing I always tell myself is that I will never be able to out-train a poor diet.
Keep ’em coming.
Gabe Kapler says
Thank you, Ryan.
kbeyazdancer says
Very interesting post. I get asked about getting a six pack a lot from my belly dance students. Most want a quick fix which I never opt to give them. Maintaining low body fat and general good health takes commitment and it’s not for everyone. Doing 200 sit ups and 200 belly rolls doesn’t mean tighter Abs. I find the commitment to change their diet is probably the hardest thing for most people to accept.
Gabe Kapler says
Always. Folks want quick fixes and I don’t blame them.
“We all naturally want to become successful… we also want to take shortcuts. And it’s easy to do so, but you can never take away the effort of hard work and discipline and sacrifice.”
Apolo Ohno
Jason Klapps says
What works best for you? Training in the AM on an empty stomach or in the evening? I often train at 630 pm about an hour after supper when I seem to have the most energy, but is it the best time train? Thanks Kap.
Gabe Kapler says
I’ll post on this soon, Jason. Thanks for the inspiration.
Jason Klapps says
Appreciate it Gabe!!! Love the site!
Tom says
Hi Gabe. Just wanted to say that I’ve been following this blog for a while and it is one of the most informative guides on fitness, nutrition, and health that I’ve found. I’ve been improving my diet and trying to incorporate a lot of your workout tips into my own routine. One post that I’ve been waiting for is your plyometric or explosion training guide. My goal is to increase my agility and vertical leap. My current leg routine includes box jumps, squats, leg press, and high interval sprints. Anything else you could recommend?
Gabe Kapler says
Tom,
Thanks for chiming in. I’d add dead lifts in place of leg press. Squats are your focus here.
Be well,
Kap
Mike Abbott says
Gabe, I’m having a lot of trouble eliminating sugar . Good god , it is everywhere . Used to gun Gatorade until I saw that even IT was killing me softly with sugar . I think sugar is even worse than fat, but how do ya keep it out of your face long enough to not miss it ?
Matt (@Matt1J) says
You have to “trick” your brain. Have fruit when you crave sugar.
Gabe Kapler says
Mike, Matt makes a good point. I’ll say this, it’s not easy. If it was, everyone would be doing it. To begin, take all sugar out of your house. You’ll get there, brother. I believe in you.
devorama says
most people experience tremendous difficulty getting sugar out of their daily eating because they take the challenge too lightly.
treat it like an addiction to any other substance (because it is). use the three rules to success:
rule 1: you don’t have to do anything alone.
rule 2: you don’t have to look good doing it.
rule 3: don’t stop until you win.
more on that: http://www.malibulifecoach.net/writing.html
Mo says
Planks never hurt either on that front either.
Gabe Kapler says
Planks won’t do it alone, but I hear you, Mo.
Chris says
As a recent new proud owner of a 6 pack I can attest to this. It took about 4-5 months of eliminating sugar and processed foods and adding light 5×5 workouts. Patience is key.
Gabe Kapler says
So cool, Chris. Stay with it.
Lippe says
Kap, I heard all you need to do is rub some Preparation H on your tummy then you’re good to go!
But a healthy diet might work, too 🙂
P.S. Have you seen the new “Fed Up” documentary? Totally opened my eyes to the ‘evil’ of sugar in our processed foods.
Rick Pease says
Kap, I am a former H.S. baseball coach and Anatomy and Physiology teacher .
We did extensive weight training and stretching to get the performance we needed for or upcoming seasons.While doing so we started to out perfom or competitors due to the fact that we did not use Gatorade, Powerade, or surgar based drink produts. Water was key to aloy of our success. The surgar based drinks did give a quick fix but in the long run water was it!!
Enjoyed watching you play the game of baseball and now I’m glad to have stumbled upon your web site. Just signed on today and have alrteady sent your site to my friends and family.
Thank you for taking the time to help others.
Rick Pease
Gabe Kapler says
I’m honored, Rick. Good stuff on the elimination of gatorade. That mix isn’t good for our athletes.
Mark says
I’m a 19 year old male, and I’ve been focusing on building muscle the past 10 months or so. That’s gone pretty well so far, but I’m still at around 9% body fat. Is it possible to build a lot of muscle – which usually involves eating a lot – while losing body fat? Right now I’m thinking my abs are not going to get any better as long as I’m trying to build muscle because I can’t lose body fat at the same time. Also, is it possible to drop around 2% body fat without getting weaker? Thanks.
Jamie C says
I’m curious for the answers to Mark’s questions.
So much of this “bulk” versus “cut” stuff comes out of the bodybuilding world where they are looking to “peak” at super low body fat levels for a very brief period of time.
If that’s your goal, then go after it.
Regarding whether a person can gain muscle at 9% body fat–I think they can if they take the “long view.” If the diet is unsustainably brutal and lacks common sense, you’ll deplete water and glycogen supplies and will probably get weaker.
I think you’re smart and listen to Kap, my bet is you CAN build muscle while losing fat at 9%. Much lower and I’m less sure.
A few years ago, in response to the emergence of a chronic spine problem, I dropped my day-to-day weight from about 240lbs down to about 210lbs primarily through diet and lifting LESS often. I did ZERO cardio.
My bf% got as low as 8% and, for me, at the age of 38 at the time, that was really fine, especially considering the associated improvements in blood work and general health.
I had a net GAIN of muscle pounds during the process. Not just in % terms, but absolute pounds. The process took 18 months and there’s no way I could have been successful if I had tried to go faster or be impatient.
Gabe Kapler says
Hey, Mark.
Anecdotally, I’ve found that it’s exceptionally difficult to increase my strength while simultaneously dropping body fat. I have always maintained low bf levels, so this wouldn’t likely be as challenging for a man or women starting with higher levels. I suggest building muscle and allowing the small gain in fat and then focusing on cutting fat while maintaining as much mass as possible. This, I believe will bring your desire result.
Make sense?
Kap
Mark says
Makes sense, thanks. It’s just for a guy of my (small) size the muscle building process is going to take a while, haha.
Kbeyazdancer says
Building muscle takes time no matter what your size is. Good luck on your journey Mark
Professor Moriarty says
Hey Gabe,
Have you dated Rachel Uchitel? You two would be quite a match physically.