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Many aspire to one day have six-pack abs, but lets be real, few have succeeded because carbs, booze, and time are not on your side.
But, if we unpack (pun intended) how to obtain that coveted six-pack, youll find its not mission impossible after all. What you really need to know is how long it takes and exactly what behaviors (ahem: endless couch chilling and junk food) you need to kick to the curb.
First and foremost, getting a six-pack (or four-pack, or eight-pack if you have great genes) comes down to the amount of body fat you have. Reducing body fat is a necessary step to reveal your chiseled midsection.
To lower body fat safely and effectively, its important to focus on both diet and exercise. With everything nutrition and fitness related, there remains one true constant: There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to achieving a goal.
Genetics, body shape, and build always factor into individual results.
Your timeline to a six-pack depends on the body fat percentage youre starting with. A good rule of thumb (and a safe one) is to aim to lose 1 to 2 percent of body fat per month.
So, unveiling your abs can take anywhere from 3 months to 2 years. It really does vary. Its also a good idea to consult a registered dietitian and certified personal trainer or exercise professional before beginning any nutrition and fitness plan.
Theres a lot of noise and misinformation in the food and exercise world, and its important to be sure youre on the best plan for your individual needs.
For starters, the ideal body fat percentage to see your midsection muscles pop is 14 to 19 percent for women and 6 to 13 percent for men. Getting (and staying) below 10 percent body fat may look aesthetically divine (ow ow!), but this takes dedication and discipline.
Your body will NOT like being here and will likely try every trick in the book to get you to eat more because it thinks youre starving.
Its also important to note that unless youre a professional bodybuilder or elite athlete, you dont need to be below the 10 percent point for your abs to be in view. Some body fat is good. We actually need it to survive.
Women naturally require more fat than men. Science points out most of this is due to the hormone estrogen, and to support fertility. Men on the other hand, need less body fat and naturally have more lean muscle tissue (thanks, testosterone ) which helps them drop weight faster.
Dudes are simply burning more calories, even at rest, because of this muscle mass. This chart from the American Council on Exercise can give you a better sense of what different body fat percentage ranges look like:
So youre really committed and ready for those abs? Lets look at how long it might take to get into ab-revealing shape based on beginning body fat percentage.
Men: 10 months to 2 years
Women: 1 to 2 years
At 30 percent body fat, whether youre a man or woman, this is considered obese. No one is seeing any muscle definition here. This number also puts you at risk for a number of chronic health conditions.
From this starting point your journey to visible abs is likely to be close to 1 to 2 years. Men may be able to shave a few months off and achieve this in 10 months, but 8 to 12 months is a reasonable time frame to set your sights on if you have around 30 percent body fat.
Add another year if you have closer to 40 percent body fat.
Men: 3 to 6 months
Women: 1 to 3 months
If youre starting with 20 percent body fat, it would take somewhere between 3 to 6 months to start seeing your abs. For men, up to 20 percent body fat is considered healthy, but the fat to muscle ratio is still skewed toward the former.
Women, however, are close to the top body fat percent range that allows you to reveal your six-pack. Women likely have anywhere from 1 to 3 months to go, give or take. This depends on their nutrition and fitness routine, and how much muscle mass they start with.
Men: 4 to 6 weeks
Women: Abs may be visible (or need a few more weeks)
At 15 percent body fat, you are in a very healthy place. Guys, your muscles are starting to show, you see definition in your arms, your legs, and now have a lower fat to muscle ratio.
At this rate, men are probably 4 to 6 weeks shy of their goal. Women, youve reached the goal and you should be seeing those abs visibly.
Depending on your specific body type you might see them more or less, but you should definitely see evidence of all your hard work and dedication.
Men and Women: Abs should be visible
At 10 percent body fat those abs should be poppin and at this percentage guys have made it to the ideal percentage for abs that can quickly be (or already are) defined.
For women, youve entered the essential fat range and are not likely to be able to stay here without some real effort.
Unless youre preparing for a competition, its OK to ease up and allow a few pounds to come back to ensure youre not jeopardizing your health for the sake of a visible six-pack.
It is unfortunately very true that you cant out-train a bad diet. In reality, we all have the coveted six-pack, it just sits under a protective covering called body fat (cue the dad jokes).
To uncover them, weve got to remove the fat. To do that, along with exercise, we need to change up our eating habits. Here are some things to consider.
Losing body fat means losing weight, which means reducing caloric intake. Generally, you can cut 500 calories per day in order to lose around 1 pound per week.
That can amount to consuming 250 calories less per day, while increasing activity to burn an additional 250 calories. There are a number of ways to look at this, but a calorie deficit will help you lose body fat.
Aiming for minimally processed, whole foods is the number one recommendation for healthy eating. Regardless of ab-revealing power, putting whole foods at the top of your diet to-do list ensures youre getting lots of nutrients, while avoiding cravings.
A diet focused on whole foods will include fruit, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein like eggs, fish, lean meats and poultry, and healthy fats like avocado, olive oil, nuts, and seeds.
Carbohydrates are necessary fuel, and you should aim to include complex carbohydrates in your daily plan. That means fruit, vegetables, beans, legumes, and whole grains.
Put the pasta on the back-burner for now and focus on sweet potatoes, quinoa, squash, and oats. On the road to a six-pack, the majority of your carbohydrates should come from vegetables, but all high quality complex carbs have their place. On that note
Foods high in fiber are great for weight loss. Besides the sheer number of nutrients in fiber rich foods, they also take a while to digest. Fiber rich foods include fruit, vegetables, beans, legumes, and whole grains.
Non-starchy vegetables in particular should be a diet staple when fat loss is the goal. Theyre nutrient dense gems full of fiber and water, which helps fill you up, while also being low in calories.
Aim for at least 4 servings of non-starchy vegetables per day.
Fruit brings the nutrient goodies to the table in the form of vitamins, minerals, and fiber and you should aim for 2 to 3 servings per day.
Looking for the best choices? You can never go wrong with berries. Low in calories and sugar with antioxidants for days, these babies will never steer you wrong.
Beans, legumes, and whole grains are also great sources of protein, in addition to fiber. Whole grains like steel cut oats, quinoa, farro, and sprouted grains also contain a bit of a protein punch.
Stick to 2 to 4 servings of whole grains per day for optimal results.
Not all sugar is bad, but to bust out those abs youll want to reduce as much added sugar from your diet as possible. Sugar-sweetened drinks like soda, juice, and energy drinks are obvious no-nos, but youd be amazed where added sugar shows up.
Would you expect sugar to be an ingredient in that whole-wheat bread you bought? What about the whole wheat crackers? Did you know that flavored yogurt can have as much sugar as a Snickers bar? Vitamin water, dressings, sauces and marinades, meal replacement bars, the list goes on and on.
Read labels and youll be shocked by all the products with added sugar.
Water is an essential nutrient. Its necessary to turn food into energy and to help nutrients reach your muscles, and also to support vital organs. If thats not enough, dehydration is a real energy killer.
If you feel thirsty, youre already dehydrated. Drink consistently throughout the day and aim for a minimum of 2 liters per day. Add 1 liter for each hour spent exercising.
Protein is necessary to maintain and build muscle. Losing weight can sometimes result in loss of muscle in addition to fat. In order to avoid this, focus on eating enough protein.
Of all the macronutrients, (carbs and fat, too) protein requires the most time and energy to digest. Your body actually burns calories as it digests protein, and because it takes a bit longer to break down, youll feel full longer.
This can ultimately reduce the number of calories you consume.
One study found increasing protein intake from 15 to 30 percent of total daily calories resulted in increased satiety, decreased overall calorie intake, and resulted in greater weight loss. This was while keeping calorie and carbohydrate intake the same.
Protein should come from high quality sources like omega-3 rich fish, lean red meat and poultry, nuts, seeds, eggs, low fat dairy like Greek yogurt, beans and legumes, and high quality grains.
Math is a really cool thing for abs
The slightly higher recommended protein intake is about 1.2 to 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. If you want to aim for 30 percent of calories from protein you may want to consider a range of 1.8 to 2 grams per kilogram body weight.
Before your eyes roll into the back of your head (too late?), the best way to figure out how many grams of protein per day you should be eating involves some light math.
First divide your body weight in pounds by 2.2. That number equals your weight in kilograms. Then multiply your weight in kilograms by 1.2 and then 1.5 to obtain your ideal protein range. For a 130-pound person the equation would be: 130/2.2 = 59 kilograms.
59 x 1.2 = 71 grams
59 x 1.5 = 89 grams
So, a 130 pound person would need 71 to 89 grams of protein per day at a minimum.
We started this conversation when we mentioned added sugar. Its time to say goodbye to processed and refined foods like cakes, cookies, brownies, crackers, chips, white bread, and pasta (brb crying). Really anything fried or processed is devoid of any redeeming qualities.
These foods have been stripped of nutrients and loaded up with calories, sugar, fat, and sodium. Because of this they get a zero in the nutrient department and have some real ab-reveal squashing qualities.
It would be great if there were one tried-and-true exercise that would ensure a visible six-pack, right? Well, its more complicated than a few crunches.
Cardio, strength, and ab-focused exercises are all important. They work synergistically to get you those abs.
Cardio can be hardio, but its not the best route to fat loss alone. Especially when performed as a steady state exercise (i.e., jogging, walking or cycling at the same pace for the duration of your workout).
Your body becomes accustomed to this rate of exertion and does not have to spend any additional effort to perform. Dont get us wrong, its an important part of the routine that supports calorie burn and weight loss, but studies show you still need to strengthen muscle.
Resistance training is key to developing defined muscles. Did you know that muscle burns more calories than fat?
The more muscle you have, the more calories youre burning not only when you exercise, but also after you exercise, while going about your day-to-day activities, and even while you sleep. YES!
And, you can just forget the idea that building muscle will make ladies look bulky. Its total BS. Lift weights, even heavy ones sometimes. Bands, dumbbells, kettlebells, water, and bodyweight all can be used to add resistance to your routine.
Compound movements tend to be the most effective for building strength, while also boosting metabolism and burning calories. Squats, deadlifts, and pull-ups are good examples of compound movements that engage different muscles in the same movement while also working your abs.
By far the best bang for your heart pumping buck, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) consists of short bouts of intense activity followed by a period of rest or lower intensity movements.
HIIT is one of the most efficient workouts you can do because it burns a ton of calories. And, thats not just during the workout, but up to 2 hours afterward, according to the American College of Sports Medicine.
It can be done with just your bodyweight, with weights, or with more simple cardio exercises like running, jumping rope, cycling, and swimming.
Studies have shown that high-intensity interval exercise is associated with significant decreases in total body fat as well as insulin resistance.
In fact, a 2019 review found that those who participated in HIIT had a 28.5 percent greater reduction in total absolute fat mass compared to participating in moderate-intensity continuous training.
Ab-focused movements alone will not reveal your abdominal muscles (say, what?!), but they are just as important. You need to develop and strengthen these muscles before you even think about showing them off.
The good news is you dont need to perform hundreds of crunches in order to work your abs. Many compound movements, including those mentioned above, target the abdominal muscles while also working other parts of the body.
So if youve got yourself a strength training routine, youre likely already working them. Pilates is incredible for the core, as are planks, bicycle crunches, and V-ups to target all of the abdominal muscle groups.
tl;dr
Read more:
Six-Pack Abs: How Long Does It Take, Nutrition, and Exercise - Greatist
