We’re all born with the same four abdominal muscle groups, but due to our genetics there are big differences in the shape, length, & thickness of them. Genetics also has a big influence on body fat distribution, which can lead to your abs being less visible. Lifestyle choices such as diet & exercise are the biggest influence on whether your ab muscles are visible or not. The most common reason is they are covered by fat and the way to uncover your abs is to exercise and get your nutrition under control. When it comes to abs everyone expects them to be 70% made in the gym and 30% made in the kitchen but it's the complete opposite. If you want abs take control of your nutrition because abs are made 70% in the kitchen and only 30% in the gym/training. As the diagram shows your abs are beneath the surface already, they are there naturally you have to reveal them but, for more defined abs you will need to work them harder in the gym. It totally depends on your own goals what you decide to do.
Our bodies need to store some fat, since it is used for a lot of beneficial things (1). This is why when you are looking for fat in your diet keeping your saturates low and healthy fats high is a good thing!
Some of those benefits of our fat include:
There are bad and healthy fats, the healthy fats are what we need more of because out body burns them quicker. Saturated fats are harder for our body to burn as they take more energy to shake. Which is why removing fat from your diet will be impossible you just need more healthy fats in your diet.
You don't need to overthink this - The rules are surprisingly simple. There are only two things you need to know to uncover those abs, and they’re both easy concepts to understand and they aren't hard to follow.
You will need to:
First you need to know your goal and whats considered a healthy body fat percentage for you. Most experts agree that the “defined look” range usually starts to show up somewhere below 15% for guys, and a little higher for women, 15-19%. Check out ACE’s (the American Council on Exercise’s) body fat calculator page for their take on this.
This is so a woman’s body can healthily perform normal functions like fertility & menstruation. Again, there’s no exact percentage number that works for everybody due to the genetic differences I discussed earlier in the article. But generally speaking, body fat at 10-12% for a man (assuming some muscle has been built) is a very good-looking 6-pack. Women’s abs can look great in that 15-19% range, and still be healthy*. *see my explanation of this in the FAQ section at the end of the article
Multiple research studies have shown that losing weight is more effective when combining exercise & diet, rather than doing either one of them alone. (10) As far as the right/best weight loss diet strategy goes, I covered that topic in step-by-step detail in my article How To Safely Lose Weight Fast, which is posted here on heydayDo.
Your abs are made in the gym and revealed in the kitchen. So, on top of clean eating you will need to be training those abs in the gym. Eliminating the layer(s) of fat on top of your ab muscles will allow them to be seen. But if you don’t work on growing them, there won’t be anything to look at – you’ll just have a nice flat stomach, which is always nice too. But it’s not defined, so if that’s what you’re going for, you’ll want to train accordingly.
When I started really working my abs I found it hard to motivate myself to start so sometimes following along to a video can help. Once you click start you start and it's only 10mins - 30mins long so just give it a try! I really saw a difference following workouts like these I have listed below due to the intensity of the sets your abs get activated and you feel like they have really been worked. MadFit has so many great workouts for you to try at home / in the gym I have listed a few playlists below that you should take a look through and find some great workouts that suit you! The best advice I can give is to find a workout you some what like. We all know they are painful so there isn't much liking in it haha - but if you find one you don't mind you are more likelt to stay consistent with it. Being consistent is the key to seeing results. - Good luck and get growing those abs!
I was working out for years eating healthy, doing excessive amounts of cardio and doing ab workouts lasting around 30mins to AN HOUR. Can you believe it? - I had it all wrong! However, since I have been weight lifting, eating my recommended amount of protein and doing higher intensity ab workouts for only 10minutes like -> this one my abs have never looked as defined. Also your core supports everything when you are lifting heavy so surprisingly enough you will be working your core without needing to focus on it.
I recommend doing about 3 days a week with abs within it. I personally only do 10mins at the start or end of my workout using an interval timer doing a range of ab exercises that I like.
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