Are Having Six Pack Abs The Only Symbol Of A Healthy Body?
Can everyone have six packs?
Yes, everyone can! Your abdomen has Rectus Abdominus and Transversus Abdominus which play an integral part in the formation of six packs.
When you are lean enough to move your fat percentage to below 12% or a single digit in men and below 17% in women, the rectus abdominis muscles start getting visible which results in showing 6, 8, 10, 12 packs. It is a fairly superficial muscle and its main function is to make your spine flexible.
Do visible six packs also mean having a strong core?
The answer is no, a strong core is not similar to having six pack abs. Why?
Let us compare the different body types-
● People with an ectomorph body type (single digit fat %) may have less subcutaneous fat on their stomach and visible six packs, but if they don’t do leg workout such as squats, deadlift etc. then they definitely don’t have a stronger core.
● People who are Mesomorph or Endomorph with a bit higher fat percentage i.e. above 15%, if they regularly train their core with leg workouts such as deadlift and squats, have a stronger core even if they don't have visible abs.
With proper weight training, you will be able to build and strengthen your core and with a clean diet, you will be losing body fat and consequently abs will show.
When do six pack abs become bad?
According to a 2009 guideline from the American Council of exercise (ACE) about 2-5% fat in men and 10-13% fat in women is essential for survival. Essential fat is the fat that is incorporated into bodily tissues such as bone marrow, spinal cord and various other organs. The ACE categorizes athletic body fat % as 6-13 % for men and 14-20% for women. Having a lower than average level of body fat is not necessarily harmful but dropping below the fat percentage which is essential for your body can mess you up.
Such as, there have been cases wherein exercisers who lost so much weight in their pursuit of six packs that they started suffering from significant anxiety, depression, muscle and joint pain, weak immune system etc.
People get influenced by celebrities and social media influencers who show their short-term transformations such as 30 days, 60 days, 90 days etc.
Let's be realistic, such transformations are not achievable naturally in such a time frame.
Why? Because lowering your body fat percentage drastically and gaining muscle mass simultaneously like this, is naturally not possible. Most of the times such transformation stories hide their anabolic usage and only reveal extreme diets and over exercising.
These are not markers of health and wellness, are they?
What to do?
● Focus on nutritional calorie deficit. Not huge though, go slowly, as the “right direction is better than speed.”
● Train your legs with squats and deadlifts, 1000 crunches won’t help to get six packs.
● Focus on getting leaner and stronger day by day, abs will come naturally as the muscle mass increases and fat percentage drops down. Stay Disciplined
Conclusion
There are people who are genetically gifted. There are those who got lean and then managed to sustain their results. But for the people who are overweight and the only thing they care about is abs, they really need to get real about their fitness goals. They shouldn’t focus on extreme calorie deficit diets and over training for multiple reasons, such as these are not sustainable for long durations. Such short-term focused goals will weaken your body and may result in hormonal imbalance and muscle loss, can also lead to depression, aggression etc. On extreme levels such short term goals can even affect your relationship and family life.
About the author -
Strength and Conditioning Coach (NSCA), Founder of LeoflexPro.
