Some people have eight visible abs, some have six, some only have four (like Arnold) and very rarely some may have 10. It just comes down to genetics and genetics alone. No amount of crunching or direct ab work will get you an eight pack if genetically you have a six pack. That's just the way it works.
No matter who you are, the appearance of your abs is largely based on your genetics. “How visible they are, how they're shaped, whether they're aligned or crooked—it boils down to your DNA,” says Mike Israetel, Ph. D., sports physiologist and co-founder of Renaissance Periodization.
The short answer: unfortunately, no. “Visible abs are very difficult to achieve for those of us who aren't genetically blessed,” says Scharff. “Everyone's muscles are built differently. Some people have deep muscle bellies, which create higher peaks in between those tendons, and thus abs are more visible.
About 15% of the general population have 4-pack abs, while 2% can only ever achieve a 2-pack. Then, even rarer than the 2-pack is a total of 10 or even 12 abdominal muscles, meaning 5 or 6 bands of the connective fascia. These statistics are the same for men as for women, with the most common being 6-pack for everyone.
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Six-pack abs are “are not markers of health and wellness,” Sam Leahey, director of sports science at Precision Sport Science, told Men's Health. “Mortality issues aren't correlated with how many abs you can see in the mirror or the level of skin fold at the abs.”
A 12 pack is the biggest pack. Believe it or not there have been some recorded occurrences of people with 12 pack ab muscles during autopsies. Relatively speaking, the chances of having a 12 pack is very small if you take the overall percentage of people that have other type of abs.
And less than 1% of people studied could have 10 pack abs. Apparently, it's also possible to have 2 pack abs, but that's just as rare as a 10 pack.
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While most people are born with three bands (making it possible to have a six-pack with the right amount of workout), some people have four bands (for eight-packs) or just two bands (for four-packs). “But just because you have more or less doesn't mean you're stronger or weaker.
Many people do not realize that only 2 percent of the world's population can claim to have six pack abs. With our current diets and food choices, obesity is on the rise and getting a lean, mean set of abs seems to be becoming more elusive.
Everyone has abdominal muscles, known as abs. These muscles may not be visible because of the fat around them. Some fat, called subcutaneous fat, is close to the skin's surface, but fat also exists deep within the abdominal cavity.
The maximum number of visible ab segments is determined genetically by how many tendinous intersections people have with 3 most common. Most people can have an 8 pack, a few unfortunates are limited to 4, and outliers at the other extreme can have 12.
The unhealthy side of a six-pack
While rippling abs are taken as a sign of peak fitness, the ultra-low body fat it takes to get them can have seriously unhealthy side effects: Phillips says they include fatigue, a compromised immune system, vitamin deficiencies, muscle wastage, and organ shrinkage in severe cases.
Six-pack abs are typically hard to the touch, as they are the result of a well-defined and toned abdominal muscle group.
While everyone has an inguinal ligament, not everyone has V line abs. “[The V-line] will show up on very slim people with minimal belly fat who also have a developed rectus abdominis muscle,” Marko says. In other words, V-line abs take some work.
“V lines are where the obliques meet the transversus abdominis muscles. They are only visible when you have a very low body fat percentage, which can either mean 11% or lower for men, and 14% or lower for women,” explains David Wiener, training and nutrition specialist at AI-based fitness coaching app Freeletics.
Crunches with knees up can really home in on the upper abs. You can also throw in reverse crunches (curl up from the pelvis) to ensure good contractile activation of the lower abs. Twisting variations of crunches can also be included to ensure good activation of the obliques.