All humans are born with six-pack abs, but for most people, they're hiding behind a layer of abdominal fat. Being able to see your six-pack muscles only indicates that you have a low body fat percentage.
The time it takes to get six-pack abs depends on a person's body fat percentage, diet, and exercise habits. Everyone has abdominal muscles, known as abs. These muscles may not be visible because of the fat around them.
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.
Everyone has abdominal muscles, but they are only visible when body fat is low enough. It is important to remember that genetics influence the appearance of abs and how they grow. Some people will always find it more difficult than others to get well-defined abs, regardless of their exercise and diet efforts.
But on the flip side, we also all know someone who grinds it out in the gym day after day and just can't unveil those mythical abs. No matter who you are, the appearance of your abs is largely based on your genetics.
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.
Nice Set of Abs
In a (not-so-surprising) study conducted by Western Illinois University, women rated abs as the sexiest muscle on a man's body, ThePostGame.com reports.
“While a strong core is important for stability and functional movement, visible abdominal muscles should not be the sole measure of fitness. In fact, for some individuals, a pursuit of six-pack abs may indicate an unhealthy relationship with food or an overly restrictive diet.
And ultimately, having a six-pack doesn't necessarily mean you're healthier or you'll be able to perform better in the gym or at your sport. “You don't need to be able to see your abs muscles in order to have a really strong core that is powerful and supports you,” she says. “Strong bodies can be all shapes and sizes."
“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.
4-pack abs are when you have 4 distinct, visible, defined muscles in your stomach area. In most cases, these are the 4 upper abs, which flatten into a toned abdomen lower down as they taper into a V-shape down to the groin area. What is this? Usually, the visible abdominals are the two blocks above your navel.
“Genetically, some people may have more pronounced grooves than others, but you'll notice in the photos of these models, who are very lean, they don't actually have very developed abs,” says Orbeck. “They just have the groove, which means they are leaner than they are stronger in their core.”
The only thing that determines if you have abs or not, is the amount of body fat you have on your body. If your body fat is low enough, your abs will begin to show, and the lower the fat, the more visible your abs will appear.
Can you have strong abs under fat? Yes, you can develop strong abs under fat. The rectus abdominis is the section of the core that forms the traditional “6-pack” look, and even if these muscles are strong, they can still be hidden underneath a layer of subcutaneous fat.
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Even though it may be more challenging for some women to achieve the look of six-pack abs, says Personal Trainer Adnan Munye, everyone has abs—it just depends on how much body fat is covering them. Since men tend to have lower body fat than women, he notes, it can be easier to see their abs in the first place.
Certain hormones are crucial to muscle growth. The especially famous hormone testosterone is one of the primary drivers of muscle growth. Women (usually) have drastically lower levels of the hormone testosterone than men, which makes building the same amount of muscle as men harder.
1) Obliques.
Pretty much everyone does the standard ab crunches, but crunches aren't going to develop your obliques. Your obliques are the muscles at the sides of your abs. You have both internal and external obliques and they are really big, potentially strong muscles that need specific exercises to target them.
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.
You're forgetting the diet
“For the abs to be visible, you need to have a low percentage of body fat, which is roughly around 11% for men and 14% for women,” explains David Wiener, training and nutrition specialist at AI-based fitness app Freeletics.