How To Get Visible Six-pack Abs
By Martin Ebner, Head PT and sports nutrition specialist at Ebylife
So you want a visible six-pack eh! Are you sure? Are you really really sure? The reason I ask is because while most people want abs, once they find out how difficult it is and what’s involved in attaining a washboard stomach and then keeping it, they tend to run away with their tail between their legs. It takes effort, sacrifice, motivation, consistency, extreme diligence in the kitchen and lots of hard work. If you lack any of these attributes, it's probably not for you. Forget about it and have another mince pie! If you think you have what it takes and are crazy enough, read on.
The truth is, we all have abdominal muscles, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to keep ourselves upright. The sad part is, if you ever want to reveal what's hidden below the muffin top, you must first rid yourself of the visceral fat and that means lowering your overall body fat percentage significantly. Gents, unfortunately, we have a tendency to store fat around the belly. This means we need to get down to sub 10% body fat to show off the goods. Ladies, due to the demands of childbearing and other hormonal functions, your essential body fat percentage must remain a little higher, no lower than 15%. Still here? Read on.
Body types
Another thing you need to know and consider is your body type. If you don’t know which body type you have, check out Male body types and female body types. When it comes to setting realistic fitness goals, it’s extremely important to know what’s attainable for your body type. While you may want Zack Efron’s six-pack in Baywatch or Alicia Vikander’s rock-hard obliques in Tomb Raider, if your body type doesn’t match, your expectations won’t be met.
I also need to point out that while most people think that there is nothing that screams fit and sexy more than a finely sculpted midsection, unfortunately, visible abs do not go hand-in-hand with good health. In fact, I would say I'm at my least healthy and weak when my abs are most visible. This is because, more often than not, I'm overtrained, unfed and extremely stressed out!
“If you ever want to reveal what’s hidden below the muffin top, you must first rid yourself of the visceral fat and that means lowering your overall body fat percentage significantly.”
Things that might prevent you from getting a six-pack
Hormone-related issues and health conditions: Underactive thyroid, Diabetes treatment, high-stress levels, etc can all cause weight gain and prevent your abs from showing.
Age: As we age, our metabolisms slow and with it our need for calories reduces. I’m only 37 and every year that passes it becomes increasingly difficult to get down to the low levels of body fat required to have a visible six-pack.
Related: How to Stay Lean as you age
Lack of consistency: Consistency is perhaps one of the most important factors when it comes to all of life's achievements, not just fitness-related goals. If you want it, you’ve got to work hard for it over and over again. Despite what it says on the cover of just about every fitness magazine, it is highly unlikely that you’ll be able to sculpt a six-pack in 6 weeks or less. What they should say is, if you’ve been training for years, are diligent, motivated and probably young, you’ve got a small chance of displaying the abs you already have in six weeks.
Poor exercise programming: It’s really important to have a solid workout plan. Trust me, there’s little worse for your results than arriving at the gym not knowing what you’re there to do. Without a plan, there’s no accountability and without any accountability, there’s no six-pack.
Lack of exercise: to create a calorie deficit large enough to promote weight loss, it’s important to work out regularly. A mix of strength and cardio exercise is recommended.
Overeating: this is one of the biggest hindrances to a lean physique. Not only is eating too regularly going to affect your ability to burn off your pot belly, if you overfill your plate, your body will struggle to break down the large quantities of food. The result of overeating is fat gain so try to practice portion control.
Alcohol: I’m so sorry but unless you didn’t already know, alcohol is terribly calorific. Obviously a drink here and there is absolutely fine and encouraged but if you have the tendency to go overboard, your chances of six-pack success are slim to none.
Related: Can you Drink Alcohol Without Gaining Weight?
Not enough sleep: Poor sleep or lack thereof can cause the hormones leptin and ghrelin that control appetite to become imbalanced.
For more on sleep check out: how sleep affects athletic performance
Weekend warriors: For those of you that are militant with your diet and workouts Monday to Friday and then chuck it all in favor of booze and fast food, forget it. This is another form of yoyo dieting and i’m afraid, if you do this every weekend (unless you’re 18), you stand very little chance of six-pack success.
Let’s get stuck in
To obtain a body fat percentage low enough to reveal your six-pack abs, you must create a calorie deficit large enough to promote weight loss or preferably, burning fat for energy. There are 2 ways to achieve a calorie deficit. The first is through caloric expenditure from exercise. The second and by far the most crucial is through a calorie-controlled diet. The most ideal scenario though is a combination of both.
Diet
The expression “Abs are made in the kitchen” could not be any closer to the truth. If you want to stand any chance of leaving others envious in wake of your abdominal godliness, you must first sort out your diet.
Calorie requirements
Unless you have an illness or medical condition that prevents you from losing weight, it's more often than not, quite a straightforward mathematical equation. To lose 1lb of bodyweight per week, take your weight and multiply it by 27-30 (don’t ask). Then subtract 500 from that number and this is the number of calories you need to lose 1 lb per week. While you may be tempted to speed up the process by reducing your calorie requirements further, it’s important to take a more conservative approach. Restrict your body too much and not only will it be terribly prohibitive, you’ll also be far less likely to keep the weight off in the long term.
Macronutrient split
Once you’ve worked out your caloric needs, you need to think about your macronutrient split - the division of carbs, protein and fats. As a general rule, I suggest 30/40/30 Carbs to protein to fat. This way you include a variety of different foods in your diet and shouldn’t feel overly deprived.
Warning: Don’t do something silly like following an extremely strict fad diet. Just like with an overly restrictive calorie deficit, if you heavily reduce or remove entire food groups, you will be unable to stick with it long term and you’re more likely to develop a negative attitude and feelings towards certain foods. Yes, you might get visible abs for a week or two but as soon as you return to eating regularly, they’ll be gone in a flash!
Protein
Protein should be the dominant macronutrient in your diet. Not only does it act as the building block for muscle growth, it also prevents muscle breakdown when following a calorie-controlled diet. At 4 calories per gram, it’s also the most satiating of macronutrients.
Protein sources to include: Lean meats and poultry, fish and seafood, eggs, dairy products, beans and legumes, protein powders and protein-rich vegetables (broccoli, spinach, asparagus, artichokes and Brussels sprouts)
Carbs
Carbs get a terrible rep but they’re actually very good for us and the body’s primary fuel source. One of the reasons carbs are often thrown under the bus is because they taste so god damn delicious and are often difficult to eat in moderation. Make sure to include a variety of healthy complex carbs in your diet, just make sure to practice portion control!
Carb sources to include: Fruit and vegetables, beans and legumes, whole grains.
Fat
At 9 calories per gram, fat contains almost twice the calories than carbs and protein. That said, they are extremely delicious, satiating and help the body absorb the fat-soluble vitamins (vitamin A, vitamin D and vitamin E) essential for good health. Just make sure to go easy!
Fat sources to include: nuts and nut butters, seeds, avocados, olives and olive oil, oily fish (mackerel, salmon, anchovy, etc).
Foods to avoid:
Processed food
Added sugar
Alcohol
Fried food
White flour (Pizza, pasta, bread)
Sodas and fruit juices. If you want a piece of fruit, just eat one!
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Supplements
While supplements should never replace a healthy and balanced diet, they can be extremely useful and convenient when following a calorie-controlled diet. Here’s what I take when I'm trying to get ripped.
Protein powder
I take a 100% Grass-Fed Whey protein isolate by Transparent Labs all year round regardless of whether my goals are muscle growth and maintenance or fat loss. Protein powder is convenient following a strength training workout and adds flavor to my breakfast oats 365 days a year. What? I’m Scottish!
Multivitamins
While I tend to get all the vitamins and minerals I need from diet, when following a calorie-restrictive diet, I like to take a multivitamin by performance Lab as a safety net. Especially when I'm traveling or short on time.
Fat burners
Fat burners are not miracle pills but the good ones can help the body more efficiently metabolize fat. I started taking a stimulant-free fat burner this year as part of a fasted cardio training program. Not only did I find it effective for fat loss, I felt energized despite exercising on an empty stomach.
See: The 5 Best Stimulant-free Fat Burners for men and women 2021
Exercise
Strength training
No matter what you've heard, 400,000 crunches a day will more likely give you Tourettes than a six-pack. The best way to build up your abs is by first, building a strong core. This means performing exercises that require core stability and that recruit as many muscles as possible. Some of my favorites are squats (front and back), dead-lifts (traditional and Romanian), Bulgarian split squats and lunges, hip thrusts (bilateral and unilateral), bench press and push-up variations, pull-ups, lateral pull downs and muscle-ups, overhead and shoulder press and any exercise that you can do standing instead of seated.
Once you've spent some time working out consistently with some of the above exercises and are starting to see results from the calorie-controlled diet and exercise program, you can start to add abs-specific workouts to your routine.
The best abs exercises for a six-pack
Planks and side planks (Every variation)
Leg raises (Lying and Hanging)
Cable pulley oblique twists/woodchopper
Cable pulley crunch with rope.
Ab wheel/rollouts (with ab-roller, Trx or sliders)
Trx crunch and pike
Russian twists
Perform the abs exercises above 2-3 times a week as part of your regular workouts. The goal should be to progress between 5% - 10% on a weekly basis. Like any muscle in the body, if you want it to grow, you must hit it hard. Work the muscles to failure or as close as your pain threshold will allow you whilst maintaining good form. The quality and your ability to perform the exercise well is far more important and beneficial than prioritizing quantity. 6 perfectly performed reps are better than 20 sloppy ones!
Cardio
Some people hate cardio. Personally, I love it and if it means I can eat more whilst still getting lean, I’m all for it. Not only that but cardiovascular exercise is extremely good for your health (both physical and mental).
Preferably, I do my cardio at moderate intensity (around 70% of MHR or maximum heart rate), fasted and first thing in the morning when my glycogen (energy) stores are at their lowest and my body is more likely to utilize fat for fuel. While these are all very small details, I've found that as I age, these small details are the ones that can make a big difference. With that said, when, how often and the type of cardio you choose to do should be relevant to what you most enjoy and will be able to stick to.
Related: How to Optimise Intermittent Fasting for Fat Burning
A final word
There you have it, Folks. If you made it this far, it’s quite possible that a six-pack and killer obliques are within your reach. The most important thing to remember is that consistency is the key to not only getting a washboard stomach but to every fitness goal you set. Don’t go crazy with an intense 7 workouts-a-week plan and an overly restrictive diet as this will only end in failure. Instead be realistic, consistent and hard working. If you can do that, you’re in with a chance!
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