How to get a 6pack?

[JEDI]

I've been going to the gym for a couple of years. the main purpose is to get a 6pack.

i'm eating less, doing lots of eliptical machine and crunches, but i just cant lose the fat around my stomach to get the muscles to show the 6pack. my body fat is like 9percent according to the gizmo the gym tested me with.

How to get a 6pack?

 

[Blueychan]

I have tried a couple times and give up. You need to be really discipline and eat right. I would say 80 percent of it is the diet.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

I've been going to the gym for a couple of years. the main purpose is to get a 6pack.

i'm eating less, doing lots of eliptical machine and crunches, but i just cant lose the fat around my stomach to get the muscles to show the 6pack. my body fat is like 9percent according to the gizmo the gym tested me with.

How to get a 6pack?

Read the fat loss sticky - http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=162171. Doing stuff like crunches isn't going to help you reduce your body fat percentage. You cannot spot reduce, meaning you cannot reduce the body fat in a certain area by contracting the underlying muscles. You have to reduce your overall body fat percentage. The fat loss sticky entails how you should approach nutrition and exercise if you want to reduce your body fat percentage. It specifically allows you to maintain muscle mass, which allows for quicker reduction of mainly body fat.

 

[Koing]

Your bf% is NOT at 9%...

Mines probably about 12 and you can see abs in the morning when I tense...

You need to develop your abs some more. You HAVE to be strict on your eating.

I've been low carbing for about 6 weeks now and you can see abs. I just eat grilled meats and salad a lot, no junk food, no snacks, cut down on fruits. I take 2 shakes a day and low carb 6/7 days. I eat decent chunk of carbs on a Sunday to keep my sanity. I don't do any CV work and only lift heavy and train hard. It's all about discipline. I gurantee if you ate what I ate you'd be able to see abs within 4-6 weeks depending on what condition you started off with.

Koing

 

[KoolDrew]

How much do you weigh? How tall are you? Pics? As Koing said, I doubt you're at 9% BF.

 

[NAC]

I'm on a quest to see my 6 pack. It's taken much longer than I had hoped.
I started in April, I weighed about 180 with I estimated 27% body fat. I'm now down to 152. I haven't lost much if any strength, and I now would estimate my body fat is about 13%. Still no sight of the 6 pack though. I'm a skinny, hard gainer type.

I'm sure age, genetics, and what shape you have been in in the past play a large part.

I lift heavy twice a week to maintain muscle, and eat very little carbs. I find the hard part about losing weight is being consistent - if I feast for a day I'll set myself back a week. Even a large cupcake will set me back several days.

 

[darkxshade]

I just about got mine to show a slight outline as of late but barely... I have to really tighten my belly. For shame though, I'm back on my bulk... maybe next summer. I'm ~10-11% bf.

 

[Koing]

I'm on a quest to see my 6 pack. It's taken much longer than I had hoped.
I started in April, I weighed about 180 with I estimated 27% body fat. I'm now down to 152. I haven't lost much if any strength, and I now would estimate my body fat is about 13%. Still no sight of the 6 pack though. I'm a skinny, hard gainer type.

I'm sure age, genetics, and what shape you have been in in the past play a large part.

I lift heavy twice a week to maintain muscle, and eat very little carbs. I find the hard part about losing weight is being consistent - if I feast for a day I'll set myself back a week. Even a large cupcake will set me back several days.

Pics man.

How tall are you? If your moderately in shape at 180 and you cut down to 152lbs I can't believe you don't have visible abs unless you weren't that in shape at 180?

Genetics has a lot to do with it, but you can achieve abs if you want. It isn't like running under 10seconds is literally impossible for 99% of the people out there. Hell it's nearly impossible for most ELITE athletes...You have to be CONSISTENT and really f0cking want it. Another 4-6 weeks and you should have some abs, if not you need to hammer out some heavy ab exercises to get some ab development man!

For me I gain size moderately easily, get fat moderately easily, lean down fairly easily, just depends on how clean I'm eating but after 6 weeks I'm happy with my results. I think another 4-6 weeks and then I'd have about reached the limit of getting lean with my current eating. It would be easier toa dd in 2 sessions of walking a week to lean down further. As I'm really not f0cked to eat uber uber clean to get the abs.

Koing

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

@ 9% bf, you should be able to see something unless your abs aren't developed at all.

i've been dieting hardcore for the past month on my quest for 6 pack abs and i have the top 4 and working hard on the bottom 2.
home scale reads 12-13% bf. i was at 16-17% when i started.
i lost 10 pounds, and my bench and squat are only slightly lower. i haven't done any extra cardio, just playing bball.

 

[Whisper]

Pics man.

How tall are you? If your moderately in shape at 180 and you cut down to 152lbs I can't believe you don't have visible abs unless you weren't that in shape at 180?

Genetics has a lot to do with it, but you can achieve abs if you want. It isn't like running under 10seconds is literally impossible for 99% of the people out there. Hell it's nearly impossible for most ELITE athletes...You have to be CONSISTENT and really f0cking want it. Another 4-6 weeks and you should have some abs, if not you need to hammer out some heavy ab exercises to get some ab development man!

For me I gain size moderately easily, get fat moderately easily, lean down fairly easily, just depends on how clean I'm eating but after 6 weeks I'm happy with my results. I think another 4-6 weeks and then I'd have about reached the limit of getting lean with my current eating. It would be easier toa dd in 2 sessions of walking a week to lean down further. As I'm really not f0cked to eat uber uber clean to get the abs.

Koing

Koing makes an EXCELLENT point: the most important part of fitness in general, and getting a six-pack in particular, is consistency. You have to consistently watch what you eat, consistently go to the gym where you consistently work hard, and consistently avoid pitfalls.

I have absolutely no "good genes" when it comes to abs, but through strict diet management and a consistent training regimen, I've managed to have pretty well-defined abs for the majority of the past decade. Thus, like Koing mentions, even without genetics on your side, it's still very possible...it just might take a little (or a lot) more work.

 

[MrMatt]

Most people who think they're at 9%, at least in my experience, are in the mid teens....THose machines can vary widely. use calipers.

 

[polarmystery]

After following a low carb, high intensity 4 day split cutting (I went from 185-177, where I'm probably at around 11-12% bf), I can tell you first hand that getting your abs to show is a pain in the ass. I can't wait to start bulking again. You can see my upper two abs relatively easily, with the bottom four as one mass.

I didn't lose that much strength (squat went down about 20lbs, and bench about the same) but cutting and low carbing it...SUCKS!

 

[Koing]

After following a low carb, high intensity 4 day split cutting (I went from 185-177, where I'm probably at around 11-12% bf), I can tell you first hand that getting your abs to show is a pain in the ass. I can't wait to start bulking again. You can see my upper two abs relatively easily, with the bottom four as one mass.

I didn't lose that much strength (squat went down about 20lbs, and bench about the same) but cutting and low carbing it...SUCKS!

Again, you got to f0cking want it enough. Some people do and some people don't. Like I don't care to run as it f0cking hurts so badly due to my lame ass lack of running fitness...LOL.

Koing

 

[KoolDrew]

Again, you got to f0cking want it enough. Some people do and some people don't. Like I don't care to run as it f0cking hurts so badly due to my lame ass lack of running fitness...LOL.

Koing

During my recent cut going down to 7-8% the extent of my cardio was brisk walking on the treadmill. I'm a firm believer in letting your diet take care of the deficit, not training yourself into one.

 

[MJinZ]

Again, you got to f0cking want it enough. Some people do and some people don't. Like I don't care to run as it f0cking hurts so badly due to my lame ass lack of running fitness...LOL.

Koing

Or not want it at all haha.

People have different ideals of beauty. Visible abs are a vanity thing completely (unless you're an athlete).

Do not want.

 

[darkxshade]

Or not want it at all haha.

People have different ideals of beauty. Visible abs are a vanity thing completely (unless you're an athlete).

Do not want.

Funny... coming from the guy who has to color match his workout wardrobe.

 

[MJinZ]

Funny... coming from the guy who has to color match his workout wardrobe.

I know right???

I think that super lean is not a physique better than big and strong.

Since you need to be super lean to have 6 pack - do not want.

If you didn't, then I probably do not care less.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

During my recent cut going down to 7-8% the extent of my cardio was brisk walking on the treadmill. I'm a firm believer in letting your diet take care of the deficit, not training yourself into one.

Agreed. Doing a ton of cardio in a caloric deficit is hell. Doing light cardio and moderately heavy weightlifting is much easier to get through. Sure, recovery may be decreased a bit, but mentally, the workout itself sucks a lot less.

 

[sandorski]

I drank beer, ate, and didn't exercise. I got a 6 Pack. It's not the ripped muscly kind, but it looks more like a 6 Pack than what people use the term for.

 

[Whisper]

Agreed. Doing a ton of cardio in a caloric deficit is hell. Doing light cardio and moderately heavy weightlifting is much easier to get through. Sure, recovery may be decreased a bit, but mentally, the workout itself sucks a lot less.

Agreed here as well. I hardly ever do cardio (I probably should start at some point, I know); I just let the weightlifting and diet handle the six-pack component.

 

[TheVrolok]

More power to you guys who have the tenacity/self control to diet appropriately for a six-pack. I've gotten the top 2 out, and to a lesser degree the middle 2, but have never been able to get the bottom 2 out .. food (and shitty food) is just so damned tasty.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

It also depends on the person and your metabolism. I have a six pack and I eat like a garbage disposal but it is also generally healthy foods. Lots of meat and salads consisting of spinach mixed with olive oil and vinegar. You can train you're taste buds to think anything is good. I eat bad at times as well, stuffing myself but I can keep a six pack working out everyday.

Also its not just doing sit ups and lifting. A six pack is there, just underneath a layer of fat. Try some circuit work or cardio AFTER you lift (unless its in the morning). Gota sweat for it =P

 

[Whisper]

More power to you guys who have the tenacity/self control to diet appropriately for a six-pack. I've gotten the top 2 out, and to a lesser degree the middle 2, but have never been able to get the bottom 2 out .. food (and shitty food) is just so damned tasty.

Once you get used to the diet, at least in my case, it actually doesn't require very much tenacity at all. It simply becomes habit to skip out on things like mayo, fried foods, fatty burgers, candy, desserts, etc. As with working out, the hardest part is probably the first month or two. But if you go little by little, even that isn't bad.

Besides, if there are certain things you don't want to give up, you can always leave yourself a cheat day once a week; just don't go overboard. The one thing I still crave are hot wings, so I'll get those every now and again without feeling bad about it.

 

[TheVrolok]

Once you get used to the diet, at least in my case, it actually doesn't require very much tenacity at all. It simply becomes habit to skip out on things like mayo, fried foods, fatty burgers, candy, desserts, etc. As with working out, the hardest part is probably the first month or two. But if you go little by little, even that isn't bad.

Besides, if there are certain things you don't want to give up, you can always leave yourself a cheat day once a week; just don't go overboard. The one thing I still crave are hot wings, so I'll get those every now and again without feeling bad about it.

The working out part is easy, I don't mind spending hours in the gym - I actually enjoy it. I do agree that once you get your new diet into place it's much easier not to deviate - but unfortunately I'm at a point in my life where there is entirely too much frequency of temptation. Maybe one day.

 

[Lamont Burns]

I'm 6'4" ~199 now down from 231 and they're still not there. I was doing it for kicks one time in my life before going back to powerlifting mainly, but now I'm pissed and am sticking with the cut, just not as agressive.

I go down about 1-1.5 lbs a week and no strength lost. I'm thinking another 5-7 weeks.