I Can't Seem To Get a Six-Pack
Even At Low Bodyfat!

Home Questions & Answers Fat Loss Can't Get Six Pack

ANSWER:

At 8% bodyfat I doubt you need to drop any fat mass to see more ripples in the mid-section.

There are two possibilities here:

• First, your abdominals may in fact be poorly developed.
• The second possibility is that you may have less tenuous intersections in your rectus abdominus than the people who's abs you covet.

I tend to lean away from the possibility that your abs are under-developed. I say this based on the fact that you say "The lower abs just don't show through." Safely assuming that the "upper abs" do show through suggests that the muscle is developed.

As cliche and academic as it may sound, I have to point out, there are not upper abs and lower abs, just upper and lower regions of the same muscle. The abs appear to be separate muscles; however, it is one muscle with tenuous intersections that give the illusion of separate muscles.

About two percent of people (most happen to be of Asian decent for some reason) are born with only two tenuous intersections which serve to separate the rectus abdominus into horizontal sections.

If you happen to fall into this category, the coveted "six pack" configuration may not be a realistic goal for you.

Like your race and your shoe size, it is unique to your physiology. Incidentally, bodybuilding great Boyer Coe's abs were relatively unimpressive among his professional bodybuilding peers.

He certainly compensated with bicep peaks, high as any I've ever seen (also genetic). The point is, at the leanest he's ever been seen, he just didn't have a rippled washboard, presumably because he lacked these tenuous intersections.

Don't take this as a suggestion to discontinue ab training, however. Ignoring specialized emphasis on a muscle that supports the lumbar spine and is responsible for spinal flexion antagonistic to the erector spinae would be a costly mistake. Don't ignore your ab training just because it isn't developing exactly the way you had envisioned it.

Not only would you be more susceptible to injury, but would also be limiting the potential of several other muscles, dependent on the abdominals for stability and deceleration.

Incidentally, there is a fantastic article by Skip LaCour in a past October issue of Ironman magazine discussing the relationship between genetics and attitude, and their contributions to success. Check it out!

 

	Click Here To Return to Fat Loss Questions & Answers Index

Related Items

Recreate Fat Loss Supplement

The Best Ab Exercises You've Never Heard Of

Staley Training Systems
P.O. Box 2334 • Gilbert, AZ • 85299
Toll-Free: (800) 519-2492 • 480-813-6205 • Fax: (480) 813-6215