So I noticed quite a few women (with kids, probably in their 40s) with freakin’ 6 packs at the pool over the weekend (no, not the beer, the ab muscles). And I am talking about super chiseled abs! My question: Is it possible that some bodies/metabolisms will never have a 6 pack like that?
I have always had a strong core from all the years of classical ballet and dancing. Back in those days, while I was super lean, I never had a 6 pack and only when I flexed I had somewhat of a 4 pack. Then, two kids later and almost a decade into the endurance sports, I am still lean, still have a strong core, I have more muscles on my legs (compared to my younger self) and the ONLY way I can somewhat obtain a “chiseled” abs look is if I don’t drink or eat for at least 12 hours and if I flex (like for a picture). The moment I drink even a bit of water, especially on a hot day at the pool, then good bye abs! Are these women on some crazy diets? Do they walk around felxing all the time? Or is it that my body is just not that type?
I think some of the six-pack thing is dependent on body type/fat distribution. If you tend to carry fat around the midsection, as a woman, you probably will never have a true six-pack unless you get super (and probably unnecessarily) lean.
I also think that maybe some people’s muscles just tend to “pop” more than others, but that’s probably just so I feel better about not having a six-pack myself. Whatever the case, having a strong core is what matters, so you’ve got the important part covered!
I have always had a strong core, but not always had a 6 pack.
At 150lbs - a 2 pack.
At 140lbs - a 4 pack.
At 135lbs - a 6 pack.
At 125lbs - an 8 pack.
All of these without flexing.
For me, it simply comes down to how trim I am. At these weights, I don’t change my core routine and I never do any weighted ab exercises. I was 125 when I toed the line at IM (that was too light by the way). I now carry 135 and race pretty well at it.
I once read an article in Men’s Health that said the small valley between your abs is very shallow and the smallest extra fat easily fills it in so you can’t see the ab separation.
The above said, my wife is a super trim 5’8", 115lbs and, while you could bounce a quarter off her stomach and she does the same core routine as I do, she has no discernible abs.
So I noticed quite a few women (with kids, probably in their 40s) with freakin’ 6 packs at the pool over the weekend (no, not the beer, the ab muscles). And I am talking about super chiseled abs! My question: Is it possible that some bodies/metabolisms will never have a 6 pack like that?
I have always had a strong core from all the years of classical ballet and dancing. Back in those days, while I was super lean, I never had a 6 pack and only when I flexed I had somewhat of a 4 pack. Then, two kids later and almost a decade into the endurance sports, I am still lean, still have a strong core, I have more muscles on my legs (compared to my younger self) and the ONLY way I can somewhat obtain a “chiseled” abs look is if I don’t drink or eat for at least 12 hours and if I flex (like for a picture). The moment I drink even a bit of water, especially on a hot day at the pool, then good bye abs! Are these women on some crazy diets? Do they walk around felxing all the time? Or is it that my body is just not that type?
I think you’d be surprised how many middle-aged people, who parade around pools in revealing bathing suits, opt for lipo.
I have to think genetics and one’s predisposition to stored fat has a lot to do with it.
If that is the case, I’m pretty darn sure I’ll never see abs on myself. Even in college when I was skinny as I’ll probably ever be, I could count ribs way before I ever saw any definition to my ab muscles.
ETA: Looking back I was in the high 150’s/low 160’s, 6’ tall, 42" chest and 31" waist. Don’t think I’d count as malnourished, but I was definitely embracing the poor college student lifestyle over the summer, eating only a bowl of instant oatmeal and a subway $5 sandwich every day while still working out 5-6 days/week.
I have always felt I had a strong core though did not have the “six pack abs” look even though I was on the thin side all of my life (generally wore a pants size 2), but then a few years ago I became very sick and dropped to an extremely unhealthy weight due to my illness, at which point the six pack abs did come out. At that point I was 115 pounds at 5’5, and size 0 pants were way too big for me (I could pull them on and off without even undoing the buttons or zipper). Now that I’m closer to being healthy and back in my size 2 pants the six pack abs are gone (but no complaints from me as I have my health back). So for me personally, I don’t have the six pack abs when I’m at a healthy weight, though I imagine everyone is different.
It’s mostly genetic, having to do with where you carry your fat as well as muscle insertions.
I never workout my abs, and they’re weak by all standards for the most part (unless I go into bodybuilding mode and blast them for weeks), but I have and likely always will have a 6-pack. Had it since I was 8, and yes, everyone thought I was some workout stud, when in reality I was just born with it.
And no, I wasn’t a naturally gifted muscular-type person - I was routinely the weakest male in the class in physical strength, and had no endurance skills to speak of (came in last in most 600 yard dashes in PE.) But I had abs!
The most annoying part - I went into full bodybuilder mode for my HS and early college years in an effort to reverse the terrible athlete stereotype that people had of me, and for the most part it worked, despite my small frame. But no matter what, even though I spent thousands of hours working chest, tris, etc., and <1% of time working on abs, guess what bodypart on me was most admired by both males and females (yes, I asked many people - I was a loser like that!) - ABS. Even though the rest of me was pumped up, the 6-pack was still the most impressive part and it was the same 6-pack I had since age 8.
Must be genetic. I am 5"7 and currently 120. When I was 100lbs a few years back then I still had no 6 pack, only 4 pack and only when I flexed. Same for 110lbs. Currently I just have a flat stomach. No definition unless I flex (in a fasted state) and then I get a two pack, if anything at all.
So I noticed quite a few women (with kids, probably in their 40s) with freakin’ 6 packs at the pool over the weekend (no, not the beer, the ab muscles). And I am talking about super chiseled abs! My question: Is it possible that some bodies/metabolisms will never have a 6 pack like that?
I have always had a strong core from all the years of classical ballet and dancing. Back in those days, while I was super lean, I never had a 6 pack and only when I flexed I had somewhat of a 4 pack. Then, two kids later and almost a decade into the endurance sports, I am still lean, still have a strong core, I have more muscles on my legs (compared to my younger self) and the ONLY way I can somewhat obtain a “chiseled” abs look is if I don’t drink or eat for at least 12 hours and if I flex (like for a picture). The moment I drink even a bit of water, especially on a hot day at the pool, then good bye abs! Are these women on some crazy diets? Do they walk around felxing all the time? Or is it that my body is just not that type?
for many (most) obtaining a discernable 6-pack is driven by nutrition and body fat percentage…i dont know the metrics as well for women, but for a male, the bench mark is generally 8% - if you’re not around 8% body fat, then you will not have a real 6 pack.
No one should discount the amount of effort that goes into it - it takes a lot of focus (30-45 minutes core workout / abs a day at least) + hyper nutrition + no social life (lol @ a drink or a wing)
No one should discount the amount of effort that goes into it - it takes a lot of focus (30-45 minutes core workout / abs a day at least) + hyper nutrition + no social life (lol @ a drink or a wing)
Only 6 packs I’ve ever had were the drinking kind!
Must be genetic. I am 5"7 and currently 120. When I was 100lbs a few years back then I still had no 6 pack, only 4 pack and only when I flexed. Same for 110lbs. Currently I just have a flat stomach. No definition unless I flex (in a fasted state) and then I get a two pack, if anything at all.
I think you can have strong muscles of any type without them be “large”. To have a six pack your muscles have to be large enough to show up under the fat. The less fat the better, but the muscles have to be large enough to pop out. For example, take the top swimmers in the olympics…much higher body fat than most runners, yet their abs stick way out. That’s not saying a 125 lbs marathon runner does not have a strong core relative to an olympic swimmer…you have to have one since the core connects the lower and upper body and without the psoas connecting the spine and femur for example you can’t make forward motion…but you won’t even see that muscle way under everything, but it’s one of the most important in the prime mover chain.
For me I am 50 and you have been able to see all my abdominal muscles since I was 10. They have been functionally strong for the sports I need, and just large enough that you can see them. I held the sit up record at the armed forces academy here in Canada (RMC) for around 5 years after I graduated even though there were guys who were much more visually impressive. I do have a silly goal to have a six pack at 60. I think it is possible, but I have a good starting point for this and have been doing core work all my life since I was around 14 for track and soccer.
Whatever the case, having a strong core is what matters, so you’ve got the important part covered!