How to “find” your 6-pack

Posted on 21. Jan, 2009 by Keith Scott in Fat loss

I posted this on the Naked Nutrition Network today. Thought it would be good to re-post here.

The first time I start working with a new client, I always ask what the person’s goals are during our time together. A lot of the people respond by saying that they would like to get a flat stomach, others want to get that “six-pack” look.

Before I can even open my mouth in response, I usually get a stern request for a lot of ‘ab’ exercises, so “I can flatten my stomach and get that six-pack.”

Without getting into my responses to such requests, lets backtrack a bit…

When I was in graduate school, we had the opportunity to ‘dissect’ a few cadavers for our anatomy class. During our dissection of one particular man, we realized it would take hours to get through the unbelievable amount of adipose tissue (fat) on this guy. You see, this cadaver was obese to say the least.

After a lot of hours, we were able to get through the abdominal area to the muscle tissue. We “discovered” that this man had a perfect six-pack laying under all of that fat.

He must have done 1000′s of crunches to get a six-pack like that, right? I doubt it. From the looks of him, it was doubtful that he did any crunches in his lifetime.

The fact of the matter is, everyone has a six-pack…everyone. You do, I do, your mother, father, third cousin, grandmother, and late uncle. The problem for many is that most six-packs are covered up, so they never see the light of day.

Where is this going?

In the never ending quest to get that six-pack look, doing tons of abdominal work really isn’t going to get you that six-pack look unless you are already very lean. Better said, unless you take care of the abdominal fat surrounding your muscles, you wont be able to see them.

Doing ‘ab’ work is not a bad thing, and can actually be a good way to strengthen your mid-section. However, if you just want to look good, and show those abs, the best thing you can do is to take care of your diet first, shed off the extra fat second, and then work the abs.

I have never witnessed anyone get a six-pack from doing ab work, as long as they had excess belly fat. I have witnessed plenty of people with a six-pack, however, that have never performed a crunch or any other abdominal work in their life. Lean people, people that don’t have a lot of fat, tend to show what they have…and like I said, everyone has a six-pack.

Working your abs is not a bad thing. If you are taking care of your diet, and losing fat go ahead and work the abs…you will be able to show them off better if they are bigger and firmer, but remember, you have to be able to see them first.