The six-pack is often heralded as the epitome of fitness and the “perfect” physique, and it might even be on your new year’s resolution list, but is it all that? And then there’s the even bigger question — is it possible for everyone to achieve?
The good news is that it’s achievable. The bad news, it isn’t necessarily healthy, and just like all things diet and fitness related, there is no quick fix.
To lower body fat safely and effectively, it’s essential to focus on diet and exercise. There’s no one-size-fits-all method, and a balanced approach must be taken. Genetics, body shape, and build always factor into individual results.
So, what can you do?
You can do as many crunches as there are people in the world, but until you’re in a calorie deficit and lose the layer of fat over your abdominal muscles, the six-pack abs won’t show. This makes a calorie deficit extremely important as reducing body fat is necessary to reveal a chiseled midsection.
Often when you’re in a calorie deficit and lose weight, you also lose muscle. To help maintain muscle mass, it’s essential to consume adequate amounts of protein, the building blocks of power. Aim for a higher-than-average amount (average is around 0.8g/kg of body weight), typically 1.2-1.5g/kg. This allows for the preservation of lean muscle mass.1
Carbs also cause the body to store extra water. When we eat carbs, the energy we don’t use right away is stored as glycogen molecules. Each gram of glycogen comes with 3g of water attached. When we decrease carbohydrates, it creates an illusion of effortless weight loss, but actually, it’s water that’s being decreased, giving us the visual appeal of a more defined midline.2
Lastly, combining cardio — specifically high-intensity exercise and resistance training — while in a calorie deficit seems to be an effective way to tone the abdominal region of your body.3 Simple exercises like walking or swimming laps can also increase total energy expenditure.4
The theory of spot reduction has been promoted in the health and fitness world for some time — this is where you can reduce fat levels on specific body areas by exercising them specifically; however, there’s not much evidence to support it. For instance, as we said before, smashing out the crunches alone isn’t going to give you abs.
Is it healthy to have very low body fat?
Put, no. Too little body fat can be harmful, and somebody fat is good — we need it to survive.
This fat can ensure you have sufficient energy reserves to survive and heal your body. Furthermore, it protects internal organs and joints from injury. We need fat in our bodies.
Once your body goes ‘out of its comfort zone and starts to get to the lower body fat percentages, it tries everything to fight back. It doesn’t like being there and will do everything to defend your most stable weight. This is because your body thinks you are putting it into a starved state and preparing it for the next ‘famine.’ This is known as the set-point theory.5
Women naturally require more fat than men. This is due to the hormone estrogen necessary to support fertility. On the other hand, men have unnecessary body fat and naturally have more lean muscle tissue due to testosterone, which helps them drop weight faster.6
Essential functions of life will start to deteriorate, such as concentration, breathing, temperature regulation, menstrual cycle, and energy levels will go haywire if essential fats begin to fall below 5% in men and 15% in women. Women have high essential body fat ranges due to childbearing and reproductive needs.7,8
So, as you can read, having a six-pack doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re taking proper care of your body.
Do genetics play a role?
Genetics plays an exciting role in body composition, especially regarding body fat.
Research suggests that abdominal fat, for example, is inherited. This is due to DNA variants that affect the maintenance and distribution of body fat and body shape.9
It’s said that those who carry the FTO gene may weigh on average 3kg more and are 1.7 times more likely to be obese than those that don’t take that gene.10 Although there is promising research into genetics’s influence on our body composition, genetics aren’t keeping you from losing weight.
Diet has the most significant impact on weight and body composition. Focus on understanding the role that nutrition and exercise play in your fitness goals instead of wondering if your weight loss struggles are because of hereditary factors.
Take home message
Revealing your hidden six-pack requires a lot of dedication and commitment and certainly doesn’t occur overnight. Your body fat percentage, genetics, diet, and fitness all play a role in whether or not that six-pack will appear.
Instead, focus your efforts on a well-balanced diet and moving your body daily. We’ve seen that body fat stores that are too low are not considered healthy and aren’t worth the extreme restriction, in our opinion.