Where's My Six Pack?

You've heard it all - do this exercise, try this diet, use this machine and you'll get a six pack in just a few weeks.  Somehow, washboard abs have become a symbol of reaching the pinnacle of physical fitness, which is a bit sad to say.  While our culture might find them attractive on both men and women, the price you have to pay to achieve and then maintain that look is more than most people are willing to pay.  It is far better to adopt a healthy lifestyle including eating well and exercise and let your weight and your appearance adjust to whatever you can maintain indefinitely.  Here are some facts about six pack abs for you to consider.

• ​Know your body fat percentages.  Look to the right - the far right in the graphic above.  Yep, there's the six pack.  It starts to show up at a body fat percentage roughly below 10 for men and 15 for women.  
• You already have a six pack.  Everyone has a six pack, it's just typically hidden below a layer of fat.  If you want them to show up, you'll need to shed some fat.
• You need to eat cleanly.  To shed fat and achieve a low body fat percentage, you will need to eat very, very cleanly.  This takes careful planning and won't just happen if you avoid bad foods.  You'll need to achieve a caloric deficit, where you total daily expenditure of calories is more than the calories you obtain from food. See my blog post regarding losing fat.
• You need to exercise.  There are many, many ads that will try to tell you that all you need to do is a particular exercise or buy a specific gadget and you'll see those abs show up quickly.  Don't believe them, they are untrue.  You will need to do some strength training, and cardio exercises can help as well.  See this article from Shape magazine for some good abdominal exercises.
• Analyze your motives.  What are your motives for having a six pack?  To look good in a swimsuit?  To look trim in clothes?  Those are fine goals, but are you really willing to put in the time and effort it takes to achieve?  Let me direct your attention to Mr. 15% and Ms. 25% in the graphic above.  They look healthy.  They would look fine in a swimsuit and trim in clothes. 

• Don't give in to the pressure.  Let's not put pressure on ourselves that we need have a six pack to achieve some kind of social acceptance.  Yes, it's good to have some positive pressure towards better health, but not to the extreme.  Let's ditch the concept that having a six pack is important and be happy with good overall fitness.  Fitness models and body builders don't represent the ideal - in fact, many times there are so extreme in their tactics to achieve a lower body fat that they are unhealthy.
• Go for it.  For those of you who still want or even have a six pack, great!  More power to you if that is important to you.  Obviously that kind of body fat percentage is difficult to maintain indefinitely, so don't beat yourself up if you fluctuate or even lose the six pack but are still active and healthy.