HOW DO I GET ABS - I NEED SUCCESS STORIES
LegallyBrunette1
Posts: 8 Member
Hey, Ya'll! My husband and I've started a weight loss and fitness challenge. We have a bet for who can get abs before the other. I am NOT in shape. I am exactly 5 foot tall and between 130-140 lbs (the reason I don't know is because I haven't weighed). Any success stories? I would love to win and get those wonderful abs by May-June. Is that possible?
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It requires a pretty low BF%...and in particular with women, genetics play a roll. I know a lot of very lean and fit women who have flat stomachs, but only one with a six pack.5
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And you never get to drink alcohol.
So I really can't see how it's worth it.14 -
You diet. There's no way to just get abs as you can't spot reduce fat. You have to reduce your overall body fat %. Before you even start dieting you should probably figure out how much you weigh to figure out your TDEE, so I'd start with doing that.
Keep in mind that for most people, the belly is the last place that the fat comes off of. So it'll probably be a while,4 -
Reduce bodyfat which requires a calorie deficit.3
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Have you agreed on what your definition of 'get abs' is?
Everyone has abs, they are just normally covered in a layer of fat. As others have said, a six-pack requires a very low BF%.
The infographics at the bottom of this webpage tells you exactly what you'll have to give up:
precisionnutrition.com/cost-of-getting-lean7 -
Yeah, since men and women have a different % body fat that is appropriate, and visible abs are 100% the result of body fat, this isn't going to be a fair battle, necessarily.
Also: where you store the last few pounds of body fat (which again, is *necessary* especially for women's hormones to function properly) is totally out of your control. You need a certain amount of fat, and some people store it in their butts, and some people store it in their thighs ,and some people store it evenly spread out across their body -- and some people store it around their stomach.4 -
Also: where you store the last few pounds of body fat (which again, is *necessary* especially for women's hormones to function properly) is totally out of your control. You need a certain amount of fat, and some people store it in their butts, and some people store it in their thighs ,and some people store it evenly spread out across their body -- and some people store it around their stomach.
So unfair but so true. Even before I started losing weight I tended to carry my weight in my stomach. Now that I've lost and am at a healthy weight range, I have no butt, and very little fat on my arms and legs. I swear all the fat left in my body is in my belly still
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Ya'll all depressed me haha! My definition of abs in our challenge is first visible muscle on stomach. So it doesn't have to be amazingly defined. I know he has a better start but without a challenge, he would not be motivated and it would be more difficult for me to lose with him eating all the delicious food in the world. My prize is a trip anywhere I want so I need to win!1
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True 6-pack abs on a woman is very difficult and dependent not only on low BF% but genetics and muscle base as well. You can work your butt off and still not have the definition you desire. For example I have been lower BF a few times and while I looked pretty lean everywhere I never really had abs.1
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Some of the people I coach are "success stories", as am I.
You have "abs" already.
You must cut body fat (not weight!) if you mean you wish them to be visible.
Your CICO (Calories In, Calories Out) must be near perfect.
Heavy (for you) weight training is mandatory to keep from losing muscle mass while you are at calorie deficit for so long.
If you want to look like a fitness model then you need to train like one.
Actually weight lifting is necessary regardless of anyone's health and fitness goals but that is a different discussion.
"Thinner Leaner Stronger" or "StrongLifts5x5" are good choices to start with.
SL5x5 is free, TLS has a lot of information on proper nutrition in it.
You need to do HIIT cardio, not Steady State cardio!
30 minutes on the treadmill will not take the place of 10 minutes doing sprints. Period.
The only exception to this is if you are training for something like marathons.
HIIT cardio is superior in every other case I can think of offhand.
"Visible abs" take a lot of discipline and dedication.
Pink dumbbell workouts and 45 minutes on a hamster wheel will not get you there.
If you are not willing to work hard in the gym and in the kitchen it will not happen.
But no, May / June 2017 is not enough time to lose around 35 lbs of fat* and protect muscle mass if you don't already know what you are doing.
It will take you about 12 weeks (3 months) just to finish your first training cycle.
You could look Real Good this summer, but you will probably not have visible abs yet.
Hard to say with certainty, especially since I am not your coach and I don't know your body fat percentage, diet adherence or workout levels.
You need to be thinking more like "next year" and then "2 years from now".
If you do the work then this Thanksgiving or Christmas might be possible, depending on your current body fat percentage.
* You didn't weigh yourself so I automatically presume your estimate is low, sorry.6 -
I think you can make great progress between now and June. That's four whole months to lose weight, and you don't have a ton to lose anyway.
You understand that you won't have a ripped belly, but sure...you can do a lot of slimming and trimming within that time frame. Maybe you'll get lucky and see a hint of your abs. There's only one way to find out though. Go for it!3 -
I think you can make great progress between now and June. That's four whole months to lose weight, and you don't have a ton to lose anyway.
You understand that you won't have a ripped belly, but sure...you can do a lot of slimming and trimming within that time frame. Maybe you'll get lucky and see a hint of your abs. There's only one way to find out though. Go for it!
I don't know. I'm an inch taller than her, I weigh 115 and change, and my abs are nowhere in sight. Well, if you count obliques? Sure.
OP, will your bet count obliques? You might see those first. Don't count on anything in the middle showing up first necessarily.
Granted, she looks to be a lot younger than I am. I think a lot of it does come down to genetics.1 -
I think you can make great progress between now and June. That's four whole months to lose weight, and you don't have a ton to lose anyway.
You understand that you won't have a ripped belly, but sure...you can do a lot of slimming and trimming within that time frame. Maybe you'll get lucky and see a hint of your abs. There's only one way to find out though. Go for it!
^^ Agree! You know you are going to have to work hard. You are going to have to stick to a deficit. But you can make huge changes in 3 months. That linear line between the abs seems to be quicker to show up near the ribs. Maybe that will count!2 -
To get Abs, you need to lower your fat %1
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you already have abs, they just might be hidden0
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LegallyBrunette1 wrote: »Ya'll all depressed me haha! My definition of abs in our challenge is first visible muscle on stomach. So it doesn't have to be amazingly defined. I know he has a better start but without a challenge, he would not be motivated and it would be more difficult for me to lose with him eating all the delicious food in the world. My prize is a trip anywhere I want so I need to win!
Kick his butt. You might be at a disadvantage genetically but you win either way
Get into a calorie deficit and wait. The other thing you could do is lift weights. You could try something called a Floor Wiper (there are modifications based on your ability) and also a Barbell Clean and Push (you could use a milk jug or a small child (jk) or something else that fits one hand). 1 -
Thank you to everyone who responded! I literally just figured out how to find my post because I thought it was lost forever. I got a personal trainer last week at my gym. Hopefully that helps. I've been lifting some but I get so sore so easily because I'm not use to it. My body fat percent is 35. ☹️ I am still going to try!0
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It's going to take more like a year with your starting point and a lot of hard work and effort in the gym and especially with your diet.
To achieve that kind of fat loss by this summer is unrealistic.
If you really want visible abs it's possible, but your husband will most certainly win the bet as men lose weight faster and more easily and have less subcutaneous fat so they get visible abs much more easily.1 -
LegallyBrunette1 wrote: »Hey, Ya'll! My husband and I've started a weight loss and fitness challenge. We have a bet for who can get abs before the other. I am NOT in shape. I am exactly 5 foot tall and between 130-140 lbs (the reason I don't know is because I haven't weighed). Any success stories? I would love to win and get those wonderful abs by May-June. Is that possible?
Low body fat. That's it. No magic to it, but hard to do.1 -
LegallyBrunette1 wrote: »Hey, Ya'll! My husband and I've started a weight loss and fitness challenge. We have a bet for who can get abs before the other. I am NOT in shape. I am exactly 5 foot tall and between 130-140 lbs (the reason I don't know is because I haven't weighed). Any success stories? I would love to win and get those wonderful abs by May-June. Is that possible?
Not to be discouraging but no this is not possible.
However you can use this time to get in the best shape of your lives.1 -
I know someone, a female, who has been a professional bodybuilder for the last 6 years. She looks amazing! During her training season and her competitions she has VERY well defined muscle tone, I'm not sure what her body fat percentage is at that point but I'm guessing it's very very low. Likely lower than what is generally considered healthy for women.
6 years though and she STILL doesn't have visible 6pack abs. She says she eventually had to come to terms with the realization that she probably never will. She does have a flat stomach though, and she's able to maintain that even in her off season, just no visible abs.1 -
The one time I had noticeable abs was when I had a bmi of around 19 (so very low end of the healthy range), and I was also doing a push-up challenge. Those two combined made my abs pop. Hubby didn't like the look though so it was a short lived thing
Here's the challenge I did (free-you just print off the schedule)
http://hundredpushups.com/2 -
I am a female with visible abs. I wrote the link in the first post. Having abs comes down to adequate muscle mass and low body fat. There is the genetic component as well. One of my best guy friends has very low body fat, but doesn't have volume in his abs and that means he doesn't have visible abs. I have visible abs even at 24% body fat because I have lots of volume in my ab muscles. I don't do ab work and he does. That really comes down to genetics.
What you can do to try to get there: Start a progressive lifting program, eat adequate protein, maintain a calorie deficit.1 -
70% of your abs are going to be made in the kitchen the other 30% is going to be hard work and the right types of exercise. You can achieve some pretty nice abs in a decent amount of time depending on how hard you work for them.1
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Training, some daily routines, and mostly diet. Generally abs can be seen more visibly around 14% bodyfat.1
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Lose fat and do a progressive lifting program. My abs don't show any definition until I get to 20% body fat and then it's only a 4-pack.1
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