Seeking six pack / loosing tummy fat

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  • SyStEmPhReAk
    SyStEmPhReAk Posts: 330 Member
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    I did P90X and I followed a fat shredder diet with 1900 calories. It worked.

    TeamRIPPED???


    Abs are made in the kitchen... Stick to a strict calorie deficit, stay active to help burn more calories (the gym work you're doing is fine), and BE PATIENT. for most males you'll have to get to 10% to start seeing abs and often times the stomach is the last place the fat is lost.
  • Doreen9686
    Doreen9686 Posts: 62
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    BUMP
  • clobercow
    clobercow Posts: 337 Member
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    Many people doing IF tend to get to very low body fat levels with little to no effort. You should consider this if you really want a Six Pack. It's not necessary to beat up your body doing all that work to obtain a low body fat level. Google Lean Gains, East Stop Eat, Fast Five, The Warrior Diet, and consider dropping your carb intake.
  • FrenchMob
    FrenchMob Posts: 1,167 Member
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    I'm at 9.5% body fat and still don't see my abs.

    This is where Core work helps. You should see abs at 10-12% easily if you put in core work. The only way I can believe you are truly at 9-10% BF and not see abs is if you dont put any strength training into your exercise routine.

    I'm currently at 20% BF down from 24% and I'm seeing the top portion of my abs. The way I've lost BF%, I am estimating that by 15% I should have a strong showing and by 13% I will be ripped.
    Wrong. Believe it or not, 6 pack abs does involve some genetics. Some don't see anything until they get in the 5-6% range.

    Define "ripped". In my mine, nobody is ripped at 13%. 10% you're getting there.
  • dave4d
    dave4d Posts: 1,155 Member
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    Like others have said before, you need to drop body fat to see abs. Make sure your diet is clean, keep your sodium, and sugars low, drink lots of water. If you are below 10% body fat, and not seeing your abs, core work can help, but most likely you are retaining too much water. You might want to reduce your carbs, and double what you are drinking in water, now. I read an article a few years ago on T-nation that mentioned what bodybuilders do to get real ripped about a week before a competition. You may want to look it up.
  • dave4d
    dave4d Posts: 1,155 Member
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    I'm at 9.5% body fat and still don't see my abs.

    This is where Core work helps. You should see abs at 10-12% easily if you put in core work. The only way I can believe you are truly at 9-10% BF and not see abs is if you dont put any strength training into your exercise routine.

    I'm currently at 20% BF down from 24% and I'm seeing the top portion of my abs. The way I've lost BF%, I am estimating that by 15% I should have a strong showing and by 13% I will be ripped.
    Wrong. Believe it or not, 6 pack abs does involve some genetics. Some don't see anything until they get in the 5-6% range.

    Define "ripped". In my mine, nobody is ripped at 13%. 10% you're getting there.

    I think it also is determined by the method, and accuracy of the method of how you determine your body fat %. When my abs started showing my calipers had me at about 10%, but the Tanita scale at my gym told me I was at 6%.
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
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    I'm at 9.5% body fat and still don't see my abs.

    This is where Core work helps. You should see abs at 10-12% easily if you put in core work. The only way I can believe you are truly at 9-10% BF and not see abs is if you dont put any strength training into your exercise routine.

    I'm currently at 20% BF down from 24% and I'm seeing the top portion of my abs. The way I've lost BF%, I am estimating that by 15% I should have a strong showing and by 13% I will be ripped.
    Wrong. Believe it or not, 6 pack abs does involve some genetics. Some don't see anything until they get in the 5-6% range.

    Define "ripped". In my mine, nobody is ripped at 13%. 10% you're getting there.

    Genetics is definitely a factor but so is building up the muscles. Obviously the larger the muscles the sooner they will show through the fat. Abs and obliques are muscles and can increase in size with training but like others have stated above getting them to show is far more about body fat percentage than growing them larger.

    You can get them to show by leaning out. You can get them to show faster by leaning out and training them. How much faster? Who knows. : )
  • TheTrimTim
    TheTrimTim Posts: 222 Member
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    Thx guys for all of the advice. There's lots to take in but one thing I can do pretty easily is drop my calories. I'm thinking of going to 1800, which I used to maintain 8 weeks or so ago.

    Regarding reducing sugar, is there a gram amount I should aim for, or not exceed? I'm at around 50-75g/day now, most of which is via dried fruits or sugar in protein bars.

    I'll check out HIIT and examine my cardio too.
  • strikerjb007
    strikerjb007 Posts: 443 Member
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    I did P90X and I followed a fat shredder diet with 1900 calories. It worked.

    TeamRIPPED???


    Abs are made in the kitchen... Stick to a strict calorie deficit, stay active to help burn more calories (the gym work you're doing is fine), and BE PATIENT. for most males you'll have to get to 10% to start seeing abs and often times the stomach is the last place the fat is lost.

    Yep!
  • fenrirGrey
    fenrirGrey Posts: 110 Member
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    I'm at 9.5% body fat and still don't see my abs.

    This is where Core work helps. You should see abs at 10-12% easily if you put in core work. The only way I can believe you are truly at 9-10% BF and not see abs is if you dont put any strength training into your exercise routine.

    I'm currently at 20% BF down from 24% and I'm seeing the top portion of my abs. The way I've lost BF%, I am estimating that by 15% I should have a strong showing and by 13% I will be ripped.
    Wrong. Believe it or not, 6 pack abs does involve some genetics. Some don't see anything until they get in the 5-6% range.

    Define "ripped". In my mine, nobody is ripped at 13%. 10% you're getting there.

    Genetics is definitely a factor but so is building up the muscles. Obviously the larger the muscles the sooner they will show through the fat. Abs and obliques are muscles and can increase in size with training but like others have stated above getting them to show is far more about body fat percentage than growing them larger.

    You can get them to show by leaning out. You can get them to show faster by leaning out and training them. How much faster? Who knows. : )

    Maybe I am not at 9.5% body fat. I am basing this off of the hand held body fat calculator. I know they are not accurate. But you can see the pics on my profile. You *can* see the upper abs but when I say you cannot see them, I meant you cannot see them without me trying to flex/suck my tummy :)
  • dave4d
    dave4d Posts: 1,155 Member
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    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M957dACQyfU
  • nml2011
    nml2011 Posts: 156 Member
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    I would get rid of the cereal, the fat burners, BCAA (unless you train fasted) and push your carbs to the evening as per carb backloading (by Keifer), this protocol which will get you to 10%.

    Eat more meat and veg for breakfast (eggs, bacon, salmon, onion and spinach is good) and try and keep carbs low in the AM unless you train in the morning when you want to have a post workout shake with carbs.
  • bsharrah
    bsharrah Posts: 129 Member
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    Bump to read later.
  • TheTrimTim
    TheTrimTim Posts: 222 Member
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    My last measurements were: 69kg, 5'11", 32.8inch waist (around belly button) and 34inch hips. They have been at this point for a good 8 weeks.

    Using http://www.bmi-calculator.net/body-fat-calculator/ I'm currently at 19% body fat.

    I need to thank you all of your input so far. However, I received some interesting information today. Our gym has a new multi-function scale, the Davivendy (http://www.davicia.com/multifunctional-scales/davivendy-multifunctional-scale), and my PT used it today to measure my weight, height, BMI and body fat %, body fat mass.

    According to the Davivendy, my weight is 70.8kg (11st 2lb), height is 1.78m (5'10"), my BMI is 22.3, body fat is 12.2% and body fat mass is 8.6kg. The body fat % it measured is very different to the body fat %'s I've been calculating using web tools. In the first post in this topic, as shown above, was nearer 19%. There's a big difference between 12.2% and 19%.

    The thing is I'm tempted to believe the Davivendy.

    Based upon this, I wonder whether the advice I've received needs to be re-adjusted. Using my 12.2% body fat %, I'm much nearer the overall % that is needed to "see" abs. And perhaps I don't need to reduce my calorific intake after all, keeping it nearer 2250/day than the 1800/day that I was considering reducing to. In fact, my PT says I should increase my calories!
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
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    Sorry I gave the best advice I could already. It really wouldnt change no matter what your body fat % was at.
  • TheTrimTim
    TheTrimTim Posts: 222 Member
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    Sorry I gave the best advice I could already. It really wouldnt change no matter what your body fat % was at.
    Understood. But with a 12.2% body fat %, do I still need to be in a calorific deficit? Or just keep around the 2250 calories I was eating per day? I was thinking of reducing to 1800 calories per day, but I'm not sure if that's a good idea. As I say, my PT says I should eat more.
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
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    If you are happy with your body fat % then raise your calories up to maintenance or a surplus to gain weight. If you want to lose body fat you will need to be at a deficit. The actual calorie number will depend on how much you burn.
  • TheTrimTim
    TheTrimTim Posts: 222 Member
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    If you are happy with your body fat % then raise your calories up to maintenance or a surplus to gain weight. If you want to lose body fat you will need to be at a deficit. The actual calorie number will depend on how much you burn.
    Can I be really dull and double check that you are saying that to loose FAT and replace with MUSCLE and to maintain a constant weight, I need to be in deficit?

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