Women with six-pack abs

lulabellewoowoo
lulabellewoowoo Posts: 3,125 Member
edited October 2 in Fitness and Exercise
Can someone please explain the process of how a woman can get six-pack abs? I keep reading on the internet that it isn't possible, and yet I'm seeing evidence on this site of some beautiful women with awesome abs. Is it really just a matter of losing the fat around the belly to be able to see what is underneath? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
«1

Replies

  • xraychick77
    xraychick77 Posts: 1,775 Member
    you have to get down to at least 15% body fat in order for you to see abs.
  • babyblake11
    babyblake11 Posts: 1,107 Member
    you NEED to do high intesnsity exercise like running.
    and then some ab exercises dont hurt, and strength training.
    they will stand out more with less of a calorie defecit.
    they are muscles, they need fuel.
    i dont have a six pack yet, but im getting there i can see the definition coming through.
    i do 2xdays taekwondo and 3xdays treadmill or jogging.
    i also do strength training 3xdays a week.
  • Zuznana
    Zuznana Posts: 284 Member
    I've had a start of a six pack 25 days into 30 day shred...........then life got in a way and now I'm at the start of my journey again...also, I was at 61 kg then and am about 168 cm tall (just for a reference of my size)
  • LickyNees
    LickyNees Posts: 101 Member
    www.bodyrock.tv
  • Elleinnz
    Elleinnz Posts: 1,661 Member
    This girl has had an amazing transformation

    http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
    you have to get down to at least 15% body fat in order for you to see abs.

    Which is unhealthy for women. We need a minimum of 17% body fat for basic function such as reproductive health. Most women stop menstruating when their BF falls below about 18%
  • seashell5
    seashell5 Posts: 14
    hi im just learning all this suff -

    is % of body fat your bmi?

    ;-)
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
    you have to get down to at least 15% body fat in order for you to see abs.

    Which is unhealthy for women. We need a minimum of 17% body fat for basic function such as reproductive health. Most women stop menstruating when their BF falls below about 18%

    I heard it was around 12% that was the minimum a woman needed to be healthy. Not going to say I know loads about it because I don't but I've read a few articles about it, saying around 12, and one that had a table showing the body fat %'s of different athletes and alot of them were 15-18%. Also, female bodybuilders go alot lower, I don't know about the state of their health at the time, I'm guessing it's not that great but they usually go 10-12% I think (although only for short periods of time) My lowest recorded body fat was 16.3% but I wasn't unhealthy in the slightest, periods were regular, didn't have a 6 pack. My BMI was 19-20.

    This isn't where I read it previously but http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_fat_percentage but here says essential fat in women is 8-12%
    Also, http://www.leighpeele.com/body-fat-pictures-and-percentages here is a site which shows roughly what a person will look like at different body fat %'s. Obviously it differs depending on how much muscle mass you have.
  • louisee294
    louisee294 Posts: 140 Member
    This girl has had an amazing transformation

    http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

    wow thanks for posting this, I enjoyed reading it!!
  • Coltsman4ever
    Coltsman4ever Posts: 602 Member
    hi im just learning all this suff -

    is % of body fat your bmi?

    ;-)

    No. Percent of body fat means what percentage of your total weight is from fat.
    BMI is a scale used to give you a general idea of your weight ratio and is pretty inaccurate, in my opinion.
  • PBJunkie
    PBJunkie Posts: 652
    hi im just learning all this suff -

    is % of body fat your bmi?

    ;-)

    No your BMI (Body Mass Index) is the weight in comparison to your height, which is actually useless to compare your weightloss against as muscle weighs more than fat. For example a bodybuilder might be weighing 90kgs of solid lean muscle but due to being short his BMI will indicate that he is obese...which is not true.

    Your bodyfat is just the percentage of fat that your body contains.
  • PBJunkie
    PBJunkie Posts: 652
    No. Percent of body fat means what percentage of your total weight is from fat.
    BMI is a scale used to give you a general idea of your weight ratio and is pretty inaccurate, in my opinion.

    Doc you beat me to it
  • dmpizza
    dmpizza Posts: 3,321 Member
    You have to be very lean and have great muscles under neath ready to be exposed. HOWEVER, many people will not show a 6 pack, no matter how fit they are.
    It doesn't mean you shouldn't try though.
  • Coltsman4ever
    Coltsman4ever Posts: 602 Member
    No. Percent of body fat means what percentage of your total weight is from fat.
    BMI is a scale used to give you a general idea of your weight ratio and is pretty inaccurate, in my opinion.

    Doc you beat me to it

    My bad.
  • PBJunkie
    PBJunkie Posts: 652
    My bad.

    No harm done, you explained it better anyway
  • lulabellewoowoo
    lulabellewoowoo Posts: 3,125 Member
    WOW, this is why I love this site. You guys are awesome. Thanks for all the suggestions and web sites. 15% body fat sounded about right from what I had learned. My husband says I have a four-pack, but I have to be positioned just right for them to peek out.

    Quick question since you all are so helpful: I have heard a lot that muscle weighs more than fat. Does one lb of muscle weigh the same as one lb of fat, only more dense? Is it that somehow 1 lb of fat converts into 2 lb of muscle? Any thoughts?
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
    you have to get down to at least 15% body fat in order for you to see abs.

    Which is unhealthy for women. We need a minimum of 17% body fat for basic function such as reproductive health. Most women stop menstruating when their BF falls below about 18%

    I heard it was around 12% that was the minimum a woman needed to be healthy. Not going to say I know loads about it because I don't but I've read a few articles about it, saying around 12, and one that had a table showing the body fat %'s of different athletes and alot of them were 15-18%. Also, female bodybuilders go alot lower, I don't know about the state of their health at the time, I'm guessing it's not that great but they usually go 10-12% I think (although only for short periods of time) My lowest recorded body fat was 16.3% but I wasn't unhealthy in the slightest, periods were regular, didn't have a 6 pack. My BMI was 19-20.

    This isn't where I read it previously but http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_fat_percentage but here says essential fat in women is 8-12%
    Also, http://www.leighpeele.com/body-fat-pictures-and-percentages here is a site which shows roughly what a person will look like at different body fat %'s. Obviously it differs depending on how much muscle mass you have.

    I know a lot of athletes have lower BF%s, but in general reproductive health begins to be compromised if you go below 17%. I know my periods stop when I get below that.
  • PBJunkie
    PBJunkie Posts: 652
    I know a lot of athletes have lower BF%s, but in general reproductive health begins to be compromised if you go below 17%. I know my periods stop when I get below that.

    True as your body is burning essential fat that is vital for you reproductive system and other organs.
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
    These are the WHO recommendations for optimal health http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/library/blbodyfatcharts.htm
  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,686 Member
    Quick question since you all are so helpful: I have heard a lot that muscle weighs more than fat. Does one lb of muscle weigh the same as one lb of fat, only more dense? Is it that somehow 1 lb of fat converts into 2 lb of muscle? Any thoughts?

    A lb of anything weighs a lb - be it lead, fat, muscle or sofa pillows. A lb of muscle takes up less space(volume) than a lb of fat - just as a lb of lead takes up less space than a lb of sofa pillows.

    So - you could, in theory train like a demon, not loose any weight, put on muscle at the same rate as loosing fat, and weigh the same, but be a size smaller in your clothing...
  • seashell5
    seashell5 Posts: 14
    so how do i calculate my body fat %

    thanks for all ya help peep's

    ;-)
  • lulabellewoowoo
    lulabellewoowoo Posts: 3,125 Member
    A lb of anything weighs a lb - be it lead, fat, muscle or sofa pillows. A lb of muscle takes up less space(volume) than a lb of fat - just as a lb of lead takes up less space than a lb of sofa pillows.

    So - you could, in theory train like a demon, not loose any weight, put on muscle at the same rate as loosing fat, and weigh the same, but be a size smaller in your clothing...

    So why do "people" often say that muscle weighs more than fat? What is the idea behind that. Does fat somehow convert differently when turned into muscle?
  • PBJunkie
    PBJunkie Posts: 652
    so how do i calculate my body fat %

    thanks for all ya help peep's

    ;-)

    There is numerous ways of calculating it, some is by measurements with a formula which is a ballpark figure so not entirely accurate and the other way is by using calipers. If you have money to spend and you want to be dead accurate there is a method (Cant recall the name) where they float you in the water...
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
    A lb of anything weighs a lb - be it lead, fat, muscle or sofa pillows. A lb of muscle takes up less space(volume) than a lb of fat - just as a lb of lead takes up less space than a lb of sofa pillows.

    So - you could, in theory train like a demon, not loose any weight, put on muscle at the same rate as loosing fat, and weigh the same, but be a size smaller in your clothing...

    So why do "people" often say that muscle weighs more than fat? What is the idea behind that. Does fat somehow convert differently when turned into muscle?

    Muscle weighs more than fat in the sense that a cubic inch of muscle weighs around 3 times as much as a cubic inch of fat. It would be more accurate to say muscle is more dense than fat.
  • PBJunkie
    PBJunkie Posts: 652
    So why do "people" often say that muscle weighs more than fat? What is the idea behind that. Does fat somehow convert differently when turned into muscle?

    Take note that a bucket of muscle will weigh more than a bucket of fat...

    That is why a fat person can weigh as much as a muscular person or less...yet they look different
  • Coltsman4ever
    Coltsman4ever Posts: 602 Member
    so how do i calculate my body fat %

    thanks for all ya help peep's

    ;-)

    There are scales available that you can buy for home pretty inexpensively that measure body fat. There are little metal pads that you stand on and it sends a small current through your body (don't worry, it's not dangerous) and because electricity travels at a different rate through fat than it does muscle, it can give you a ballpark figure of your body fat %. It's not as accurate as calipers or going to a doctor to have it checked but it will give you a decent estimate.
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    you NEED to do high intesnsity exercise like running.

    Beg to differ on this point.. I don't run, never have and never will. I walk on the treadmill though at an incline, at a pretty brisk pace and I'm starting to get a six pack.. so no, she does NOT need to run.. she can do other cardio, and still get the same affect.

    To OP:
    A good clean diet, combined with some cardio and some weights will make the abs show.. but it takes hard work!
  • jem728
    jem728 Posts: 88
    bump
  • Dandersonjr32
    Dandersonjr32 Posts: 73
    6 pack abs are more about diet than anything else. You need to get your body fat down to a ridiculously low level to see them. Although impressive, I don't think a woman needs a 6 pack to look sexy.
  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,686 Member
    A lb of anything weighs a lb - be it lead, fat, muscle or sofa pillows. A lb of muscle takes up less space(volume) than a lb of fat - just as a lb of lead takes up less space than a lb of sofa pillows.

    So - you could, in theory train like a demon, not loose any weight, put on muscle at the same rate as loosing fat, and weigh the same, but be a size smaller in your clothing...

    So why do "people" often say that muscle weighs more than fat? What is the idea behind that. Does fat somehow convert differently when turned into muscle?

    Er, offhand, because "people" aren't educated properly.....
This discussion has been closed.

Categories