7 minute abs, crunchmaster, power abs… There are so many programs out there selling you on the idea that they will be the ones to give you a six pack or a toned core for bathing suit weather. There are tons of programs promising that you’ll get visible definition by completing their series of workouts. But is it true?
Strengthening and training your abdominal muscles is a great thing, but building muscle doesn’t always result in the definition and visibility that people are seeking when they think of a six-pack or “abs.” (Which is also why you won’t appear “bulky” or hulk-like if you start lifting weights.) The critical part to someone having clearly visible abdominal definition is a low total body fat. That’s why my favorite saying is, “Abs are made in the kitchen.”
Now, everyone carries their body fat in different places, but the majority of us will have some fat along our abdominal wall or midsection. Anyone who has lost a fair amount of body fat also knows that we lose fat from different spots on our body when we are losing weight. For me the order is: low back, boobs, arms, hips, abdomen and lastly thighs. And this pattern is different for everyone. However, the thing that all the people selling you ab programs have in common is: good lighting and consistently low body fat.
So, if you want chiseled abs, for most, it’s going to take being in a caloric deficit over a certain amount of time to get your body fat percentage down to a range where you are seeing your muscle definition. Then, the definition of what you see as “defined abs” is also important in this conversation. The people selling you ab programs are likely at a body fat percentage that is difficult to maintain for most, because it’s so low. But, maybe all you want is to be able to squeeze your core down and see the vague outline of your abdominal muscles. It’s important to define this for yourself, because many times people have an aesthetic or body image related goals that are unclear, which typically leads to negative habits, behaviors and self talk. Having a clear, defined goal also helps a coach or someone who is working with you be able to set some expectations of what work is needed to reach the goal. For example, saying, “I want to fit in size 10 jeans” is a very clear goal. However, “I want to not be fat” or “I want to look jacked” are very generalized statements that are difficult for the coach or the client to know when the goal has been reached. Everyone’s definition of “jacked” is different in their head.
For me, being a woman that grew up in Southern California, aesthetic goals like “having abs” have never been a goal I could pursue without significant negative self talk. In fact, my aesthetic results came as a nice side effect when I was focusing on my athletic performance. When I was competing in Olympic Weightlifting and improving my gymnastics, I was very focused on eating and training to perform, which had the secondary gain of a lower overall body fat and therefore muscle definition. If you find yourself struggling with a negative self talk loop around aesthetic goals, it might be time to change your focus to a performance based goal like, “5 strict pullups.” The fun in changing your focus to performance is you may turn around and see your aesthetic goals looking back at you sometime in the future, when you weren’t even thinking of them.
Coach Sarah, FNP-BC, MSN