You should be able to see visible abs at around 17% body fat for men and 24% for women. Remember, they won't be well-defined, and you may only see the top 2 or 4 abs at this point. For a shredded 6-pack, you'll need to get below 10% for men and below 18% for women.
The body fat percentage needed to see your pack of abdominal muscles falls somewhere around 14 to 20% for women and 6 to 13% for men. However, the ideal body fat percentage for abs can look slightly different per person, depending on how you carry weight, where you typically store fat, and your fitness routine.
Women: Abs may be visible (or need a few more weeks)
At 15 percent body fat, you are in a very healthy place. Guys, your muscles are starting to show, you see definition in your arms, your legs, and now have a lower fat to muscle ratio. At this rate, men are probably 4 to 6 weeks shy of their goal.
At 20 per cent body fat, you're only seeing abs when twisting and in top-down light, but you're at a healthy point, and almost definitely have decent muscle building underneath your fat. A rough realisation is that some amount of fat will always be between your muscles and the world.
4-pack abs are when you have 4 distinct, visible, defined muscles in your stomach area. In most cases, these are the 4 upper abs, which flatten into a toned abdomen lower down as they taper into a V-shape down to the groin area. What is this? Usually, the visible abdominals are the two blocks above your navel.
“Genetically, some people may have more pronounced grooves than others, but you'll notice in the photos of these models, who are very lean, they don't actually have very developed abs,” says Orbeck. “They just have the groove, which means they are leaner than they are stronger in their core.”
“While a strong core is important for stability and functional movement, visible abdominal muscles should not be the sole measure of fitness. In fact, for some individuals, a pursuit of six-pack abs may indicate an unhealthy relationship with food or an overly restrictive diet.
Can you have strong abs under fat? Yes, you can develop strong abs under fat. The rectus abdominis is the section of the core that forms the traditional “6-pack” look, and even if these muscles are strong, they can still be hidden underneath a layer of subcutaneous fat.
There is more fat all around the body at the 30% level including waist, back, thighs, and calves. The waist looks larger relative to the hips, and the stomach will likely be protruding over the waist noticeably. There is no muscle separation.
Everyone has abdominal muscles, known as abs. These muscles may not be visible because of the fat around them. Some fat, called subcutaneous fat, is close to the skin's surface, but fat also exists deep within the abdominal cavity.
This is because upper abs are revealed first when getting into a calorie deficit, so they show up first. Secondly, stubborn belly fat seems to store more in the lower body fat area. So if you have any signs of stubborn belly fat or chronic inflammation, that area will be the first area to starts filling up.
Many people do not realize that only 2 percent of the world's population can claim to have six pack abs. With our current diets and food choices, obesity is on the rise and getting a lean, mean set of abs seems to be becoming more elusive.
Your Abdominal Muscles Aren't Thick Enough
If you have a trim waist and minimal body fat and you still can't see your abs, then you need to work on getting the Rectus Abdominis (your 6 pack muscle) thicker. You will never be able to see your abs if the muscle bellies there are weak and small.
It is the easiest and most effortless way to notice your progress on the journey to a washboard stomach. If your pants are fitting more loosely or if you have to tighten your belt, then you are losing fat around your stomach. You can see defined lines on the sides of your abdominal area (Oblique Muscles).
“Genes influence your physiology. Having symmetrical or asymmetrical abs has to do with your genes,” says Tamir. There are other factors that can influence how your ab muscles look, too, including conditions like scoliosis or training as a unilateral athlete, he adds.
For well defined six pack abs (when flexing) you'll likely need to be somewhere between 10-12% body fat, which is quite lean and not easy to accomplish for most. In most cases, if you think you have low body fat but no abs, the simple truth is that you don't actually have "low body fat" to begin with.
14% to 17% Body Fat
You might see the upper two abdominal areas, but the bottom abs probably aren't coming in as much. You have some separation and hardness of the muscles all over and slight vascularity, but everything isn't dug out quite as deep.
If you have an average amount of fat, then it's going to take approximately 6 months to 1 year of fat burning and fitness training to see your abs. You'll want to focus on a calorie reduction diet, aiming to lose about 1-2% of your body fat per month. It's important not to rush.
“Yes, running can help give you defined abs,” said Todd Buckingham, Ph. D., exercise physiologist. But before you get too excited, it's important to note that running alone isn't enough to improve muscular definition in your midsection.
You don't HAVE to use cardio to get abs
You don't need to spend hours on the treadmill to build abs - but cardio can be a useful tool to burn fat and calories if fat loss is your goal. Just don't overdo it, says James.
Your abs are a muscle group that requires rest (just like any other muscle group) and training abs every day won't allow them adequate recovery. If you want to maximize the results from your ab workouts, then you need to ensure that you're giving them at least one full day of rest in between.