NSCA-certified personal trainer, chiropractor, and owner of Movement Upgraded Ryan Hosler said: For men, if you're around six to 17 percent body fat, your abs should be noticeably visible. For women, the range is 14 to 24 percent body fat.
But what is an ab crack? It's simply a defined vertical line that runs down the center of the stomach. The "trend," if we can even call it that, boils down to a body being both extremely lean and genetically inclined. Called the linea alba, those with ab cracks typically have a body fat percentage of under six percent.
Genetic Differences. "Not everyone is destined to have a washboard stomach or an 'ab crack,' no matter how hard they work out, or how little they eat," says Health's medical editor Roshini Rajapaksa, MD, an assistant professor at the NYU School of Medicine.
However, on average, men typically need to reach a body fat percentage of around 10% or lower. In comparison, women must reach a body fat percentage of around 16% or lower to see visible abs.
It's quite simply result of genetics, lots of core work and a very strict diet, and all three of these things need to be present to achieve the ab crack look.
“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.”
For men, your abs will typically start to become visible at around 15%. But at 12% is when you start to really see some good definition with your six-pack. And at 10%, your six-pack is clearly visible and well defined. For women, I wouldn't recommend a “clearly visible six-pack” as being the goal.
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.
According to Allure, the ab crack is a vertical line extending from the ribs down the torso, often seen on very thin models like Bella Hadid and Jasmine Tookes.
To get V-cut abs, hit your lower core with 10-20 reps of leg lifts, hanging leg raises and reverse crunches every day. Mix in overall core exercises like side crunches and planks, as well as strength moves like bridges and lunges to balance out your overall look.
Between 14-18% Body Fat: 3 to 6 months to see your abs. If you fall within this range, you can get abs in a matter of months.
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.
For men, if you're around six to 17 percent body fat, your abs should be noticeably visible. For women, the range is 14 to 24 percent body fat. Definition will start to show on the higher end (17 percent for men, 24 percent for women), and your abs will become more sculpted as that number lowers.
A good body fat percentage for a female, might be around 20-30%, and for a male, 10-20%, however for athletes, this is likely to be lower, potentially 15-20% and 6-10% for females and males respectively.
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.
We're sorry to say, you'll see no signs of six-pack abs at 30 per cent body fat.
“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.
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.
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.
No matter who you are, the appearance of your abs is largely based on your genetics. “How visible they are, how they're shaped, whether they're aligned or crooked—it boils down to your DNA,” says Mike Israetel, Ph. D., sports physiologist and co-founder of Renaissance Periodization.
While we all have obliques and transversus abdominis muscles, having visible V lines isn't “normal” by any stretch of the word. Getting them requires hard work, pushing beyond your limitations and taking your workout routine to the next level.