How to get abs (or not to get abs)
Amidst the growing rise of influencers in our day and age, we have come across a problem where people believe that you can get abs in a week. This is due to the click-batey titles out there across social media platforms — I’m looking at Youtube, Instagram, Tik Tok, for example — to promote the very idea that people can achieve a “beach body” with washboard abs and a thin waist in a very short amount of time.
If you’re reading this right now, you are probably interested in getting abs, or actually understand that getting abs in a week is impossible if you have a higher percentage of body fat. For the latter, the reality is that getting abs take a long time, requires work and dedication, and a small body fat percentage to make them look visible. For anyone who is trying to promote that you can get abs in a short duration (or do anything in a short time, such as lose weight, etc.), that person is probably asking you to click on their ad, video, or website to buy their fitness program. It is very easy to fall for this but just do keep in mind that doing anything for a short amount of time will likely not yield long-term results.
How to get abs:
Lose fat
Do not confuse this with losing weight. Losing weight on a scale could mean losing water weight or even muscle. The goal is to lose fat to get those abs to be visible. How do you lose fat?
Eat at a calorie deficit
Fat loss can be done gradually through consistent exercise and eating at a calorie deficit. It is best to focus on these together, but if you must focus on one, I would go with the focus on nutrition first. Eating at a calorie deficit does not mean just eating one McDonald’s Big Mac with French fries and calling it a day. It does not mean you have to do intermittent fasting and starving yourself for a period of time. It also does not mean you have to go on the keto diet. Focusing on nutrition and eating nutrient-dense foods, allows for satiety which prevents binging on those cookies later when you didn’t have enough to eat for lunch. Learning about nutrition and food prep can be hard so if new to this, I would recommend speaking to a Registered Dietitian on your personal goals particularly if you have dietary restrictions or disordered eating.
A note about counting macros (carbs, fat, and protein food groups). If you are looking to explore counting macros, I would recommend it for a little experimentation and education. However, do keep in mind that this is just going to be approximate numbers. That squirt of ketchup on your fries might be 20 calories or 25 calories. Calories in raw food is different from cooked food. Do not drive yourself crazy over calorie counting and weighing your food on a scale. It’ll drive you completely bonkers not to mention that weighing food whenever you eat is time-consuming and um…abnormal.
Exercise
Exercise can help with being at a calorie deficit. This is going to vary per person based on fitness level, experience, where you exercise, and more. Here I basically focus on what makes me feel the best. Doing cardio will help with burning off excess calories you may have ingested. Exercise also has many benefits, not only for fat loss but also it elevates your mood, boosts your immune system, increases brain focus, and more. Staying in motion will help keep the body in motion. Make it a routine to go for a walk in the morning or commute to the gym to work out after work. Consistency is key here.
Notice I did not mention doing crunches. Ab work can help make those abs muscles “swole” and then become visible if you have little body fat, but that’s about it. Strengthening the core (muscles around the abs) can be helpful for your exercise routine, whether you fancy biking, swimming, kickboxing, you name it! Core strength can help in essentially all exercises so don’t cut out core work in your routine, but don’t intentionally do 500 crunches daily in hopes that it’ll get you abs. For myself, I find it helpful to include weight-bearing exercises (body weight exercises, calisthenics, weight lifting) into my routine to continuously work on my core in all types of these trainings.
Keep doing what you’re doing
Progress looks different for everyone. Some people may be genetically blessed and obtain their goal faster than you. It can be hard to focus when this happens and you may even give up. Just know that abs may not even be achievable for everyone as everyone stores their fat differently. Women will be able to visibly see their abs anywhere from 14%-24% body fat, but of course, this will be different for everybody. Also keep in mind that for women, it takes at least 20% body fat to maintain regular menstrual cycles[1]. Many women (and influencers) have revealed that irregular or loss of periods was a common thing if overtraining, not eating enough, or that body fat percentage dipped too low.
There is a lot of information out there that may tell you visible abdominal muscles is desirable. It is not necessarily healthy or fit, particularly if it comes at the expense of your health. Rather than focusing on the aesthetics, realizing on how much energy you have, how strong you feel, may be a better determinant that what you are doing is working for you.
[1] Sugar, J. (2020). What Body Fat Percentage Do You Need to See Abs? Experts Have the Answer. Popsugar. https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/What-Body-Fat-Percentage-Do-I-Need-See-Abs-45893702
