Many people aspire to have flawlessly sculpted abs. On magazine covers and in feeds on social media, women with six-pack abs are depicted as beautiful and strong. The normal person, on the other hand, believes these ideals are out of reach and can only be attained via cosmetic procedures. More than half of people who regularly exercise (at least twice a week) say they’d be open to nonsurgical procedures (such as abdominoplasty or cool sculpting) to get a more defined midsection. Getting a flat stomach can be intellectually, physically, emotionally, and financially draining.
Rather than focusing on what the abs look like, shifting the focus to what they can perform might help us appreciate and cherish the human body.
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The Reason Why Abs aren’t Always Clearly Visible
Let’s take a quick look at the anatomy to understand why your abs may or may not be noticeable.
The four muscles that make up your abs are:
- The “six-pack” muscle, or rectus abdominis.
- Transverse abdominis muscles (a group of muscles that acts like a corset around your midsection.)
- Obliques, both internal and exterior (side abdominal muscles)
There are three layers to your skin: epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis, where your abdominal muscles reside (also known as the subcutaneous layer).
While the upper layers of skin are attached to muscle and fascia by the epidermis, the hypodermis is the fatty section of skin that stores energy (i.e., fat) and provides protection and insulation.
The hypodermis may be thick enough to hide your abdominal muscles from view because it’s located above them. Being overweight isn’t necessarily a bad thing; in fact, a healthy amount of body fat is essential.
Numerous physiological activities, including reproduction, hormone production, absorption and storage of vitamins, and temperature regulation, are dependent on a certain amount of body fat, especially in women.
Visible abdominal muscles are an indication that your body fat percentage is low enough to reveal the muscles beneath. Abdominal muscles may be more prominent in those who are physically fit.
Furthermore, genetics and hormones greatly determine where your body stores most of its fat. In other words, women tend to store more fat in their hips and thighs, whereas men tend to store more of their fat in their abdomens.
A woman’s body tends to accumulate fat in her stomach as estrogen levels gradually decrease with age, making it more difficult to maintain clearly defined abs.
Finally, your skin may be thick enough to cover your abs if you’ve lost more weight than normal. Whether or whether you can see your abs is ultimately determined by a variety of variables.
Focusing on appearances can be detrimental
One’s Mental State
Extreme dieting or an unhealthy concern with “healthy” eating, over-exercising, or poor self-talk and self-worth might result from an obsessive focus on beautiful abs. As previously said, numerous factors can affect whether or not you have visible abs.
Society has an impressive ability to pick and choose whether portions of a person’s body are their fault or solely reliant on the cards they’ve been dealt. This is fascinating.
If, for example, one person is 5’2″ (157 cm) and another is 6’4″ (193 cm), the difference can be explained by heredity. But unfortunately, it’s a common misconception that people with washboard abs are “less healthy,” thus, society tends to neglect the hereditary component of ab appearance.
To focus on what’s most important, which is that people enjoy and achieve their peak levels of health in their bodies, accepting the distinct — and fantastic — variances among people can be helpful.
This, however, is not something that can be “turned on” like a light switch. Dismantling social norms and attitudes on body image and what constitutes being “healthy” takes time and effort.
Seeing a skilled healthcare practitioner, such as a therapist or a registered dietitian specializing in disordered behaviors, is critical if you’re struggling with body image and fear you have or will develop disordered eating or exercise habits.
Why You Should Focus on Your Ability to Perform and Build Muscle
Having powerful abs can be used for a variety of things, including:
- Shifting and stabilizing our backbone (e.g., bending, lifting, rotating)
- Raising the pressure in the abdomen (e.g., during defecation, urination, or sneezing)
- Inhalation and exhalation
- Keeping your inside organs in place and safe
- Keeping a straight back
Our abdominal muscles keep our backs and spines from being overworked. You’ll be able to control and ease daily duties and exercises better if you have powerful abs.
It’s also a good idea to set specific and measurable goals so you can monitor your progress. For example, holding a plank position for a whole minute would be a great goal to strive for.
Aiming for a flat stomach is a common aim for many people. Still, it can be difficult to stay motivated when you don’t have a realistic target in mind.
As a result, instead of concentrating on how good your abs look, try to think about how they will help you in your day-to-day activities.
How to Get Six-pack Abs that are Both Powerful and Healthy
Here are some methods to help you improve your abs:
Offer a Range of Options
Different abdominal muscles are the focus of various ab exercises. The obliques are targeted with wood chops, whereas the transversus abdominis is targeted by dead bug exercises.
Isometric (static) Exercises Should Take Precedence
Bracing the abdominals and holding them for a long time is an isometric exercise (e.g., a plank). Stability and posture can be improved as a result of this. In addition, they’re the finest for simultaneously working all of your abdominal muscles.
When Doing Other Exercises Keep Your Core Tight
Compound workouts like squats and deadlifts, in particular, target your abs. Walking and running are some activities they participate in. Your spine will be better protected and strengthened by bracing your core.
Overdoing it Might be Harmful.
The temptation to do hundreds of crunches daily can lead to damage and delayed muscular pain, just like overworking any other muscle group (DOMS).
Don’t Rush Things
Slow down and focus on contracting your abs during your ab exercises. Reduce the danger of damage by focusing on the muscles you want to work with this way.
If you want to eliminate belly fat, you should know that ab exercises won’t help. Instead, you can only make a dent in your overall body fat, and that’s where your body will decide to lose weight.
The optimal strategy for effective fat reduction is to eat less than 10% of your calorie needs through increased exercise and a minimally processed diet rich in lean protein, fiber, and healthy fat.
Here’s the Bottom Line
Obsession with having perfectly sculpted abs is detrimental to one’s health. If you have visible abs, your body fat percentage, genetics, age, and any additional skin play a role. Some people have obvious abs and few, if any, health concerns, whereas others do not.
Some people can pay a high price for their desire to have the perfect abs. Instead, work on developing your core strength, which will improve your athletic performance and ability to carry out your regular activities.
Slowly but surely, you may let go of society’s obsession with a flat tummy and instead focus on the amazing things your body is capable of.
