Arguably the most desirable muscle group to have dialed in is the abdominal muscles. Having ‘6-pack abs’ symbolizes many things and is one of the most visual representations of discipline a person can possess. One of the most common questions I see asked on Reddit and elsewhere online is how long it takes to get 6-pack abs. While some people and websites claim to have a one-size-fits-all answer to that question, in reality, there is no such thing.
The fact of the matter is that it is completely situational. For starters, some people have better genetics when it comes to abdominal muscles, which is true of all muscle groups. Some people are born with better-looking muscles whether they focus on developing them or not, abs included. Chances are you know someone who has great abs even though they don’t try that hard to develop them. Conversely, you also likely know other people who constantly do ab exercises, and yet they struggle to see meaningful gains.
Assuming that you don’t naturally have a six-pack, multiple factors will determine how long it will take for you to develop them. On a basic level, strong abs are made while properly exercising them, and they are revealed through proper nutrition and cardio work. Some people falsely assume that they can do ‘spot reduction’ in which they do ab exercises and it somehow burns the fat layered over their ab muscles, however, spot reduction is a myth. The same is true when people do a calorie-deficit diet, which can help reduce your overall body fat, but not necessarily one particular part of the body.
“When the body is in calorie deficit and begins metabolizing fat for energy, it doesn’t go to an area where the muscles are doing a lot of work in order to get additional energy resources. The body has a genetically programmed pattern by which it determines from what adipose cells to access stored fat energy.” states Arnold Schwarzenegger in his book The Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding (page 538).
Developing ‘washboard abs’ takes a consistent, comprehensive approach. People must properly exercise their ab muscles and consume sufficient protein in order to build their abdominal muscle mass in a balanced way. Additionally, you need to have a low enough body fat percentage to display those bulked-up ab muscles, and that is achieved through a combination of proper diet and cardio.
How underdeveloped your ab muscles are and/or how much belly fat you are dealing with when you start your ab goal journey will determine how long it takes to meet your goal. And even that is a bit of an oversimplification because genetics and your metabolism rate also play a role, among other things.
I encourage you to check out a recent article on this website focused on the best weight loss tips and strategies that will help you gain more important context to hopefully help you with your pursuits. Below is one of many videos on YouTube that has a great overall ab workout routine. Try it out, and look for more ab routines on YouTube. Thankfully, there are plenty on that platform to choose from 🙂
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