The Infamous 6 Pack

[Neb154]

Well I began this summer on a quest to achieve the infamous 6 pack. Unfortunately, I've become kind of stalled at the top 4 pack. I do a lot of core exercises and have trimmed my body fat to 5.3% (as of this morning). My question, will I ever be able to get a 6 pack? I don't want to lose much more fat on my body and I feel like that is the only improvement I can make. Any suggestions on specific lower ab exericses maybe? I guess I just might be one of those people who will never be able to get a visible one.

[Cayenne]

Neb,

Good luck in your quest. With all due respect, aware that it is your choice as to what to pursue, why is obtaining "the infamous 6 pack" so important ?

FWIW, at your height & weight, you are probably very thin. I'd bet most woman would prefer a man with some healthy size to a skinny man that is super cut.

Again, I respect your freedom to choose your goals. IMHO, the importance of health & performance far outweigh the importance of extreme abdominal definition.

In fact, I see the drive to obtain such features as a potentially unhealthy symptom.

[jbell]

This thread may help you:
http://www.c2forum.com/viewtopic.php?t= ... endary+abs

[RowtheRockies]

Neb154,

If you want to hit the lower abs, try doing hanging knee lifts. Hang from a pullup bar and bring your knees up as high as you can. This is the best excercise I have found for the lower abs.

Rich

[Neb154]

Neb,

Good luck in your quest. With all due respect, aware that it is your choice as to what to pursue, why is obtaining "the infamous 6 pack" so important ?

FWIW, at your height & weight, you are probably very thin. I'd bet most woman would prefer a man with some healthy size to a skinny man that is super cut.

Again, I respect your freedom to choose your goals. IMHO, the importance of health & performance far outweigh the importance of extreme abdominal definition.

In fact, I see the drive to obtain such features as a potentially unhealthy symptom.

I am not trying to obtain an unhealthy weight, rather, I am trying to keep my weight down for my on the water rowing. Since excess weight slows the boat down, I try and keep to a slim size. I am however, monitoring my body composition, keeping an eye on my body fat, trying to make sure it doesn't go to low. 5% is generally the cut off for "healthy" body composition and I am not trying to lose any more weight, as I mentioned in my first post.

The whole part on the "drive to obtain such features (a six pack)," is just a personal goal I set for myself. In rowing, especially for on the water, you need a very strong core (it is key to maintaining technique). Part of the way to tell that you have a strong core and are in a good lean shape, is to have a six pack (that way you know you have strong abdominals). Also, I am not going for "extreme abdominal definition" as seen with many male models. Most of those abdominals are the product of a heavy cut down in body fat to levels far below 5% for photoshoots.

I think the main point of your post is that I might be going down an unhealthy route, focusing solely on getting certain body features. I believe I am going down a healthy path, trying to make my boat faster while making sure that I am not in an unhealthy state by monitoring my body fat and weight (I ordered the skin fold calipers recently just so I could keep a closer tab on my body, in addition to weighing myself very frequently).

Edit :

An additional point: I was heavily obese a few years ago and in some ways the six pack has been a point at the end of the "road to fitness" that I have had for many years. I try and stay in highly competitive shape for rowing, and the six pack is part of that, but it also part of, one might say, "my transformation." I am doing my best to avoid unhealthy habits and I feel that I am, and I also think it is a good thing that there are people out there who are concerned and voice their opinions when they see posisble eating disorders etc. The impetus for my posting was mostly my questioning wether it was worth venturing farther in the quest for the six pack, or wether it was better to abandon it as it would be unhealthy to go on.

[Alissa]

Neb 154,

I don't want to discourage your efforts to maintain your "transformed" physique, but you are only 17, and may therefor not be done growing. You don't want to maintain too low a body fat %, as it might cause you not to reach your maximum potential height!

Please consider consulting with a dietician if you intend to restrict your intake further. It sounds like you are at a perfectly healthy weight now for your height, but allowing a little lee-way when you are still in "growth mode" might well be ok (I don't know, but think you should find out...)

Best wishes!

Alissa

[csabour]

With all due respect Alissa.

He is a rower, not a model.

You can't possibly pull those times if you're malnourished. This guy probably eats in excess of 3000 calories a day and frankly a 5 percent body fat composition is'nt meager for a guy. Girls, so they say, should have no less than 10 percent but for guys 5 percent is perfectly fine.

At his age, his height should have almost reached its maximum (at least in my case i havn't grown any all year). And again with the amount of energy that he takes in and expends his body is in a good shape to grow however much it wants.


Neb, if you want i can send you a PDF with tons of ab(lower ab) workouts.

[TabbRows]

Neb154...

Work on the whole core for rowing. To catch the prom queen extra sets of hanging knee lifts or Vs may do the trick.

But remember a large part of any muscle definition in terms of what is visible is hereditary. That's why you see small guys with shoulder and tricep definition that look like scaled down Mr Universes and big guys who can clean and jerk 300# wheels but have guts that look like Joe Barcolounger who's idea of a sixpack is usually cold.

And then there's the rest of us who work and struggle to get that LT245 spare tire down to a T125 but can't get beyond a P195 in size no matter how much we strave ourselves or how many different types of ab exercises we do.

[LJWagner]

I would think your body fat at 5% is a result of too few calories for too long.

Let the 6-pack worry go, and have a little more energy reserves. If you want to train more (hanging ab curls), eat a bit more too. You may gain 10 lbs, a 6-pack, a be a better athlete. Note how you feel after workouts.

Let the chubbier guys in the boat worry about weight loss, its called a team effort.

Back in the 70's, LWT boats had to average 155 lbs. My staying at a comfortable (for me) 145 lbs let the other three guys stay up around 157. Had I gained 5 lbs, they would have suffered to lose 2 each.

[Steelhead]

At 17, just keep rowing and training and a six pack will happen. The exercise suggestions for strengthening your core are solid, and everyone should be doing these. At 60, I have a beautiful six pack hidden under a layer of omega-3 fat. At 17, I didn't have to hide it.

All the advice is great, but the best advice I think is just have fun being 17 and kicking ass rowing. It sounds as though you are doing everything right if you have trimmed down from being "obese" to being fit. The six pack will happen, but genetics does play a key role. The goal is to be tough, mentally and physically.

A former Marine.

[runr/rowr]

I agree totally with mike, except for one thing.
There is no such thing as a former marine, Once a marine always a marine.
runr/rowr

[TomR]

frankly a 5 percent body fat composition is'nt meager for a guy. . . . Girls, so they say, should have no less than 10 percent but for guys 5 percent is perfectly fine.

There has been a lwt thread on the UK site and Naz Hazard turned up an excellent piece of information re requirements for those making weight for "sprint football." They must have at least 5% body fat.

Tom

[Steelhead]

I agree totally with mike, except for one thing.
There is no such thing as a former marine, Once a marine always a marine.
runr/rowr

I always have problems trying to figure out how to say it. You are correct.

Semper Fi

[Ducatista]

... frankly a 5 percent body fat composition is'nt meager for a guy.

Not meager, maybe, if the guy is a bodybuilder dieting down for a show. Aside from that, 5% accurately measured (which it often isn't) is mighty low. Ever heard of the Minnesota Semi-Starvation Study? The men involved ended their six-month deprivation at 4-5% bodyfat.

I can't imagine that percentage is conducive to packing on muscle mass, which probably won't help in the quest for those last two cans.

[mercv12]

I agree that the 5% body fat level can be anemic. On the other hand, Look at Clarence Bass - the author of the RIPPED series. His body fat level is very low AND he's very strong. His 6 pack is legendary. He also has a C2.