Can You Have Strong Abs Under Fat (Yes, Here's Why) – Fitbod (2024)

FAQs

Can you get abs to show through fat? ›

“There is also a significant boost you will get from training your abs in addition to watching your nutrition. Even at higher body fat percentages, you will be able to see your abs more clearly if you are willing to do some direct ab exercises and training.

Stand erect in front of a large mirror, then turn your shoulder toward the mirror. Relax your abdominal muscles. If you see a curving, rounded shape around your belly, then you have some extra fat. If you have perfect “six-pack” abs you'll literally see six firm, rectangular sections of muscle in your abdominal area.

Everyone has abdominal muscles, known as abs. These muscles may not be visible because of the fat around them. Some fat, called subcutaneous fat, is close to the skin's surface, but fat also exists deep within the abdominal cavity.

Check Your Posture

If your lower belly is pushing out, but your upper abs are lifted and supported, you might just have bad posture. Same holds if your upper abs are pooching out, but your lower belly is flat. If your abs are uneven, make sure your routine is covering upper and lower abs.

To be clear, you can build lean mass at any body fat percentage. Having high body fat doesn't impair your ability to grow muscles. But those muscles are not likely to show unless you get rid of some body fat first.

Genetics play a large role on shape and definition in abs. On the other hand, working your core makes your abs more bulky. The bigger your abs are, the more fat you can have and still visibly see abs.

A strong Core means a strong stomach. If you want to have flat belly and slimmer waist line, you should include exercises for the Core in your training! Actually every training should include squats, push-ups and planks, as they strengthen the entire body and activate and strengthen the abs.

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.

About 15% of the general population have 4-pack abs, while 2% can only ever achieve a 2-pack. Then, even rarer than the 2-pack is a total of 10 or even 12 abdominal muscles, meaning 5 or 6 bands of the connective fascia. These statistics are the same for men as for women, with the most common being 6-pack for everyone.

Visceral fat is belly fat found deep within your abdominal cavity. It surrounds important organs, including your stomach, liver and intestines. It's different than subcutaneous fat, which is fat just below your skin. Visceral fat is actually more dangerous to your health.

Why do I have an ab crack but no abs? ›

Can Everyone Get an Ab Crack? No, not everyone can get an ab crack. This is just one of those areas in which our genetics decide our fate. Some people can do ab workouts religiously and never develop an ab crack, while others can have an ab crack without working out.

People who are overweight do not only have more fat mass but also more fat-free mass [7]. With that, people who are overweight or obese are likely to have more muscle mass and to be stronger compared to people who are not overweight.

Yes, you can develop strong abs under fat. The rectus abdominis is the section of the core that forms the traditional “6-pack” look, and even if these muscles are strong, they can still be hidden underneath a layer of subcutaneous fat.

The upper abs are the first to show and the easiest to work, because most of the best-known abs exercises target them specifically.

Lie facedown on the floor, but instead of placing your hands beneath your shoulders as you would for a pushup, slide them forward until your thumbs are in line with the top of your forehead. Now try to push yourself up. If your back can stay perfectly straight, your core is solid.

According to his research, people who have lower levels of body fat put on muscle more easily than those with higher levels of body fat. Apparently, having higher levels of body fat makes it harder to build lean body mass.

Research shows the ideal fat percentage for men and women to gain muscle is 8-12% and 18-24%, respectively. The p-ratio describes what proportion of body weight gain is muscle.

Your ability to achieve a visible pack of abs — whether a four-, six-, or eight-pack — is largely determined by genetics. However, healthy lifestyle choices, like losing belly fat and exercising, can provide anyone with a fit and toned abdomen. A strong core also helps with overall strength and balance.

Why is my stomach toned but not flat? ›

Your genetics prefer storing fat in your stomach area

Visceral fat—the type of fat the body stores in your abdomen and around your intestines and is mostly responsible for keeping people from a flat belly—can be partly determined by genetics.

"The reality is while you are crunching your way to strong abs, you can actually be overworking your core and causing back pain and poor posture," she tells me, reiterating the importance of having a strong core, since it's the "main support for your spine, organs, pelvic floor, and entire body."

A good rule of thumb (and a safe one) is to aim to lose 1 to 2 percent of body fat per month. So, unveiling your abs can take anywhere from 3 months to 2 years. It really does vary.

Yes, lower abs are harder to get compared to upper abs. This is because upper abs are revealed first when getting into a calorie deficit, so they show up first.

Gaining weight solely in your stomach may be the result of specific lifestyle choices. The two S's — stress and sugar — play a significant role in the size of your midsection. Certain medical conditions and hormonal changes can contribute to abdominal weight gain.

Many people do not realize that only 2 percent of the world's population can claim to have six pack abs. With our current diets and food choices, obesity is on the rise and getting a lean, mean set of abs seems to be becoming more elusive.

Technically, everyone is capable of getting six pack abs because we all are born with this particular muscle. Some of us just have a bit more belly fat than others which can cover them up.

Your pants and/or shorts are looser in the waistline.

It is the easiest and most effortless way to notice your progress on the journey to a washboard stomach. If your pants are fitting more loosely or if you have to tighten your belt, then you are losing fat around your stomach.

If you eat too much and exercise too little, you're likely to carry excess weight — including belly fat. Also, your muscle mass might diminish slightly with age, while fat increases.

Why is my subcutaneous fat so high? ›

A non-healthy diet with high amounts of fatty foods and an inactive lifestyle are the main environmental factors that can contribute to an increase in subcutaneous fat. You may also have more subcutaneous fat if you have low muscle mass and don't do any aerobic activity.

Sometimes, It's a case of having poor ab genetics. Some people are more genetically inclined to lose weight quickly in the stomach area and have more pronounced, well-built abs at greater levels of body fat. There are people who can still have visible abs at 15% body fat, where others may need to hit a little as 6%.

Yes, it's a hard-to-miss attribute of many fit people (many of whom proudly let it show on Instagram or while working out in a sports bra). But the truth is that defined abs are not a requirement for fitness, don't come easily to a lot of people, and sometimes don't come at all—even to dedicated fitness pros.

Genetics. Genetics are the most likely cause of uneven abs, which are also referred to as staggered abs. With staggered abs, both sides of the rectus abdominis muscle are the same size, but the three segments on each side that make up the six-pack don't line up, creating an uneven effect.

A: The short answer is yes — it's possible for you to be both fit and overweight, even obese. What's really important to understand is what “fit” means and what “overweight” means relative to your health.

While being overweight is a precursor to obesity and, like obesity, can increase the risk of diabetes, heart attack and stroke, it's also possible to be overweight and still healthy, especially if you're free from chronic diseases like hypertension or diabetes.

Muscle is denser than fat, and as it is more compact within your body, as you gain muscle mass, you end up looking thinner, no matter your physical weight. So, if you've been doing a lot of strength training lately, it's likely this is the reason that you're looking fantastic but not dropping those numbers.

1) Obliques.

Pretty much everyone does the standard ab crunches, but crunches aren't going to develop your obliques. Your obliques are the muscles at the sides of your abs. You have both internal and external obliques and they are really big, potentially strong muscles that need specific exercises to target them.

Bicycle crunches

According to the study, the bicycle crunch was the most effective stomach exercise when analysing the muscle activity in the abdominals.

What are the 6 signs of a weak core strength? ›

When we're talking specifically about strengthening and building your ab muscles — not necessarily seeing them – "it can take anywhere from four to eight weeks, depending on what exercises you're doing and your eating habits," said fitness coach Nick Leyden, MS, CSCS. (More on those aspects later.)

At around 15 per cent body fat, men will tend to start seeing muscular shape and definition, while noticing changes in body composition and fat stores. Your arms and shoulders are more vascular too. You're now on-track for a six-pack.

There are many people who are obese but still have well-defined abdominal muscles. This is because having "fat abs" does not mean that you do not have any abdominal muscle definition; it simply means that your ab muscles are hidden under a layer of fat.

No matter how much isolation work you do, the vein will pop up only when your body fat percentage comes down to around 12 per cent. A real vascular vein is visible when you hit the single digit.

If you regularly perform abs workouts and back that up by eating a healthy diet, your upper abs will quickly start to emerge. Unfortunately the rest of your abs won't simply follow. The upper abs are the first to show and the easiest to work, because most of the best-known abs exercises target them specifically.

Common reasons for someone to have belly fat even when they're skinny is: Being too sedentary (inactive), which builds visceral fat around the organs and abdominal fat. Eating too many processed foods, which stores at the belly.

If you have been exercising and still have belly fat, you could be doing the wrong style training, your stress levels may be too high, or you may have an endocrine disorder like polycystic ovary syndrome. If you are still confused why you can't lose that stubborn belly fat, keep reading.