Jul 29, 2023 12:00:00

Why is it difficult to get 'six pack abs' divided into six?

'This year, I'm going to get six abs by summer!'

Richard Metcalfe , a senior lecturer in sports and exercise science at Swansea University in the UK, explains why it's hard to get six abs.

Why six-pack abs are so hard to achieve – and maintain
https://theconversation.com/why-six-pack-abs-are-so-hard-to-achieve-and-maintain-207952

'Six abdominal muscles' can be said to be a symbol of a muscular and healthy body shape, and it may be the first goal when waking up to muscle training and dieting. However, in reality it is very difficult to get six abdominal muscles, and it seems that it is not possible to break the abdominal muscles easily.

First, building muscle, including abs, requires a diet rich in protein, the building blocks of muscle, and regular weight training to promote muscle protein synthesis. Ingesting protein itself has been shown to stimulate muscle protein synthesis, and weight training before protein intake furtherincreases the amount and time of muscle protein synthesis. With this protein intake and repeated weight training, humans can grow muscles, including abdominal muscles.

The effect of weight training on muscle protein synthesis wears off 24-48 hours after exercise, so regular training is necessary to continue to boost muscle protein synthesis. Also, since muscle mass increases only in the areas where exercise is performed, if you want to train your abdominal muscles, you must perform training that puts an effective load on your abdominal muscles. According to Metcalfe, if you continue to take enough protein intake and weight training, muscle size will change significantly in a few weeks to a few months.

However, Metcalfe points out that weight training alone is not enough if the goal is not just to grow abdominal muscles, but to ``make six pack abdominal muscles visible''. Since there is subcutaneous fat between human skin and muscle, if you do not reduce the overall body fat percentage and thin the subcutaneous fat, even if you have muscular abs, it will not be visible.

In order to reduce body fat, it is necessary to create a state in which the calorie consumption exceeds the calorie intake, and in order to sufficiently reduce fat, it is necessary to continue the state of calorie consumption for several weeks to several months. Additionally, if you want to be so low in body fat that you can see your abs, you need to have a body fat percentage significantly below average.

A typical body fat percentage is 11-20% for men and 16-30% for women. According to Metcalf, if you want to show your abs, you need to keep your body fat percentage as low as 5-10% for men and 8-15% for women.

In other words, in order to get the '6-pack abs' that others can see, you have to balance muscle building by training and protein intake and body fat percentage reduction by dieting. It is quite difficult to achieve only one of these, but if you try to do both at the same time, the difficulty will increase further.

A 2016

study showed that if you eat enough protein, weight train, and continue to burn more calories than you take in, you can increase muscle while decreasing body fat percentage. . However, this requires doing a variety of weight training six days a week and consuming nearly three times the recommended protein intake.

Metcalfe points out that maintaining these habits is not only physically and psychologically difficult, but also takes a lot of time. Plus, muscles do wear off over time, so even if you cut back on spending time with friends and hobbies to get those six-pack abs, you'll still need to maintain a moderate amount of training and calorie intake to maintain them. must be adjusted.

In addition, if you continue to exercise in a state of insufficient energy, you will fall into a state of ' low energy availability ', which can lead to depression, decreased resistance to infectious diseases, increased risk of injury and poor bone health, and menstrual irregularities in women. It is said that there will be a negative impact on So, if you want six-pack abs, don't force yourself and sacrifice your happiness.

Indeed, maintaining good levels of body fat and muscle has health benefits, reducing the risk of disease and age-related muscle weakness. However, if you just want to live a healthy life, you don't need extreme exercise or diet restrictions to get six-packed abs. It is enough to combine some muscle training.

“The most important thing when setting fitness-related goals is to only do things that you enjoy and can sustain,” says Metcalf. 'Some people enjoy the challenge, while others are fine with more gentle exercise.'