A six-pack is the goal

U

underPAR

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I'm 5'11, 151 pounds. I've lost 40 pounds since last November. My entire life I have dreamed of having a six-pack. I eat 1800 calories a day, run 4 1/2 miles a day, and do lots of ab work.

Is there any ingredient I'm missing to achieve a six-pack? I feel like a 151-pound person who works as hard as I do should have a six-pack by now. Yet I still have a little bit of body fat covering it up. Any tips on finally breaking through and reaching my goal?
 
The last bit of fat is the hardest to shed. I would advise cross training (ie. mixing up your cardio) rather than just running. Do you do any weight training? Lifting weights would help increase your metabolism and therefore help you burn fat. Whats your diet like? I assume it must be pretty good as you have lost so much weight but, post it up here anyway - maybe it can be tweaked a bit. How much water do you drink? Staying well hydrated is one of the cornerstones of fat loss.

Do you know what your BF% is? You should start to see your abs at around 10%. As far as ab work is concerned, are you doing weighted excercises or just crunches etc? If you aren't already, get some resistance on those stomach muscles.

More info needed...
 
I feel the same way. I run every other day work out three and eat right. Four out of six abs for me. Our bodies sound like twins. Keep working and don't forget to rest I guess is the key. At least that is what I read.
 
Thanks for the suggestions so far, here is some more information, per your request.

Yes, I lift weights 6 days/week (I hit each muscle group twice).

I had been eating only 1500-1800 calories a day, but it's become evident to me that I need to increase that number by A LOT (I need to be eating around 2500 calories a day, and that is STILL 500 less than I can afford to maintain my weight). But up until now, I was getting 1500-1800 calories and about 100 grams of protein a day. I eat six meals a day, with my snacks averaging about 150-200 calories. I only drink water (occasionally I'll have almond milk on my cereal) - I haven't had anything but those two beverages for over six months. I don't EVER touch fast food and basically am just really strict with my diet. I also eat tons of fruit, perhaps 6 servings in a day (maybe too much?).

As for ab work, I do a pretty tough abs circuit on M W F, but not with any resistance. I generally try to focus on doing slow, concentrated reps with good form (for example, I do each crunch in about 4-5 seconds).

Oh, and I run 30-35 minutes at 7:45-mile pace 6 days/week.

I don't know my body fat %, although I really want to find out! How should I go about getting that tested? I would GUESS that I am currently somewhere in the 11-15% range (having started at surely more than 25%).
 
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underPAR said:
Thanks for the suggestions so far, here is some more information, per your request.

Yes, I lift weights 6 days/week (I hit each muscle group twice).

I had been eating only 1500-1800 calories a day, but it's become evident to me that I need to increase that number by A LOT (I need to be eating around 2500 calories a day, and that is STILL 500 less than I can afford to maintain my weight). But up until now, I was getting 1500-1800 calories and about 100 grams of protein a day. I eat six meals a day, with my snacks averaging about 150-200 calories. I only drink water (occasionally I'll have almond milk on my cereal) - I haven't had anything but those two beverages for over six months. I don't EVER touch fast food and basically am just really strict with my diet. I also eat tons of fruit, perhaps 6 servings in a day (maybe too much?).

As for ab work, I do a pretty tough abs circuit on M W F, but not with any resistance. I generally try to focus on doing slow, concentrated reps with good form (for example, I do each crunch in about 4-5 seconds).

Oh, and I run 30-35 minutes at 7:45-mile pace 6 days/week.

I don't know my body fat %, although I really want to find out! How should I go about getting that tested? I would GUESS that I am currently somewhere in the 11-15% range (having started at surely more than 25%).
Click to expand...

If you have already lost 40lbs and have been dieting for a long time...you're probably better to increase your calories and give yourself a break and then drop them back down to ~12xBW...but, it sounds like you're on the right track and you just need to diet a bit longer. Getting lean enough for abs is not always an easy task, and your body is going to fight you on it, especially if yu've already been dieting a while. Have you ever considered cycling your calories?

BTW....you can work your abs every day and every which way it won't make them appear any faster...it's all about your diet and how lean you are.
 
Just wanted to jump in here and ask a quick question and add a comment. My question is how old are you and are you male/female?

Comments: mix things up. I do not do my routines for more than 4-6 weeks. Your body is smart and it learns how to do your routine with less energy (AKA burning less calories).

If you are still losing body fat, then I wouldn't worry too much. You should get your body fat tested. There are lots of threads on here that explain why and how.

Seeing your abs is all about lowering body fat to very lean levels. That takes dedication to eating very very well and working out with an impeccable routine. Perhaps the thing most people overlook is that not everyone can get very lean and have a 6-pack.

Genetics plays a role as well. Now we can all have a flat tummy and feel great, but not every one of us can have a washboard stomach. Sorry :(

Either way (great genetics or not) focus on eating the correct amount of calories for your current weight/height/age/gender/goal and activity level. Abs are all about how much body fat you have.
 
yeah, i agree with everyone else, its all about the diet. before i started working out i had a better 6-pack but now:p but thats cuz ive been bulking, ive always been very cut so my abs still look nice:p maybe when im done bulking ill go cutting..:p
just eat right.. and yeah, you could probobly up your cal intake.. it sounded pretty low (though im no nutrition expert) and some people here have lost more weight after upping their cal intake a bit ;)
 
To answer the question, I am a 19-year old male. And I understand about the ab work - no amount of ab work is going to produce a six-pack. I only do abs 3 days a week.

Update:

For the last week and a half, I have significantly upped my calories (from ~1700 to ~2100-2200), lifted harder, and done less cardio. I don't know how or why, but I can see a SERIOUS difference already in my abdominal definition - I've never been able to see my abs in my life, and I can see the top 2 easily just standing normal, and I am starting to see the top 4. I've never seen any aspect of my body change so fast. So I plan to continue to up calories little by little, work out harder, and not over-do the cardio. Thanks for the advice so far, I can't wait to see how the next several months go!
 
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