What’s a healthy body fat percent for freaky abdominal definition?

The burning question is “What’s a healthy body fat percent for freaky abdominal definition?”

Are you looking for a six-pack, or are you just aiming to be in a healthy body fat range for a fit adult?

I’ll assume you’re after a body fat level that offers a least SOME muscle definition without having to look like a figure competitor. After all, most of us that train regularly and eat properly are already in what I’d consider to be the ‘healthy range’.

Firstly, I’m not talking about ‘muscle definition under perfect down-lighting’. I’m talking about muscle definition that is visible even WITHOUT perfect conditions (not even a tan Mr Orange County).

Unfortunately we are all different

Some people require sub 6% body fat to appear shredded, whilst others only need to get down to just below 10% body fat in order to reveal all six of those pesky little abs.

I train and eat right. What gives?

There are so many factors that come into play when you are trying to achieve low body fat levels. The simple fact of the matter is, some of us will NEVER get there.

You know why?

Because it’s fricken hard work. The diet-control, calorie restriction, non-alcohol drinking lifestyle is just too unappealing for most of the population.

What if i take fat burning pills?

Not a single fat burning tablet or crazy diet will get you even close to a six pack. It’s a combination of so many factors which creates ‘the perfect storm’ — that is being crazy-ripped.

How does one create the perfect storm?

1. You need to train like a bitch.
2. You need to up your water intake to flush the sodium from your body (probably double what you are now).
3. Cut out simple sugars completely. Potatoes, sugar itself, pasta. Only go for legumes, grains and anything that looks like cardboard.
4. Up your protein intake.
5. Avoid salt where you can (it’s already present in most foods).
6. Avoid drinking alcohol (tough one huh?).
7. Don’t drink soda, even diet variants (they are evil).
8. Limit your bread intake.
9. Drink coffee to increase your fat burning potential.
10. Incorporate some intermittent fasting into your regimen.

As you can see, the list can be exhausting. Not only that, but everyone reacts differently to all of these methods (based on their metabolic type) so it’s trial and error to begin with (until you know your metabolic type! More on that later).

What’s a healthy body fat percent for freaky abdominal definition?

Year round, I like to stay at approximately 10% body fat. It allows me to ward off infection and keep a bit of a 4-pack (under some quality down lights :)) without making too many lifestyle adjustments.
If i train hard around summer time, I can dip it to 8%.
This proves a little more difficult, as I tend to like my alcohol. I also find that If i go too low in the winter months, I pick up colds and flus very easily.

What about abs?

Not really. Abs aren’t the be-all and end-all of physique enhancement.
You can still look great without them (just look at the guy in the header of this page as an example).

But what about those dudes who have freaky abdominals?

The next time you see someone at the beach with a six-pack, don’t think for one second that they are ‘gifted’ — you can bet they’ve put in some serious hours at the gym and are complete food-nazis.
Also I bet they are grumpy as hell right now. Especially as you’ve got a six-pack of beers in your cooler and all they have is a bottle of water, oh, and an actual six-pack.

My bad.

Editor’s note:How lean do you like to stay year round? How hard is it to keep your body fat percent at a reasonable level? Comment below.