Target Body Fat Percentage for Six-Pack Abs: A FAQ

Target Body Fat Percentage for Six-Pack Abs: A FAQ

Author: Patrick Mannson

Here are some Frequently Asked Questions about the body fat percentage you need to achieve to have six-pack abs.
Q: What factors determine if abs are visible?
A: Three factors determine whether or not you will exhibit six-pack abs, regardless of how much you work out. They are your gender, your genetics, and your overall body fat percentage.
Q: Why does my gender matter? Are you sexist or something?
A: No sexism here. Gender matters because men and women are different. Women tend to distribute their body fat more evenly than men. That means they can generally have a higher body fat percentage than men while still showing off their great abs. That's good, because women naturally have a higher body fat percentage than men, perhaps because of the evolutionary need to have babies. Men, on the other hand, tend to have a lower body fat percentage than women, but store more of that fat around their middles, meaning they need a lower percentage for their abs to be fully visible.
Q: Why does genetics matter?
A: Genetics matter because within the bounds of our gender, our genes control the relative distribution of body fat. As we noted before, women tend to distribute their body fat more evenly. But this isn't some rigid rule of nature. Some women tend to store more fat around their middles than others. For these women, a lower body fat percentage will be needed to get their abs to be visible. Likewise, genetics affects how much of his body fat a man will store around his middle. Those guys who genes cause their bodies to distribute their fat more evenly, or to store it in areas other than the abdomen can have visible abs with a higher body fat percentage than those whose genes prefer storing fat in the middle.
Q: Why are you still beating around the bush? What are the numbers?
A: With all that stuff about determining factors out of the way, let's talk about the numbers. If you are a woman, you need to get your body fat percentage down to no more than 17%. Getting to 14% would be even better, and should get you results, even if your genetics are against you. Guys have to hit more ambitious goals. For a guy to have clearly visible six-pack abs, he needs to get is body fat percentage down to no more than 11%. 8% would be even better.

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