The Female Ab Obsession

I have been wanting to blog in regards to this topic for a while, the female obsession of abs! 

One of my goals during my fitness journey was to achieve the "6 pack" however it became very clear this wouldn't happen for me.

I follow a lot of people on Instagram, and my pet hate is girls who post ‘Daily Ab Progress’ pictures, in different lighting, angles or times of the day.  I really don't understand the point in this? And your not showing a true representation against the photo you took the day before or the day before that?

Unlike men, women have many contributing factors that can effect "ab definition".  Genetically most women don’t develop a 6 pack as it requires a very low body fat percentage to show a level of definition.  The typical very lean women will develop 3 vertical lines of definition running down the middle and both sides of their stomach – this is the general equivalent of a 6 pack for a female.

Factors going against us obtaining a defined gridded 6 pack are:-

·         Your menstrual cycle starts around one week pre period, then you have the bloat on the week of your period, and for some the bloat can remain for a further week after your period

·         Women naturally have more body fat percentage than men due to our ability to produce another life.

·         We hold more body fat in our tummy area

·         Food sources effect women and men differently

·         Metabolic rate or previous metabolic damage.

There is no quick or easy way to get abs, it’s a hard slog of ‘smart’ training, reducing weight and body fat, cutting out junk food and booze COMPLETLEY! A change in diet and good nutrition plays a crucial role in obtaining abs for a female.

Contrary to popular belief Ab Workouts 7 days a week or 200 crunches per night does not get you a Six Pack!

On top of this once you do achieve your desired ‘abs’ you must then sustain this lifestyle that got you there in the first place!!!

I have learned to deal with fact that my top 2 abs pop all the time, my middle 2 abs appear in the morning until around lunchtime, and my bottom 2 abs I don’t think they exist!  I have never seen them, and the lowest body fat I have been to date is 10.2% and even then my middle 2 weren’t permanently out.

SUPER JELOUS of any female that does obtain a 6 pack (my sister is living proof this can happen and hers popped out at 12% Body fat!).. And worse still post baby those bloody abs are back and popping better than mine are right now! And am current sitting at 10.5%, 8 weeks out from competing!

Come on ladies, progress pictures need to show a true representation! If you want to share your "ab progress", show a true representation take the pics using same lighting, camera, position, time of day, once a week and make reference to any fluctuations / changes in diet, menstrual cycle, macros, cardio impact etc that week!  Make your progress pics valid!