‘Six-pack Abs’ are considered the international benchmark of a fit physique by many, and while generally speaking, lean abs are associated with healthier bodies, in reality this level of fitness is more about rocking an aesthetically appealing physique than it is a requirement for health & wellness, or a strong core.
In fact most of us should know by now that we all have ‘six-pack abs’ hiding under there somewhere, and that it is just a matter of revealing them by reducing the subcutaneous layer of fat lying over top of and obscuring them. Furthermore, we should all know by now that we cannot spot-reduce this layer of body fat, no matter how many abdominal exercises we do, but rather we most reduce our overall body fat % to approximately less than 8% to begin revealing our abs, through a combination of diet, exercise and genetics. Of course having visible lean-abs and having as strong core usually go together, but not always. One can have very strong core yet look as soft as a baby seal, and vice versa - one can have the most shredded abs ever, yet be as weak as this same baby seal, (I apologize for the lame analogy).
 |
| This article was originally written for & printed in Four EL magazine, OCT 2013 issue. Photo by Cory Sorensen |
