Q&A for: 5-Jan-06
1208. Q:
I am a 5'8' and 22yr old male.I have been training for around six months. I lift weights four times a week, and run or use the elliptical traing for almost five hours a week. I have a body fat percentage of less than 10% according the caliper measurements, but i can barely see my abs and only when i flex. The outline is very faint. What should i do to bring them out more. I simply can't run or do cardio anymore than I already do. I am sticking to around 2000 calories a days. Should I lower my calories or just weight traing on my abs more? i just thought for sure after six months months I would be able to see more than a small outline!!! It is really getting frustrating.
A:
Congrats on the six-pack you have now! Not many guys reach even this far, so you should be proud! You are now at or near your low body fat limits, so any kind of new progress will come very slowly -- that's the first thing you have to keep in mind. My recommendation is definitely to NOT lower the calories any more since 2000 is already pretty low for an active in-shape 22-year old.
Your program sounds pretty good already (I assume you're doing weight training for your whole body, including legs -- if not then read my Weight training article and choose from some of the programs it suggests), so the place to look for improvement is your diet. Read my Nutrition article and see if you can adopt some of its suggestions to improve your diet while keeping it around 2000 calories.
If you are already eating and exercising right then I would consider doing this... First bulk up to put on more weight muscle by eating more -- this will inevitably bring some new fat too so you won't be able to see your six-pack at all for awhile. Then, after gaining 10-15 pounds of muscle, go back to cutting the fat by dropping your calories enough to start losing weight again. By the time you lose enough weight to get back to your current level you'll have a bit more muscle and a bit less fat than now and that will make a big difference in the appearence of the six-pack.
The key to executing the above plan is VERY slow weight gain (1 pound every 2 weeks or slower) and, after you've gained 10-15 pounds, slow weight loss (1 pound every week or slower). The same nutrition article will tell you how to eat both for muscle gain and fat loss. Your weight training program need not change, though you probably want to cut down on running while you're trying to put on muscle. You will lose sight of your six-pack for a few months, but if you do this right it will reappear much more defined after 6-8 months or so when you're back at your current weight. Good luck!
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