​Why 92% of People NEVER Get Abs

Summary

The video script reveals that only a small percentage of American men, between 8-10%, possess visible six-pack abs due to high body fat percentages. It emphasizes the need for patience in reducing body fat to below 13-15% and the importance of maintaining a calorie deficit. It also discusses the role of genetics in abdominal appearance, the necessity of progressive overload in ab exercises, and the myth surrounding crunches leading to lower back pain. The script advises against relying solely on compound exercises for ab development and promotes dedicated ab workouts with heavy weights twice a week.

Takeaways

• 🔢 Only a small percentage of men in America have visible six-pack abs, with estimates ranging from 8% to 10%.
• 💪 Achieving visible abs requires a body fat percentage below 13%, with most people needing to be between 6% and 13%.
• 🕒 Patience is crucial as abdominal fat is one of the last areas to reduce, and it can take months of consistent calorie deficit to see results.
• 🔄 Continuously readjusting your diet plan is necessary as your body adapts and changes, requiring adjustments to maintain a calorie deficit.
• 🧬 Genetics play a role in the appearance of abs, with the number and arrangement of tendinous inscriptions affecting how abs appear.
• 🏋️‍♂️ Progressively overloading and developing the abs is essential for visibility, as the rectus abdominis responds well to increasing weight loads.
• 🙅‍♂️ Avoid relying solely on compound exercises for ab development; specific ab exercises are necessary for optimal growth.
• 📅 Training abs at least twice a week with heavy sets is recommended for growth, but avoid overtraining by allowing adequate rest periods.
• 🙅‍♀️ Don't fear crunches and sit-ups; they are effective for building the rectus abdominis when performed with proper form.
• 🔗 For a comprehensive approach to losing body fat and revealing abs, consider structured programs that include diet, exercise, and coaching support.

Q & A

What percentage of American men are estimated to have visible six-pack abs?

According to the Fitness Institute of America, only about 8% of men in America have visible six-pack abs. However, the American Council on Exercise suggests it could be as high as 10%.

What body fat percentage is generally required to have visible abs?

A body fat percentage between six and thirteen percent is considered the general range where one's body fat is sufficiently low enough to have abs pop and show.

Why do people often fail to see their abs despite efforts?

People often fail to see their abs due to impatience, not maintaining a low enough body fat percentage, not continuously readjusting their diet plan as they lose fat, and genetic factors that affect the appearance of their abs.

Why is it important to maintain a low body fat percentage to see abs?

Maintaining a low body fat percentage is crucial to see abs because a layer of fat covering the abdominal muscles prevents their visibility. The belly area is one of the last spots to release fat, requiring patience and consistent effort.

How should one adjust their diet plan as they lose fat and get leaner?

As one loses fat and gets leaner, they should readjust their diet plan by reducing calories and macros to continue burning body fat. This is necessary because resting metabolic rate changes as body fat decreases, and a calorie calculator may no longer accurately reflect the required deficit.

What is the role of genetics in the visibility of six-pack abs?

Genetics play a role in the visibility of six-pack abs through the number, thickness, and arrangement of tendinous inscriptions, which are tendons that run between the rectus abdominis muscle. These factors determine how the abs appear, even at a low body fat percentage.

How should one train their abs to enhance their visibility?

To enhance the visibility of abs, one should train them with progressive overload, using heavier weights over time, and perform multiple sets with six to ten reps. It's also important to focus on exercises that specifically target the rectus abdominis muscle.

Why is it a mistake to rely solely on compound exercises for ab development?

Relying solely on compound exercises like squats and deadlifts for ab development is a mistake because they do not provide the same level of activation for the rectus abdominis as direct ab exercises do. Compound exercises are not as effective for developing visible abs.

How often should one train their abs for optimal results?

For optimal results, one should train their abs at least twice a week with at least nine heavy, weighted sets during each session. This frequency allows for adequate training volume and recovery time, which are crucial for muscle growth.

Why is it incorrect to avoid crunching and sit-up movements when trying to develop abs?

Avoiding crunching and sit-up movements is incorrect because these exercises are essential for spinal flexion, which is a primary function of the rectus abdominis. Static exercises like planks, while beneficial for core stability, do not provide the same stimulus for building the rectus abdominis muscle.

What is the significance of training volume in muscle growth, particularly for the abs?

Training volume, which is the product of total sets, reps, and weight load used, plays a significant role in muscle growth. Studies show that training a muscle group more often, like twice a week, can lead to more muscle growth compared to training once a week.

Outlines

00:00

💪 Achieving Visible Abs: Challenges and Solutions

This paragraph discusses the rarity of visible six-pack abs among American men, with estimates ranging from 8% to 10%. It highlights the importance of low body fat percentages (6-13%) for abs to be visible. The text emphasizes the need for patience in achieving a low body fat percentage, as the abdominal area is one of the last to lose fat. It advises against getting demotivated and quitting a calorie deficit diet, as this can lead to regaining fat in the abdominal area. The paragraph also addresses the need for continuous adjustment of diet plans as body fat decreases and metabolic rates change, suggesting reducing calorie intake by 200-300 calories per day when hitting a plateau.

05:02

🏋️‍♂️ Developing Abs Through Progressive Overload and Specific Training

Paragraph 2 focuses on the可控 factors in developing abs, such as progressive overload and specific ab exercises. It criticizes the common mistake of neglecting ab training with free weights and relying solely on compound exercises. The paragraph stresses the importance of training abs with specific exercises like weighted decline sit-ups and leg raises, aiming for multiple sets with heavier weights. It also discusses the significance of training volume and recommends training abs at least twice a week with sufficient sets and reps. The paragraph dispels myths about crunches causing back pain and advocates for full-range-of-motion exercises to effectively build the rectus abdominis.

10:03

📈 Six-Week Shred: A Comprehensive Approach to Fat Loss and Abs Visibility

The final paragraph introduces a free six-week shred program designed to help individuals lose body fat and reveal their abs. It includes a personalized meal plan, a recipe book, a workout plan with a dedicated ab workout, and coaching support. The paragraph serves as a call to action, encouraging viewers to participate in the program for a streamlined approach to achieving their fitness goals.

Keywords

💡Six-pack abs

Six-pack abs refer to the well-defined muscles in the abdominal region, which appear as six distinct sections when the body fat percentage is low enough. In the video, it's mentioned that only a small percentage of men in America have visible six-pack abs, highlighting the importance of low body fat and muscle definition as key factors in achieving this appearance.

💡Body fat percentage

Body fat percentage is the proportion of fat in relation to total body weight. The video emphasizes that having a low body fat percentage, typically under 13 to 15 percent, is crucial for visible abdominal muscles. It's noted that most people have higher body fat percentages, which prevent the visibility of abs.

💡Calorie deficit

A calorie deficit occurs when an individual consumes fewer calories than they burn, leading to weight loss. The video script explains that maintaining a calorie deficit is essential for reducing body fat and eventually revealing abs, as the body will utilize stored fat for energy when calories are limited.

💡Patience

Patience is the ability to endure waiting, delay, or frustration without becoming agitated or upset. In the context of the video, patience is highlighted as a key virtue for those aiming to achieve visible abs, as it can take months of consistent effort and adherence to a calorie deficit to reduce body fat sufficiently.

💡Adaptive thermogenesis

Adaptive thermogenesis is a physiological response where the body adjusts its metabolic rate in response to changes in energy intake or expenditure. The video mentions that as individuals lose fat, they may experience a decrease in their resting metabolic rate due to adaptive thermogenesis, necessitating adjustments in their diet to continue losing body fat.

💡Tendinous inscriptions

Tendinous inscriptions are the bands of connective tissue that separate the muscles of the rectus abdominis, giving the appearance of a six-pack. The video explains that the number and appearance of these inscriptions are largely determined by genetics, meaning that not everyone can achieve the classic 'six-pack' look, even with low body fat.

💡Progressive overload

Progressive overload is a training principle that involves gradually increasing the stress placed upon the body during exercise to cause adaptation and improvement. The video suggests that applying progressive overload to ab exercises, such as increasing weight or resistance, can help develop the abdominal muscles and improve their visibility.

💡Compound exercises

Compound exercises are those that involve multiple muscle groups or joints during a single movement. The video script points out that while compound exercises like squats and deadlifts can contribute to overall fitness, they may not be sufficient for directly targeting and developing the rectus abdominis to achieve visible abs.

💡Isometric exercises

Isometric exercises involve maintaining a static position without changing the joint angle, typically to build strength and endurance. The video discusses the common misconception that static ab exercises like planks are sufficient for developing abs, but suggests that dynamic exercises with a full range of motion are more effective for building the rectus abdominis.

💡Volume

In the context of exercise, volume refers to the total amount of work performed, often measured by the number of sets, reps, and weight lifted. The video emphasizes the importance of training volume for muscle growth, suggesting that training the abs at least twice a week with multiple sets can contribute to greater muscle development and visibility.

💡Full range of motion

Full range of motion in exercise refers to moving through the complete available range of a joint, from the starting position to the maximum extent possible. The video advocates for performing ab exercises with a full range of motion to engage both the concentric and eccentric phases of muscle contraction, which is more effective for muscle growth than partial or static movements.

Highlights

Only 8% of men in America have visible six-pack abs according to the Fitness Institute of America.

Some studies estimate up to 10% of men have visible abs, but most have too high body fat to see them.

A body fat percentage between 6-13% is generally needed for abs to be visible.

Almost everyone can get abs, but common mistakes prevent many from seeing them.

Patience is key as the body fat percentage must be maintained under 13-15% to see abs.

The belly area is one of the last spots to release fat, requiring consistent calorie deficit.

People often get demotivated and quit their diet, which sets them back.

Adjusting the diet plan as you burn fat and get leaner is crucial.

Carrying more body fat can boost resting metabolic rate, affecting calorie needs.

Adaptive thermogenesis can slow the resting metabolic rate as you lose fat.

When hitting fat loss plateaus, readjusting calorie intake is necessary.

Genetics can affect the appearance of abs, with some unable to achieve a six-pack due to muscle structure.

Progressively overloading and developing abs is essential for visibility.

Most men do not train their abs with free weights, which is a mistake.

Weighted ab exercises with multiple sets of six to ten reps are recommended.

Training abs at least twice a week with heavy weighted sets is advised.

Avoid training abs every day; rest is essential for muscle recovery and growth.

Crunch and sit-up movements are effective for building abs, contrary to popular belief.

Full range of motion in ab exercises is important for both concentric and eccentric phases.

The presenter offers a free six-week shred program for a streamlined approach to fat loss.

Transcripts

only eight percent of men in America

have visible six-pack abs according to

an estimate based on Research from the

Fitness Institute of America other

studies such as those conducted by the

American Council on exercise have

estimated that it can be as high as 10

percent but there's also data that shows

that most American men actually have way

too high of a body fat percentage to see

visible AB definition with only three to

five percent of the population

maintaining a body fat percentage

between six and thirteen percent this is

considered a general range where your

body fat is sufficiently low enough to

have your abs pop and show now the

bottom line truth is almost everyone

watching this video can get abs but most

people make major mistakes that prevent

them from ever seeing well-defined

abdominal muscles and the first issue is

that most people are too impatient like

I said seeing your abs requires you to

maintain a relatively low body fat

percentage usually under 13 to 15

percent and unfortunately very few

people ever get their body fat

percentage that low if you have a layer

of fat covering your abs you're not

going to be able to see a six-pack and

this comes down to an issue of patience

because the belly area is one of the

last spots to release fat since it's

your center of mass so it doesn't cost

much energy for your body to maintain

the fat around your stomach that's why

you'll see fat reduction from your face

arms and legs long before you see it

coming off your midsection the only

solution is to stick to a calorie

deficit for long enough to ultimately

reach that stored belly fat this is

where patience comes into play many

people get demotivated when they're not

noticing fat loss around their abs and

that makes them start to slack on their

diet or quit entirely instead if you

just keep plowing forward and you stick

to a calorie deficit made up of healthy

foods your body will eventually start

pulling from the fat that sits around

your abs this can take months of

consistent work and unfortunately every

time that you lose motivation or faith

that you're making progress and you quit

your diet plan you wind up setting

yourself back big time because even

though the belly area is one of the last

spots to go it's one of the first lots

that your body prefers to store fat when

you gain it back by binging or giving up

on your diet so if you want to see your

abs commit to staying in a calorie

deficit and eating right until your body

fat percentage is low enough and this

actually leads to another major issue

not continuously readjusting your diet

plan as you burn fat and get leaner most

people calculate their calorie deficit

once when first starting their diet plan

but as you stick to a calorie deficit

and you lose fat many things begin to

change it's counter-intuitive to think

that simply carrying around more body

fat actually boosts your resting

metabolic rate but think about it if

you're carrying an extra 20 pounds

everywhere you go it'll make all

non-exercise related movements consume

more energy in the process of losing fat

you may also lose some muscle and

something known as adaptive

thermogenesis will also set in playing

an impact on a slowing resting metabolic

rate so when you hit fat loss plateaus

which given a long enough timeline you

definitely will you have to adjust your

calories macros to continue burning body

fat even if a calorie calculator is

telling you that you're eating 500

calories below maintenance every day and

that you are in a calorie deficit that

calculator could be completely wrong and

the way that you know if it's wrong is

by evaluating if you're burning fat or

not if you're not losing inches and you

don't see any progress in the mirror for

weeks or months but you're also not

gaining any body fat then that literally

means that your current diet is keeping

you hovering at maintenance even if you

lost fat with this diet plan and calorie

deficit originally it's now your new

maintenance set point so to fix this you

should try reducing your diet by another

200 to 300 calories per day each time

you hit a plateau for a few weeks then

re-evaluate a few weeks later and repeat

this process every time you hit a

plateau it'll likely take multiple

adjustments to reduce your body fat low

enough to see six-pack abs and speaking

of six packs another potential issue

that I have to mention which is the only

one that's outside of your control is

genetics some people physically cannot

get six-pack abs because of the way the

rectus abdominis is shaped the rectus

abdominis is the external layer of ab

muscle that we all commonly refer to as

a six-pack but in reality the rectus

abdominis is actually one sheet of

muscle rather than the six separate

muscles that it appears to be the thing

that makes it appear like separate

muscles is something known as tenderness

inscriptions these are tendons that run

in between the rectus abdominis and

they're highly based on genetics most

people will have three to five

tenderness inscriptions and these

tendinous inscriptions come in all

different thicknesses sizes and even in

lopsided Arrangements this is why one

guy can have perfectly symmetrical APAC

ABS when maintaining a low body fat

percentage meanwhile another guy with

the same body fat percentage can only

see a four pack for this reason your

goal shouldn't be to have an 8 or 10

pack or even a six pack for that matter

everyone watching this video can get

lean enough to see ABS regardless of how

many blocks show up when you do actually

get lean since you can't add more

tenderness inscriptions you shouldn't

compare your abs to some model that

genetically has different looking ABS at

an anatomical level now something that

is fully in your control is your ability

to progressively overload and develop

your abs over time and this is one of

the biggest mistakes I see people making

most men do not train their abs with

free weights at all they'll try to lift

heavier weight loads for exercises like

squats bench presses and even bicep

curls but they treat ABS completely

differently the truth is your rectus

abdominis like other muscles in your

body responds very well to using heavier

and heavier weight loads over time aside

from lowering your body fat percentage

you can also affect visibility by

growing your abs bulk your abdominal

muscles will pop through the skin and

show more than underdeveloped ab muscles

in the same way that developed shoulders

will look rounder and more defined

compared to shoulder muscles that have

not been been properly developed with

Progressive overload so every week your

goal should be to lift a heavier weight

with your ab exercises and you should be

shooting for multiple sets consisting of

six to ten reps rather than doing

endless crunches with just your body

weight to build AB muscle you also want

to avoid the common mistake of relying

on compound exercises like squats and

deadlifts this is another reason that

most people never see abs for a long

time it was believed that you can get a

perfect six-pack just by stimulating

your abs for growth indirectly with

compound exercises however research has

revealed that you won't even get half

the activation for your rectus abdominis

even when lifting extremely heavy weight

loads for exercises like squats

deadlifts and clean impresses when

compared to basic ab exercises like the

straight leg sit-up so train your abs

with AB specific exercises like weighted

decline sit-ups weighted leg raises with

pulse ups and weighted crunches and work

on increasing the weight load that you

use over time you should also make it a

point to train your abs at least twice a

week with at least nine heavy weighted

sets during each session this is

something that most people once again

get wrong they throw in some crunches at

the end of a training session and wind

up with hardly any training volume by

the end of the week volume plays one of

the biggest impacts on muscle growth and

it essentially boils down to Total sets

times reps times weight load used

Studies have shown that you can achieve

more muscle growth by training a muscle

more often like two times a week

compared to just one time a week so make

sure you do that with that said don't

make the mistake of training abs every

day this falls into the same category of

treating ABS differently than other

muscles in your body we all know that we

have to give our shoulders our legs and

our backs and other muscles time to

recover from the last workout typically

it's recommended to take 48 to 72 hours

off before training these same muscles

again but many people try to get abs by

doing endless reps of body weight

crunches on a daily basis just like

other muscles the ABS will recover and

grow while resting and just like it

wouldn't be optimal for muscle growth to

train shoulders every day it's also not

optimal to train abs every day two to

three dedicated AB specific workouts per

week with heavy weight is more than

enough another reason that most people

never get abs is that they try to avoid

crunching and sit-up movements and

instead they stick to isometric or

static ab exercises like planks a lot of

this comes from a false fear that

crunching movements lead to lower back

pain but this is actually not true and

has been disproven again and again one

of the main functions of your rectus

abdominis from an anatomical perspective

is spinal flexion when you're doing

exercises like decline sit-ups or even

regular crunches you go back and forth

between flexion and extension of the

spine or in other words you have a

concentric phase on the way up and an

eccentric phase on the way down

meanwhile if you're just doing static

exercises like planks you just hold an

isometric contraction even though planks

are great especially for your deep

stabilize your muscles like your

transverse abdominis there are far

better exercises for building a block

your rectus abdominis that focus on

flexion around the spine and trunk area

once again most people wouldn't hold a

bicep curl halfway up to build their

biceps they would do reps where they

would go through a full range of motion

reaping benefits from both the

concentric and The Eccentric phases of

the exercise however as usual abs are

treated differently even though they

shouldn't be so to be clear you should

be doing crunching and sit-up movements

through a full range of motion and to

protect your spine make sure you have

good form and you're not making

dangerous mistakes like pulling on your

head and neck during each of your reps

so that about wraps it up I really hope

this video has helped you find some of

the issues that could be preventing you

from seeing your abs if it has make sure

you subscribe to the channel and

remember that body fat is definitely one

of the biggest parts of the equation if

you have too much body fat you simply

won't be able to see your abs no matter

how developed they are so if you'd like

a streamlined approach to dropping 20

pounds or five percent of your body fat

in the next six weeks check out my free

six-week shred it'll come with a

personalized meal plan a recipe book a

workout plan that includes a full ab

workout plan and of course a coach will

be there to answer any questions and

guide you through the entire process to

find out more you can click the link

below in the description or you can

visit my website directly at

gravitytransformation.com I'll see you

guys soon

[Music]

[Applause]