Whether or not your abdominal muscles show or DON'T has a lot to do with three things primarily -- One, your current percentage of body fat. Two, the size of your abdominal muscles' muscle "bellies." Three, the difference in your abs depends upon the length of your abdominal tendons.
Your percentage of body fat has everything to do with whether or not you can see your tummy muscles in the mirror after a really good workout or just rolling out of bed.
I started training professionally when I was 17 years old. I have worked with over 1,000 women and men. In all my years of experience this is what I have consistently observed: Men start showing their abdominal muscles somewhat at 15% body fat. At 12% body fat, a man's abdomen clearly begins to show muscle separation between the rectus abdominis muscles, a little bit of the external obliques begin to peak out (more obliques show at 10%), and the transverse abdominis is flat. In order to see the coveted six-pack abs that have earned their bragging rights, a fellas needs to be at 8% body fat. Between 6-8% body fat, the inguinal ligaments that display the really great "V" taper going downward into jock-wearing area appear. Congratulations!
A woman has a tougher job ahead of her when trying to get her abdominal muscles to show when she is sporting her bikini at poolside due to evolution's great idea to have women pad extra body fat for childbearing. (Thanks, Mother Nature.) Between 16-20% body fat, a woman begins to have a stomach that she is proud enough to wear a tank top in but not until most women hit 15% body fat based upon my professional experience does a woman get to see her external obliques peaking out enough where she can clearly see where her rectus abdominis muscles stop and wear her side obliques begin. At 11-13% body fat, a woman's abdomen is completely defined, six-pack abs are showing, and her torso is smooth, extremely linear, and desirable.
Now, let's suppose you have your body fat percentage just where you want it. Obstacle number two when it comes to creating a chiseled stomach are your muscle bellies. This is the middle of your muscle anatomically, the part where it is the biggest or widest. Some people are just born with thicker muscle bellies than other people. Your muscle bellies make your abs look more pronounced or outwardly instead of flat since you possess higher peaks on each one. If you have thinner muscle bellies on the other hand, your abdominal muscles will lay flatter and you may even possess an inward appearance in your abdomen (like Arnold Schwarzenegger). This is due to your muscle peaks being lower or not as bulky at their centers.
Your abdominal muscle tendons are the last hurdle a person striving to get beach-ready abs must consider when putting together their ab-training program. Your tendons are the connective tissue that unite your muscle to other muscles or connect a muscle to bone. Your body's unique tendons have a huge role in whether or not you have washboard abs or NOT. Your tendons are either longer or shorter. The longer ones will show larger gaps between your abdominal muscles. If you have shorter abdominal tendons, your ab muscles will have smaller gaps, will show more muscle striations, and your tummy appear more washboard-like than someone with longer abdominal tendons.
I hope your take-away from this article is that everyone is uniquely different. Take the time to learn about your body, study it as you would your major in school or an important aspect of your job. Love the body that YOU ARE IN. You are going to be in it for a long, long time HOPEFULLY.
Thank you for reading my thoughts. I appreciate you giving me a reason to think.
-Bell Gia
Nutrition and Fitness Expert
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