You will need to break the 10% body fat barrier in order to see a defined six-pack.
Women need to get below around 17%.
Let's summarize the steps first before we look at an example...
(1) Get your body fat percentage (2) Work out your fat mass and lean body mass in pounds (3) Subtract your goal body fat percentage from 1 (4) Now divide your current lean body mass by the result of the calculation in step 3.
This gives the goal body weight.
(5) Now take this figure from the starting weight to show the amount of fat loss required to reach goal (in pounds).
For example, let's take a guy at 18% body fat weighing 170lbs.
The first thing that needs to be ascertained is the actual amount of body fat he is carrying.
* Simply multiply 170 x 0.
18 = 30.
6lbs of fat.
From this we can determine how much lean mass he is carrying: 170 - 30.
6 = 139.
4lbs lean mass.
So, what's the goal here? This guy wants to hit 10% body fat.
* We now take the GOAL body fat percentage from 1 i.
e.
1 - 0.
10 = 0.
90 * Now divide the current lean body mass by this figure: 139.
4 / 0.
9 = 154.
89 (rounded to 2 decimal places) So, our 170lb man would weigh 154.
89lbs at his goal body fat percentage of 10% (assuming no muscle gain which certainly CAN happen).
* Next we subtract the goal weight from the starting weight: 170 - 154.
89 = 15.
11lbs, let's call it 15 pounds of fat loss.
The question now is: How long does it take to lose 15 pounds of fat? Well, it depends on the program you are using.
A lot of programs use 1lb of fat loss per week as the top goal.
If this were the case then the BEST you can hope for is 15 weeks or about 3.
5 months to reach the goal of a six-pack.
However, bear in mind that this best-case scenario rarely happens, most people go some weeks with half-pound, quarter-pound or even NO fat loss.
A good fat-loss program should result in what I call 'meaningful' fat loss, which is AT LEAST 1 pound of fat loss per week, and sometimes 2-3 pounds under certain circumstances.
Also, this fat loss should be continuous - no stalls.
If fat loss dips below 1 pound per week then it's time to employ another weapon in our arsenal to get it back up there.
So, a really efficient plan should see this 18% body fat guy reach his goal in 8 weeks (best-case), or around 12-13 weeks at worst.
So you can see that gaining a six-pack isn't the excruciating process it's often made out to be.
Yes, you will have to experience some hunger along the way but so what, it's worth it.
An overweight person shooting for 'normal weight' can get there without much hunger, but a normal person shooting for the 'very lean' body type will have to put up with this somewhat.
Again, a good program will minimize this feeling but will not completely eradicate it.
But hey, 8 weeks isn't too much to ask for what probably amounts to years of poor eating habits, is it? I hope that was helpful to all you six-pack seekers out there.
Women need to get below around 17%.
Let's summarize the steps first before we look at an example...
(1) Get your body fat percentage (2) Work out your fat mass and lean body mass in pounds (3) Subtract your goal body fat percentage from 1 (4) Now divide your current lean body mass by the result of the calculation in step 3.
This gives the goal body weight.
(5) Now take this figure from the starting weight to show the amount of fat loss required to reach goal (in pounds).
For example, let's take a guy at 18% body fat weighing 170lbs.
The first thing that needs to be ascertained is the actual amount of body fat he is carrying.
* Simply multiply 170 x 0.
18 = 30.
6lbs of fat.
From this we can determine how much lean mass he is carrying: 170 - 30.
6 = 139.
4lbs lean mass.
So, what's the goal here? This guy wants to hit 10% body fat.
* We now take the GOAL body fat percentage from 1 i.
e.
1 - 0.
10 = 0.
90 * Now divide the current lean body mass by this figure: 139.
4 / 0.
9 = 154.
89 (rounded to 2 decimal places) So, our 170lb man would weigh 154.
89lbs at his goal body fat percentage of 10% (assuming no muscle gain which certainly CAN happen).
* Next we subtract the goal weight from the starting weight: 170 - 154.
89 = 15.
11lbs, let's call it 15 pounds of fat loss.
The question now is: How long does it take to lose 15 pounds of fat? Well, it depends on the program you are using.
A lot of programs use 1lb of fat loss per week as the top goal.
If this were the case then the BEST you can hope for is 15 weeks or about 3.
5 months to reach the goal of a six-pack.
However, bear in mind that this best-case scenario rarely happens, most people go some weeks with half-pound, quarter-pound or even NO fat loss.
A good fat-loss program should result in what I call 'meaningful' fat loss, which is AT LEAST 1 pound of fat loss per week, and sometimes 2-3 pounds under certain circumstances.
Also, this fat loss should be continuous - no stalls.
If fat loss dips below 1 pound per week then it's time to employ another weapon in our arsenal to get it back up there.
So, a really efficient plan should see this 18% body fat guy reach his goal in 8 weeks (best-case), or around 12-13 weeks at worst.
So you can see that gaining a six-pack isn't the excruciating process it's often made out to be.
Yes, you will have to experience some hunger along the way but so what, it's worth it.
An overweight person shooting for 'normal weight' can get there without much hunger, but a normal person shooting for the 'very lean' body type will have to put up with this somewhat.
Again, a good program will minimize this feeling but will not completely eradicate it.
But hey, 8 weeks isn't too much to ask for what probably amounts to years of poor eating habits, is it? I hope that was helpful to all you six-pack seekers out there.