Abs - What do??

Hi, I just picked up the bodybuilding template and am excited to give it a shot, but I have a nagging question that I am hoping to get help with. How does one get a 6 pack?? I feel totally stumped. Here’s my story:

I’ve been lifting weights for 4 years now, on and off. 30 years old, 5’10’', lost weight down from 190 lb to 160, and from a 37 inch waist to a 31 inch waist, measured as directed by your video. The reason I decided to lost body fat was to 1) be healthy and 2) look more jacked.

However, at a 31 inch waist, my abs are nowhere to be seen. I still have a pot belly, albeit a tinier one than when I started this whole thing. I’m stumped because my assumption was that if I lost enough body fat (using body weight and waist circumference as proxies for this), I would be able to see my abs. And I figured that getting my waist down to 31 inches would be enough. The one thing I have NOT been doing is any sort of routine, targeted ab work, because I assumed this would not play a large role in whether or not I develop visible abs. Could you please explain where my logic is faulty? Is it my assumption that at 31 inches I should be seeing my abs, or that I should have been doing more targeted ab work for the purpose of hypertrophy?

For context - I’m not obsessed with my abs to the detriment of anything more important. I’m overall happy with how I look. My fitness goals are to be healthy and live a long life where I am able to get around without assistance for as long as possible, and I am achieving these goals. I enjoy getting stronger and pushing myself physically. It’s just that for all these other goals - longevity, strength, cardio - I have proven strategies for achieving them and don’t need help, whereas I haven’t been able to develop a successful strategy for getting abs.

What do??

Beef,

Got a picture?

It’s probably not that your abs are too small to be visible, but rather that body fat is too high. For reference, we have the same waist, are the same height, and I weigh 45lbs more than you (205. To me, a 31" waist at 160 doesn’t really suggest to me that you’re super lean. Does that make sense?

-Jordan

Makes perfect sense! I was setting an arbitrary number as a goal without justification.

for reference, a pic:

I am guessing I have another 1-2 in off my waist to lose?

Not sure if you’ll lose a bunch more off your waist, but I’m guessing ~ 10lbs or so will get you where you want to be.

Sounds good! I will report back. Your advice has always steered me in the right direction.

Speaking of which - you guys should do a “I want a 6-pack: how?” BBM podcast. I feel like a lot of the posts in the nutrition forum stem from that question.

Good idea!

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