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Physique Global

5 reasons you can’t see your abs

Getting a set of ripped abs is the fitness goal of almost every man that goes to the gym. A set of washboard abs is one of the most visible benchmarks for male physiques.

We see people spending endless hours working out in the gyms, doing thousands and thousands of crunches, but most people bodies look the exact same, month after month, year after year.

Here is our list of the top 5 mistakes due to which you don’t see any abs, and why you’re not getting the results you’d expect for all of the hard work that you’ve put in over the years.

  1. You Have Too Much Body Fat: All humans have abdominal muscles that can be made more visible with training – but ultimately to see your abs you need to be at 10% body fat or less for men and 18% or less for women. 
  1. Your diet sucks: We often hear experts saying that if you want a great physique then it’s 70 percent diet and 30 percent training. For a beginner, mastering nutrition is far more important than training and should become your number one priority. Improving a poor diet can create rapid, quantum leaps in fat loss and muscle building progress. 
  1. You Focus on Sit-Ups and Crunches: Performing endless amounts of bodyweight crunches and sit ups won’t help drastically reduce body fat. Instead focus on heavy compound movements along with some post workout HIIT training to burn off the stubborn belly fat. 
  1. You may have poor Genetics: Another reason you don’t have abs is that you simply don’t have the genetics for it. There are people who can still have visible abs at 15% body fat, whereas others may need to hit a little as 6%. Best advice would be to reduce your body fat and don’t compare yourself to others, your hard work will pay off eventually.
  1. You’re too stressed: When stressed, your body releases cortisol, an excess of which amount hinders fat loss. Cortisol is catabolic, which means it can break down tissue. If you’re trying to get abs, you’ll want to put your body in an anabolic state – so avoiding stress is vital. Prioritizing a good night’s rest will help maintain cortisol levels and puts your body in the best state it can be to lose weight and build muscle.