I’m 17-years-old, 6’1 188 lbs. with single digit body fat, not sure exactly what. When I take pictures to monitor my physique progress, I can see my abs when relaxed at a fair distance. But when up close looking in the mirror, I have no definition unless flexed. Is this a significant BFP issue, or am I just worrying too much? I want my abs to look good from close so the girls won’t have to be far away :). Thanks.
Main,
While abs are great and all. I just want to stress that at your age it is NO time to be getting to wrapped up in BF%. This has the possibility to lead to you shorting yourself on food intake. This is the last thing you need at your age. Not saying you need to eat so much you ballon up, but by no means do you want to be deficient on nutrients from whole foods at your age.
You have plenty of years to go to have a rock hard well defined “UP CLOSE” six pack, if that is what your goals is. But in the long run will be better of health wise, physique wise, and pretty much all around if you simply spend these years training hard and nailing a good diet that has you growing like a weed not cutting down to low BF%'s.
Hope that helps ’
Phill
Main,
This really just sounds like you have different lighting when you take your photos than when you are looking in the mirror. Don’t sweat it.
If you’re still feeling worried about how your unflexed abs look when a girl is up close, then I guess you’ll just have to remember to flex them. Seriously, like Phill says, it’s not worth compromising all the other aspects of your training by dieting down to extremely low bf levels.
No shit…i agree with phil don’t worry about it. Im 19 and i have ben trainning for four years and i can remeber having your mindset. It probably led to me getting burnt out extremely quickly.
Boulder shoulders, killer pecs, massive guns and enormous quads should all come way before abs. People that stay 6’ 130lbs so they can have “abs” belong on Black Eye for the Gay Guy, in my opinion.
People get so hung up on abs. They are a nice finishing touch but should never come before the stuff that REALLY matters.
Nobody asks: “How much do you crunch?” or “Don’t mess with him, he’s got abs”.
“Don’t mess with him, man, he’ll f*ck you up with his abs.”
I can see it now…
In his defense, at my school at least, being in shape is having a six-pack and sculpted arms. While I would agree with you infinity on the fact that no one asks “how much do you crunch”, no girl has ever asked me “how much do you…” anything. From my experience, girls don’t care what you do to get look the way you do, they care about how you look, and they always place a six pack over chest and arms. A guy with a six pack and a small chest (not flat) and arms will win every time over someone with a big chest and arms but with a flat stomach (in the sense of there being no definition).
So to respond to your question, your abs are VERY light dependent unless you are completely ripped and you that is still a while away for you probably, and even then it is still light dependant. I don’t know how many six packs you have actually seen in person, for as many as you see on tv/mags, you don’t really have many walking around you everyday, but you will notice that if you actually go up and look closely, there curves are NOT that significant, just enough to cast shadows and between the muscles and give that “ripple” effect. Up close, they never are that exciting.
Phil, what age do you suggest people start worrying? I turned 20 a month ago, should I be gorging on healthy calories?
Sexy J, that seems to be just flat out wrong. Since when does anyone walk around school with their shirt off? You can’t see abs through clothing, in fact, most guys who look like they might have a six pack are just concealing a small gut well. If a girl is interested enough in you to get your shirt off, not having a six pack really shouldn’t be a problem.
The Tank123,
Do whatever you have the biggest preference for. Fat loss will slow down when you get older, but it will be much more difficult to put on muscles as T-levels get reduced.
Then again, it’s all about your preference. Being ripped is nice. Also, most people that say they’ll put on muscle now and get ripped later, never get ripped. They stay fat forever.
Personally, I think it’s optimal to never let your bodyfat get above 10%. That way you look decent all the time and can put on quality muscle over time. That’s, just my preference.
From my prvious post=
I never told him to go gorg on healthy food. I told him simply he needs to eat. At this stage in his life he doesnt need to be cutting down k/cals to low in my opinion. That could slow growth of not only muscle, but also height, and mess with his hormone levels. The highest levels of hormones he is going to have naturally in his life and should take advantage of while they are present. I wish I had.
Just my 2 cc, trying to help out.
Phill
My bad, I didn’t know he was only 17. Good point.
My questioin wasn’t meant to be rude or sarcastic, it was serious. I’m not trying to compete to be a body builder, I just want to know more about nutrition. It was a serious question about whether or not a 20 year old should be that worried about cutting v. bulking. If being deficient in calories at this age is going to inhibit me from being cut when im older, that’s a bad thing.
Obviously not. What they’re saying is that you should take advantage of your testosterone levels and insulin sensitivity at that age, and gain as much lean mass as possible. Alternatively, you could take advantage of them to lose as much fat as possible while still maintaining good LBM.
Tank,
Hows it going.
Your ? is a little tougher than the original. @ 17 years of age we can all be 99.9% sure he still has some growing to do and that the hormone levels are getting ready to be at there peak and such. You being 20 is a little tougher.
Your hormones and such should still be very high and at a level for you to take advantage of, but the growth thing you really cant be sure. I personally stalled out and then @ 23 or so had another grith spurt.
The real fact that needs to get across is that so many ppl no matter what age get caught up in this ultra low BF%. Which is fine at times to go for. You should simply try and do it as smart as you can. Dieting can be very cataboilic and that damn LBM can be tough to gain, and impossible if you are always trying to stay super lean.
I agree with the previous reply about staying a reasonable level year round. I wouldnt go as far as saying 10% for everyone. I for instance have to go higher than that to start putting on any real type of LBM. My natural levels are just higher, for some 10% is a comfort position for the body.
Anyway, just be smart about your diet. Also, remember at this time in life you still have PLENTY of hormones and time. Take advantage of that and grow some LBM. Just dont let the fat gain get out of hand. The more lbm you are carrying the better you will look with a higher BF% anyway and it will make it easier when you do cut.
I dont know if the actually clears anything up, but I hope it helps somehow,
Phill