5 Gründe, weshalb du deine Bauchmuskeln nicht sehen kannst

You work out like a madwoman, watch your diet like a hound dog and have already read a lot about how to get a six pack, but as soon as you take your shirt off the obvious question arises where your six pack has gone. If you're wondering what's going wrong despite all your hard work, you should read the following article carefully because it presents you with five reasons why you can't see your abs.

Reason 1 - You clearly have too much body fat

To put it simply: The reason you can't really see your abs in most cases is that you simply have too high a body fat percentage. To make your washboard abs clearly visible, men need a body fat percentage of less than 10 percent and women need a body fat percentage of less than 16 percent. If your body fat percentage is significantly higher, the muscles can only be seen dimly because the spaces between the individual packs in particular are still filled with subcutaneous fat. So don't waste your time trying out some alleged miracle products from shopping TV, but get to the root of the problem. And the root of the problem is your daily calorie balance, which should be negative in any case, so that you can lose body fat.But before you start to meticulously plan the training and your diet, you should determine your current body fat percentage. You should not rely on body fat trolleys in this context, because the results are only satisfactory in the rarest cases. Rather, visit a trainer you trust and have your body fat percentage determined with the help of skin fold measurement via caliper. Once you know your results, Operation Sixpack can begin. Make sure that you have a slight calorie deficit of about 300-500 kilocalories every day, so that you can achieve your six-pack over a period of several months.

Reason 2 - Your abdominal muscles are not thick enough

If you have a narrow hip and already have a very low body fat percentage, you may still not be able to see your abdominal muscles. This is because they are simply not thick enough to stand out clearly. And if you don't change this, no matter how low your body fat percentage is, you'll never see a six-pack that way. Stimulating your abs to grow requires hard training, just like any other muscle. However, hard training does not mean doing hundreds of sit-ups or crunches. In fact, abdominal training also obeys the elementary basic rules of muscle building. Therefore, you should also train hard here and stay within a repetition range of 8-12. Optimally, you should train your abdominal muscles twice a week with two exercises each time. If your training plan consists primarily of complex basic exercises, a single exercise per training session is also sufficient.

Reason 3 - Your abdominal muscles do not have enough tone

Another widespread problem is that the abdominal muscles are often only visible, at least dimly, when they are tense, but cannot be seen when they are relaxed. This is due to the fact that these muscles do not have enough tension in a relaxed state so that the individual packs can stand out. If this is the case for you, it does not mean that you have to do without a six-pack, because the so-called muscle tone can be significantly improved by some measures. Probably the most promising method is the so-called Plank. In the course of this exercise you lie flat on your stomach on the floor and put your stomach and back muscles under tension by lifting your legs and shoulders slightly off the floor so that your spine forms a straight line. Hold this position for as long as you can, then pause for 60-90 seconds and do another three to four repetitions. The Plank is also an excellent final exercise to incorporate into any abdominal workout.

Reason 4 - The only six pack you have is in your fridge

In many recreational athletes, the veins on the arms seem to sprout so much that one could assume that their body fat percentage would also be very low. In reality, however, the six-pack is not visible in most people, but is hidden under a respectable layer of hip fat. A widespread cause of this phenomenon is the love of beer (yes, yes, this also affects women). Beer contains calories not only in the form of carbohydrates but also in the form of alcohol. Since each gram of alcohol, at a good 7 kilocalories, has a calorific value almost twice as high as proteins or carbohydrates, excessive beer consumption naturally promotes the build-up of body fat deposits. In addition, alcohol causes a change in the hormonal millieu in your body, which causes fat to be put on, especially in the middle of the body. So, if you want to have a six pack, it is recommended that you cut back significantly on alcohol and drink something non-alcoholic instead. Instead of hanging out in bars and nightclubs, you can keep your evenings active by going bowling or playing indoor soccer with your friends.

Reason 5 - You have too much stress

Yes, you heard absolutely right, because too much stress can actually be the cause that your abs do not want to emerge with the best will in the world, because the high cortisol level associated with stress ensures that your muscle growth does not want to progress. So, in addition to consistent training and a low body fat percentage, it's also important to reduce some of your daily stress. The easiest way to achieve this is to make sure you get enough sleep. Ideally, this should be six to eight hours a day. In addition, you can reduce cortisol release after a workout by consuming a post-workout shake immediately after the end of the workout, which will help your body initiate the regenerative processes as early as possible.

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