Muscle Spotlight: Abs

Abdominal muscles are one of the most popular muscle groups. It seems everybody wants to have a toned and defined midsection, but few people actually have a visible six pack. This is ironic since everyone already has these muscles, but you just have to do some excavating (weight loss) to see them.

Many people claim to want a six pack, but since it requires single digit body fat levels, there are few people who actually have them. I respect anyone who is disciplined enough to sport a visible six pack, but at the same time, I think it can be an over-rated sign of fitness. Having a six pack shows that a person has a low body fat level, toned midsection, and that they are a disciplined eater, but there is more to over all health and fitness than mere aesthetics.

The muscle responsible for a 6 or even 8 pack look is the rectus abdominus which is a long muscle which runs vertically down the abdomen. This muscle is intersected and divided by bands of connective tissue which creates the segmented look. Other abdominal muscles include the external and internal obliques and the transverse abdominus.

There are countless offers for miracle drugs, belts, exercise equipment and other gadgets to help people get their dream midsection, but that will only be achieved if they have the discipline to keep their body fat percentage low enough to make them visible. You can do 1,000 sit ups every day or use every ab machine in existence, but unless you have the weigh loss portion of the equation under control, you will never look like the guy above (No, that's not me).

A defined 6 pack is a pretty cool thing, but unless you are a body builder or fitness competitor, you probably don't have one and that's okay. For most people, working to achieve a healthy body fat percentage is a more realistic goal than having washboard abs.