The Ultimate Guide to Getting an 8 Pack Abs in 2022

Getting a lean body is just not enough for fitness enthusiasts. Achieving the dream of chiseled abdominal body muscles, known as abs, is cherished by many. If you’re a regular gym-goer and see a shredded body of 6 or 8 pack abs, you must’ve thought, “oh dear God, can I have a body like that?”

And you start hitting the gym like it’s the end of the world in the hopes of getting tighter abs and eventually get frustrated because nothing seems to work just fine.

Why?

I will tell you why all your endeavors are failing, even though you’re following a strict diet plan and workout regime.

Without further ado, Let’s get started.

Is getting 8 pack abs possible?

The answer is, yes! It’s possible. But not for just everyone. Oh, yes! You’ve heard it right. Because it entirely depends on how you’re genetically fit for 8 pack abs.

You may have heard fitness trainers speak aloud repeatedly how difficult it is to carve out your abs even if you have a low body fat percentage. It’s because It all goes to a balanced diet, regular exercise and a lot of spirits. It’s not that hard if you push yourself to the edge.

So, hold your horses!

Understanding 8 pack abs

To fully understand the concept of abs, you need a few anatomy lessons. Here you go.

Abs muscles formally known as Rectus abdominis is a long muscle acting as one in our abdomen. It is parallelly located in the abdominal wall and separated by a connective tissue known as Linea Alba. The rectus abdominis is crossed by horizontal fibrous bands called the tendinous intersections. These tendinous intersections actually make the rectus abdominis look like individual ab muscles. For different body structures, it sometimes just looks like 6 packs, for some people 8 packs. Sometimes, in the pelvic region, abdominal muscles give the impression of having 8 packs. So, it depends on the layout of your tendinous intersections. That’s it!

Can a woman get 8 pack abs?

Absolutely! Why not?

Women have exactly the same abdomen muscle structures as men. So, yes, we’ll again talk about rectus abdominis here.8 pack abs for women is not difficult if the fibrous bands cross horizontally and the muscles crossed by them show up as 8 pack abs.

Targeting 6 or 8 pack abs

For everyone the idea of getting fit is different. Some people might be satisfied with just having a lean body, but some people just want to get extra. Come on! Who doesn’t want a hot beach body with 6 or 8 pack abs?

The truth about 6 pack abs is fairly easy to understand as a study showed that only about (21.95%) of 18 cadavers revealed four tendinous intersections, and (60.97%) of them revealed three tendinous intersections.

Now we’re going to look from two different perspectives.

First, As I’ve already told you, genetics plays a huge role here. If you don’t have the right body structure, you’re already out of the game.

Secondly, pushing your body way above your limit will only injure your body. Know how much your body can take.

So, getting some help from your trainer or physician is not a bad idea, right?

How do you get 8 pack abs?

Getting 8 pack abs is not rocket science. So, I’ll talk about 10 proven ways that actually work.

12 proven ways that actually work

1. Set your target and start now

Even if it’s a small walk a day, start today. Putting your work for tomorrow is only going to set you further away from your goal. If you’re a little heavy, start shedding your weight little by little until you reach your ultimate weight level to work for the next process. Even a slow start is a pointer that you’re serious about growing your 8 pack abs. Push yourself a little harder every day as progress is made.

You can write down every small effort and success in a journal or a blog so you know what you’re doing and don’t get distracted along the way.

2. Cut down extra fat

Do you know that almost everyone has a 6 pack unless it’s visible? Your 6 pack will only be visible if you maintain a lower body fat percentage all across your body. For a male, at 20% body fat, a 6 pack starts to reveal itself. For more defined abs, especially if you’re targeting 8 pack abs, it requires only 10% of mass body fat. And for a female, the figure is somewhere between 15% to 20%.

However, It’s impossible to work just your abdominal muscles without building muscles in your entire body. So, if you’re doing everything but your abs are not visible then maybe you need to work on reducing your overall body fat percentage.

3. Keep a hell of lot of protein in your diet

Why protein? Protein releases amino acids that help to build new muscles and repair the existing muscles. Eating smaller portions with foods that are high in protein has proven to have worked the best. Eggs, almonds, milk, cheese, quinoa are some examples of high-protein food that you can add to your diet. You can also opt for protein shakes and protein bars.

4. Organize your fridge with foods that help

If your fridge is loaded with unhealthy foods, it’s time to throw these out of your home for good and load it with a lot of green and protein. It’s a very cognitive approach to reset your diet. I promise you this! This will make your journey a lot easier.

5. Do not stay dehydrated

Drink at least a glass of water every day after you wake up in the morning. Studies have shown that drinking enough fluids every day increases your resting metabolism by 10-30%. Your body needs about 15 to 20 ounces of water if you’re training your muscles. You can either take sparkling water or coconut water to bring some changes to your taste bud.

6. Focus on your food portions

Trust me, portion size is important to your food plate. A balanced meal consists of a plate of non-starchy vegetables, lean protein,fiber-rich carbohydrates, and healthy fats.

Starchy carbs: e.g. spinach, asparagus, beans, beans sprouts, and other legumes

Lean protein: e.g. chicken, turkey, low-fat dairy products

Fiber-rich carbohydrates: e.g. Brown rice, brown flour, quinoa, brown bread, pasta, and other whole-grain foods.

Healthy fats: e.g. Seafood, fish oil, tofu, soymilk, different types of seeds like sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds.

7. Work your metabolism

Metabolism is a crucial factor here. I’ll tell you why. People do everything but progress is not pleasant because of their slow metabolism. High metabolism converts the foods that you take into energy really really fast. On the other hand, slow metabolism doesn’t do that. So, people tend to have more food than they need to store up that energy which leads to more and more calories added to your body. So, you definitely don’t want that.

Ways to increase your metabolism

Drink plenty of fluids. Increasing your daily intake of water increases your metabolism extremely fast.

•  You can take a little amount of caffeine in your diet
•  Eat foods in high fiber and protein
•   Sleep and take a nap
•   Reduce stress

8. Avoid junk foods

If you’re too busy, don’t even think about takeaway foods. Forget about KFC or Popeyes. There are many alternatives that you can choose from. Order foods from restaurants or small food delivery pages that focus on a special group trying to get healthy meals.

Processed foods high in sugar, sodium, unhealthy fat, and carbohydrates not only help you gain extra fat but also slow down your overall body-building process.

9. Do work your abdominal muscles

Trust me, there’s no way you want to skip your abdominal workouts but gain 8 pack abs. By abdominals, I mean, it’s one big muscle group. There are a whole lot of exercises you’ll need to target different regions in your abs.

10. Don’t skip your Cardio

As I have already mentioned how important it is for you guys to lose extra fat from your body when it comes to gaining 8 pack abs, cardio is an amazing way to help you through this process. Fat-burning exercises like walking, jogging, cycling, rope jumping are some of the examples of cardio that you can do to lose an extra layer of fat that you do not need around your abdomen. Even a simple 20-30 minutes of cardio 5 to 7 times a week can really bring a lot of change.

11. Give your diet a break

Fasting is an amazing way on so many levels. Fasting improves your metabolism, helps to get your strength back, lowering your cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Fasting can be for a shorter or a longer period. You can try out different types of intermittent fasting.

Fasting for twice a week (The 5:2 fast)

Fasting for 16 hours a day (The 16:8 fast)

One meal a day fasting (OMAD)

Alternate day fasting

The warrior diet

Meal skipping

12. Supplements

Supplements are not some magic pills that make your abs pop out overnight but they do some tricks. Lecithin is one of the most popular weight loss supplements. It has proven to have shown great results in fat burning and increasing your metabolism. You can easily find it on amazon. Another amazing muscle-building product is Marine Muscle Supplements that help maintain testosterone levels in your body. It also helps keep your thermogenic and anabolic activities in your body.

Can I get an 8 pack without joining a gym?

People who are busy at work or have babies; don’t have much time to hit the gym, can also dream of getting their 8 pack abs.

How? 

Here’s an illustration of the 4 best workouts for your abs that you can easily do at home and you’re good to go.

Check out this video 20-minute abs workout for an 8 pack for more.

What to keep in mind

You may have to expand your deadline

Do not lose your hope if your deadline is over and your 8 pack hasn’t popped out yet. Give yourself a little extra time as building abs muscle is a continuous and lengthy process. Don’t get startled if I tell you that it may take a couple of years. Well, the timing is different for different people. You may even get it sooner. So, who knows?

This process may have its fair share of ups and downs

There will be some days you may not see some changes for quite a while, and some days it will be as smooth as butter. Don’t expect that your journey to an 8 pack will always be perfect.

Try out different approaches

There are many reasons for which your diet or exercise plans may not be working for you. For instance, Your diet plan may not be effective, you’re overdoing exercises, your body fat percentage is not ideal. So, figuring out which one, is also a part of this process. Research and find out what’s best for you that works.

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