Abs-olutely not!
As people rush to the gym in an attempt to sculpt their “beach bod” ahead of their summer vacations, they might already be too late, experts say. Despite what fitness gurus on social media are promising, there is no quick fix for building muscle or shedding weight — so you can skip the 30-day abs tutorial.
In fact, it’s near impossible for most people to develop visible abdominal muscles in a month, according to experts.
“Depending on your current body weight, genetics, and approaches to diet and exercise, burning excess fat alone may take 6 months or more than 1-2 years, even if you follow a strict diet and exercise routine,” Dr. Michael Fredericson, a sports medicine doctor at Stanford Medicine and the director of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, told USA Today.
While core strengthening exercises like squats, lunges, mountain climbers, planks, crunches and more can build the muscles, diet, stress and genetics are a major factor in whether washboard abs are in your future, experts told the outlet.
The trick to visible abdominal muscles — comprised of the external obliques, internal obliques, rectus abdominis, transversus abdominis and pyramidalis, which stabilize the spine and pelvis — is to build the muscles and reduce body fat.
For men, body fat percentages should drop below 10% to 15%, and for women, 15% to 20%, for abs to peek through. To determine your current body fat percentage, you can meet with a registered dietitian or use an online calculator, although the latter is less accurate due to its inability to consider other health factors.
When losing body fat, Fredericson warned that only 1% of body fat loss per month is safe.
“If one is starting with an average body fat percentage and adheres to a disciplined diet and exercise plan, it might take anywhere from 3 to 6 months to start seeing noticeable changes in abdominal definition,” licensed psychotherapist Austin “Ozzie” Gontang, the director of the San Diego Marathon Clinic, told USA Today.
“If you start with a higher body fat percentage, however, it will take longer to reduce fat to the level where abs are visible.”