Measuring body fat percentage has been a valuable tool to chart my progress on my quest to get a six pack. Hopefully most people realize by now that abdominal exercises don’t burn fat off your stomach. One I realized that abs are made in the kitchen, not just in the gym, I started to see a lot more progress. No matter how much you work out, if you don’t eat right and achieve a calorie deficit, your abs will remain covered in a layer of fat!

When the realization hit me that you must reduce your body fat percentage to see your abs, one of the biggest questions that popped into my mind was, “how low do I have to get my body fat percentage to see my abs?” It’s a tough question and the answer may be different for men than women.

From my experience, I feel like this is a good metric for fat loss levels:

WOMEN:

Competition Shape ("ripped"): 8-12%
Very Lean (excellent): < 15%
Lean (good): 16-20%
Satisfactory (fair): 21-25%
Improvement needed (poor): 26-30%
Major improvement needed (Very poor): 31-40%+

MEN:

Competition Shape ("ripped"): 3-6%
Very Lean (excellent): < 9%
Lean (good): 10-14%
Satisfactory (fair): 15-19%
Improvement needed (poor): 20-25%
Major improvement needed (Very poor): 26-30%+

What do you guys think are ideal levels for body fat when it comes to seeing your abs, including obliques?

It depends on your body shape. Are you an apple or a pear? Do you carry most of your weight in your belly? If so, the belly will be the last part of your body to lose fat. Therefore you will need to reach a lower body fat percentage to see more definition in your abs. My guess it would be around 17% or lower for apple-shaped women. For men I would say around 14% for a 6-pack.

My male friend has a 6 pack and he's around 14.7%. I saw him using the OMROM body fat analyser.

If you carry most of your weight in your hips, or legs, and not so much in your belly,
then you can probably get away with a higher body fat percentage.


The lower your body fat percentage, the more defined your abs will be (obvious right?).

Abs are not only made in the kitchen. Sure, your diet will have to be very clean. But you will also need to exercise them somewhat to bring out the muscle tone.

When I am dehydrated, and without my 3-4 pounds of water weight on, my stomach is flat and very defined, and I'm around 20% body fat. But I am also pear-shaped. It also looks more defined after a workout.

I am trying to get more definition on my abs too, but it's very hard to get to or even maintain 15% body fat.

deleted, duplicate post.