What is a Good Body Fat Percentage For Six-Pack Abs?

Many people start fat loss programs as they seek to develop six pack abs. More specifically, they seek to lose their belly fat so that their abs are noticeable. And the only way to reduce belly fat is to reduce your overall body fat.

Therefore, you may be wondering what percentage of body fat you need to reach before your abs will show. It depends on two things: gender and genetics.

Women naturally have a higher percentage of fat than men. Worse yet (for men) tend to accumulate their fat around their stomachs, meaning they need a lower percentage of overall fat before their abs appear. A woman does not need to get a percentage of her body so low as a man for her big abs can be seen.

Your genes affect the distribution of fat in your body. For some people, any excess body fat is distributed around their frame. For others, it seems that every extra body fat goes to their stomachs or buttocks. This means that the two people who have abs appear to have a slightly different percentage of body fat.

There is no good test that will tell you what percentage you need to achieve in order to have six pack abs. The only way to find out is to try and see what happens. You need to keep pushing your body fat percentage until you have the abs you want.

Yes I know. I still haven't told you what percentage of fat you need to see those abs. As you can see, there are a number of factors that affect things, so the best I can give you is the various percentages taken from various sources. Here's the percentage of fat you need to hit to really show off your abs:

Men: To make the entire six packs of abdominal muscles visible, you need to get your fat level to somewhere below 11%. If you go below 8%, you will definitely have a clear six pack.

Women: You need to get your fat percentage somewhere below 17%. 14% better. This is a higher number than you need to hit, but keep in mind that you naturally have a higher percentage of fat, so your job is just as difficult for men.

The numbers are difficult to reach, but they are not. Depending on the results you use, the average American man has body fat between 17 and 26%.

The average American woman has body fat between 22 and 36%. You have your work cut out for you, so be sure to pick a solid program and stick to it.

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