What body fat % to see six pack?

[SpeedKing9]

What is the body fat % to see abs? How does one calculate this? I found a site with an estimator for that (http://www.dietquest.com/body_fat_calculator.asp) and it says I'm 13% and I only *slightly* see the top of a six pack forming, but not really. What is a good percent? I always thought 8% was good, but that seems like such a far shot away. Any thoughts?

Also, a quick question, what is the best/most used form of free weights for the triceps? Currently, the only machine I use are tricep pulldowns, and I want to stick with an all free weights routine (I'm doing deadlifts, bench press, dips, chins, bicep curls, shoulder press, pushups, crunches, reverse crunches, and squats).

Thanks all, you guys have helped me lose 20 lbs of weight!!!!

[HardcoreJJ]

hey

hey,
depending upon the individual, I would say anywhere in the single didgits you should see your abs....remember, you can also SLIGHTLY increase the size of your ab muscles which will help, by doing some weighted crunches(my fav)
you should be getting all the tri work you need with bench presses and military presses....some peoples body parts tend to lag behind others...I would speculate months/years of working out and not paying attention to a certain area, which you might have done, have overdeveloped certain muscles and underdeveloped others, causeing your tri's to look smaller

By the way, why is 8% such a far shot? 8 % aint shi t, its easily attainable.......I would say anyone under the age of 30 could get 8% no problem...no getting under 5 is near dam impossible

[SpeedKing9]

Thanks for the reply. Actually, with what I'm doing, I feel that I'm doing plenty for my triceps, but not enough for my biceps! I feel that the only workout I'm giving my biceps is the bicep curls and chins!! Any of the others aren't really working them, are they?

[controllerzero]

Damn I hate that calculator!! It just told me I'm a fatty!

[Biker]

For triceps, my favorites are close-grip bench press and over-head tricep press. For close-grip bench press, hold the bar with your hands about chest width apart and lower the bar to the lower part of your sternum and press back up, be sure not to let your elbows flare out to the sides. If that happens, use a lower weight. Over-head tricep press you can either use a barbell or dumbell (I like the EZ curl bar myself). Sit upright and hold the bar directly over-head with your hands about shoulder width apart using what would be an overhand grip if you were to be doing bicep curls, change hand position so you are comfortable if shoulder width does not work well. Then, only bending at the elbows, lower the weight behind your head and do not lower your forearms past parallel to the floor then raise the weight back overhead. Your elbows may flare out a little, bit too much and you should try a lower weight.

As far as working your biceps more, just remember that your triceps are 2/3 of you total upper arm muscle mass. If your biceps get too big, you look goofy. Trust me. A guy at a gym I went to would only do one set of one exercise for his tri's. His biceps on the other hand any pro bodybuilder would be proud of. His tri's were practically non-existent. Manly bi's, little girlie-man tri's.

For biceps, though, go heavy on the barbell curls without cheating the weight up, ie. not using your body to sling the weight up. Try different grip widths, an EZ-curl bar and give dumbells a whirl. Just changing to a slightly different exercise or adding one will make a world of difference.

[HardcoreJJ]

yep

Biker is pretty much exactly right.....Tooooo many people neglect the tri's...Having big tri's is what makes your arms look big...If it weren't for the amount of tri work people got from bench pressing, I think everyone would have small tri's cause most newbies pay no attention to them....

Hey one more thing, don't neglect your back....Its really the most important muscle to make you look "Big" Some heavy rows and pullups should do the trick....Plus it will blast your bi's also

[YeLLa-TiGeR]

That calculator is fake!! Says I am at 5%. The hell I am!

[JaredExtreme]

11% Oh noooo!! Damn me and these ugly hips !!

[omgitsroy326]

i have 2%... i think it's bs..

[Garland]

I've been checked a few times, I'm around 8...but I only have definition on the top part of my abs and obliques.
Oh, well...no food for me...fatty...

fatty fat fatass.

[Oreomeister365]

lol it said 9%

for some reason Id oubt that.

not that it might not be true, but by abs sure as hell aint showin through

well, perhaps because I'm still young...they prolly will when I'm done "filling out" as they say.

[Combatant]

Wasting Away

I got my body fat measured at my work as part of a 'health check'. The machine was unable to calculate it as I was below the detection limit - 4%!

[ReactNeverCalml]

LOL that calculator sucks it says im 16% but im 10.5% on a 7 point test on the calipers and i just have a 6 pack with some ab veins. If you have a muscular core that calculator will give you a high %. Get calipers their a better test for bodyfat.

[gregimotis]

That calculater is exactly dead on! Says I'm 'Excellent'!

[Bjjexpertise@be]

The calculator said I was a superstar, it said I had a body fat% of -7