8 Pack Abs

8 pack abs are the elusive holy grail of people looking to achieve the ultimate washboard midsection through weight loss and exercise - but can you really get an 8 pack?

As if a flat stomach and a six pack wasn't enough, people seeking the perfect abs often want to go one step further and get an 8 pack.

So what is an 8 pack?

Your abs are really one big muscle called the rectus abdominous that stretches from your sternum to your pelvis.

There are a few other muscles that make up your abs - the internal and external obliques and the transverse abdominous, but it's the rectus abdominous that gives you your six pack look.

Whether you can actually get a six or 8 pack and its appearance are determined by the tendons or "tendinous inscriptions" that criss cross the rectus abdominous.

Ideally, these tendons divide the surface of the rectus abdominous into eight blocks of muscle, giving the appearance of four pairs of muscles - 8 pack abs - but this a matter of genetics.

Generally, the tendons in your lower abs don't tend to produce pronounced lower abs, and only then at very low levels of body fat.

In most people, then, the tendons produce a four pack or six pack pattern and no matter how low your body fat, that's often as good as it gets.

So the answer as to whether you can actually achieve an 8 pack is down to your body fat levels and your genes, which determine the layout of your tendinous inscriptions.

Now, you're not going to know whether you've got 8 pack abs or not unless you get rid of the layer of body fat covering them, and no number of ab exercises will achieve that!

The key to great abs and a possible 8 pack is a combination of:

  • Diet - What you eat is the most important determinant of great looking abs so eat a healthy diet and lose some body fat

  • Strength Training - Muscle is responsible for most of the energy you expend each day, so build some muscle and you'll raise your metabolic rate and burn more calories. By all means include some ab exercises, but it's the multi-joint, compound exercises like squats, bench presses and pull ups that will burn the most calories and build the most muscle

  • Cardio - Now I hate long, slow, boring cardio workouts and they're nowhere near as effective at burning calories and body fat as short, intense interval training workouts. So forget spending hours on a treadmill in the 'fat burning zone' and give intervals a try to accelerate your fat loss in less time

    • So there you have it, 8 pack abs are down to your genes and you won't know if you've got them until you strip away your excess body fat with a regular program of fat burning workouts and a healthy diet.

    But hey, if all you achieve is a flat stomach and a six pack that ain't so bad, is it?

    If you're looking for a workout and diet program that will help you to achieve a six pack or 8 pack abs, then you may be interested in our reviews of Turbulence Training and The Truth About Six Pack Abs, two excellent resources to burn fat and build muscle.

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