Six-pack chaser seeking fellow six-pack chaser

[theanne]

I'm going to be doing a six-pack oriented challenge coming up. I think I need competition to keep me motivated.

 

In good health, I can't probably lose all 20lbs of fat necessary, but I can certainly do my best to trim down and get close. My goal is to focus on bodyweight exercises, sprinting, and better eating habits. 

 

The Competition

 

Best improvement wins, measured by a combination of weight (less important), the percentage of inches lost around the waist, and improvement photos.

 

It would be better if we're coming from a similar place, but not necessary. I am female, 5'7", hovering around ~166lbs

 

THE STAKES

 

At the very least, public ridicule, but other than that I'm open to ideas.

 

Please let me know if you're interested in participating in this sort of PvP challenge with me.

 

[alienjenn]

I would love to compete with you... I lost 18 inches overall this last challenge

 

and... eventually I will have a six pack rather than a keg

 

 

I am not in a similar place as you though... I am 5'4" and about 270ish

[OrangeJorwell]

If you're looking for someone that's fairly similar to you, I'm a 5'7" guy and about 160.  I can snap some photos this afternoon for comparison purposes (though it's telling me that I don't have permission to see yours).  I think a PvP would probably help me stick to a diet a little better than I have been, since I'm sure that's the limiting factor on my weight loss right now.

[minderly]

Would you be willing to share how you plan to get your 6-pack? I'm unsure of what kind of excercises I should focus on to tone/flatten my tummy.

[theanne]

I would love to compete with you... I lost 18 inches overall this last challenge

 

and... eventually I will have a six pack rather than a keg

 

 

I am not in a similar place as you though... I am 5'4" and about 270ish

 

No worries! I'm sure we could figure something out. It seems like there's at least a few people interested in this - we could make it a multi-person challenge! Or, we can all pair off or something. Hmm...

 

 

If you're looking for someone that's fairly similar to you, I'm a 5'7" guy and about 160.  I can snap some photos this afternoon for comparison purposes (though it's telling me that I don't have permission to see yours).  I think a PvP would probably help me stick to a diet a little better than I have been, since I'm sure that's the limiting factor on my weight loss right now.

 

Yeah the attachments are being weird for me. I have photos from a week or two ago in my battle logs (see sig link). 

 

Would you be willing to share how you plan to get your 6-pack? I'm unsure of what kind of excercises I should focus on to tone/flatten my tummy.

 

"Abs are made in the kitchen."  We all already have abs, so to speak, however making them visible will largely be a matter of cutting. That means a huge focus on diet, with a general focus on staying active. 

 

There's no such thing as targeting certain fat areas, so the only way to get a flat tummy is to lose fat all over the place. Unfortunately, my tummy is the first place to pack fat and the last place to lose it! So that means I have to take this extra seriously if I really want to see results by the end. 

 

I'll probably go for a meat & veggies approach - with moderation on all other foods, and largely cutting out gluten since I've had really great success with that before. High protein, low carb. 

[theanne]

To elaborate on what foods I'll largely be eating: 

• Beef
• Chicken
• Smoked salmon
• Canned tuna
• Eggs
• Olive oil
• Avocado
• Romaine lettuce 
• Spinach
• Soy and whey protein
• Cheese (moderate)
• Oatmeal (moderate)

[OrangeJorwell]

My diet plan is to go as Paleo as possible.  And especially to eat a lot more veggies.  I don't eat anywhere near enough veggies.  And as TheAnne said, we all have the abs, we just have to burn off the fat to show them.  That being said, the stronger your abs are, the sooner they'll start to show.  My plan for that is a plank progression and doing some pull-up/L-hang iso holds.

 

And I like the idea of a larger group with pairs within it.  Groups are good, but in my experience it's much easier to stick to it when you have one specific person that you're accountable to.  It's easier to get lost in the group.

[Barmacral]

I'd be down for this. 5'9 male at around 165 lbs. I'm actually already in a 6-pack competition that ends in May, but I'd like to get there well before then.

[minderly]

No worries! I'm sure we could figure something out. It seems like there's at least a few people interested in this - we could make it a multi-person challenge! Or, we can all pair off or something. Hmm...

 

"Abs are made in the kitchen."  We all already have abs, so to speak, however making them visible will largely be a matter of cutting. That means a huge focus on diet, with a general focus on staying active. 

 

There's no such thing as targeting certain fat areas, so the only way to get a flat tummy is to lose fat all over the place. Unfortunately, my tummy is the first place to pack fat and the last place to lose it! So that means I have to take this extra seriously if I really want to see results by the end. 

 

I'll probably go for a meat & veggies approach - with moderation on all other foods, and largely cutting out gluten since I've had really great success with that before. High protein, low carb. 

Hm, seems like no matter how small or healthy I've been in the past...I never can get a flat tummy. I must be doing something wrong. I was Vegan around this time two years ago...and 105lbs, 5'5 (I've put on 20lbs since then)...and still had a lil pudgy belly ._.

 

I'd love to compete if there was guidance...a lot of guidance...I've always wanted a flat tummy. People have always teased me, especially when I was very thin with a lil belly. I looked like I was 3m preggo.

[theanne]

So, it looks like there's quite a few people here interested in this topic. 

 

How about for the time being, we can each share our challenge threads and then figure out how to best pair off. In the meantime, we can all help each other figure out how to achieve the elusive six-pack, yes?  

 

My challenge is linked in my sig. 

[theanne]

Just discovered the accountablibuddies part of the challenge. 

 

Maybe we start a six-pack team, and from there we can pick our own PvP challenges? That way we can all be on the same team helping each other out towards a common goal, but the door is still open for competition. 

 

Team name ideas?

[NotANerd]

I would be down for this! I'm female, 5'7 170 lbs so similar to you.

[magpie]

Love the team idea.  I'm a 5'5 ~155 female so a slightly shorter situation, and I'm trying to up my protein intake as part of this challenge (though more to help a shoulder injury heal).  I've seen the outline of my little 4 pack re-emerge since I started working out regularly in January, and working towards a full blown sixer sounds amazing .

 

Team name: <adjective e.g. sculpted, shredded, strong, stalwart, strapping...ok maybe strapping is a bit far> Sixes (now I want to watch BSG again)

[IKE]

I'm interested as well. I always wanted a six pack!

[I-Jo]

I'm totally in... I've been toying around with getting aggressive about my diet just to see how well I could do in the 6 pack department. I dropped probably 10-15 pounds on accident through diet alone (switched to the more semi-paleo way).

 

I think it'll be good- I'm 5'8" (and I don't have an accurate measurement currently b/c I'm totally not a scale person) but the last time I weighed in I was at 162. 

 

(edit- I'm an old fart- turned 29 this month)

[Laney]

We have very similar starting stats, Female / 21yo / 5'6" / ~160 (not actually sure). 

 

I'll be competing with you, whoop whoop! We should make a Team vs Team thread in the PvP section. Red vs Blue or something

 

EDIT: diet- pretty clean, no dairy, soy, gluten, basically paleo. Exercise- weights, brah. I stick to the leangains plan

[Elder]

Can I still get in on this? I would really love to!  I am 5'5", 127 lbs and one of my goals is to have a six pack.  I definitely would love to have help/motivation in the better eating category and accountabilibuddies would be awesome too.

[theanne]

Sure! I'm too tired right now to get this set up but I'll create an accountability thread this weekend and share it with you folks here. 

[I-Jo]

Lol no worries. I'm still figuring out a game plan. I am not sure what to do with my diet really so I have to do some serious digging. I'm with ya in the cold shower department and I'm surprised after the ones I had this week its not an issue really anymore. And man whoever said you have so much more time was right. Jesus lol I'm in and out in five minutes. (I am not kne of those hour shower type so its not an excess in savings but definitely makes a difference! )

[minderly]

Can I still get in on this? I would really love to!  I am 5'5", 127 lbs and one of my goals is to have a six pack.  I definitely would love to have help/motivation in the better eating category and accountabilibuddies would be awesome too.

Hey! We have similar stats...we should pair up for accountability.

[Elder]

Hey! We have similar stats...we should pair up for accountability.

That would be awesome!  I believe it will be mostly my diet that I have to work on.  I need to do some more reading in order to find out a plan that will best suit me.

[Waldo]

Hm, seems like no matter how small or healthy I've been in the past...I never can get a flat tummy. I must be doing something wrong. I was Vegan around this time two years ago...and 105lbs, 5'5 (I've put on 20lbs since then)...and still had a lil pudgy belly ._.

 

I'd love to compete if there was guidance...a lot of guidance...I've always wanted a flat tummy. People have always teased me, especially when I was very thin with a lil belly. I looked like I was 3m preggo.

 

Most people will reach a point where continued weight loss will not cause a drop in BF% without strength training.  Everybody has a BF% floor, going beyond that cannot be accessed by diet alone.  Strength training allows you to game the system a bit, as it will preserve muscle mass loss as you lose weight, allowing you to get to a lower BF%.  Virtually everybody that has a 6 pack strength trains, man or woman.

[Elder]

Most people will reach a point where continued weight loss will not cause a drop in BF% without strength training.  Everybody has a BF% floor, going beyond that cannot be accessed by diet alone.  Strength training allows you to game the system a bit, as it will preserve muscle mass loss as you lose weight, allowing you to get to a lower BF%.  Virtually everybody that has a 6 pack strength trains, man or woman.

Ok, so how do you figure out your current BF% and how do you find out what your BF% should be in order to show lots of muscle?  Or should I just start lifting heavier weights and wait for something to happen?

[minderly]

there are calculators online...but they are not very consistent...I took my measurements and weight and inserted into the calc and got a range 24-33% bf according to 3 calcs.

 

There are also scales that "weigh" bf% or calipers that you use to calc.

[I-Jo]

We have one at the gym- it's goofy- I don't trust it at all- I think it put me somewhere in the high 30's/40's.

 

I really need to buckle down and do research on what I need to be eating better- and go pick up some protein.  My big goal right now is to eat breakfast- I'm horrible at it- so I started with a hard boiled egg (white only) and a banana. 

 

I've been snacking on almonds all morning thus far- I'm really having a hard time eating less and not being literally starved all day. It's kind of annoying.  So trying to eat more filling- long lasting foods.  Grumble grumble.  I WILL have visible abs. I WILL have visible abs