Six Pack Abs vs. Eight Pack Abs – What’s the Difference
August 7th, 2008——————————————————————————————————————————–
Six Pack Abs vs. Eight Pack Abs – What’s the Difference
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One of the most often asked questions I get from guys is “Joey why is it that some guys have six pack abs and others get eight pack abs? Is it their diet, their workouts or what?”
What made me think of writing this article today is my friend, Vince from http://www.SixPackAbsForMen.com – called me about a week ago before he released the free training videos – to ask me my perspective on the same exact question.
In a nutshell here’s what I told him:
If you take a look at this photo:
Six Packs Abs or Eight Pack Abs
You’ll see what’s known as the Rectus Abdominus – these are the 2 strip like muscles that look like 2 pieces of flat beef jerky running parallel to each other, from the pubic area up to the sternal area…
Each strip has white lines running horizontally trough them – these are bands of connective tissue.
For most men – the top 3 bands (not including the top band/connective tissue where you see the muscles attach to the front of the rib cage) are what creates the six packs abs look…
But what about the bottom band? Dont all men have that same band?
Yes – we all do – but (now here’s where ‘genetics’ comes into play) – that bottom band – in most men – is sitting at the same level as the muscle – or very close to the same level.
See the ones above it – the ones that create the six pack look – are actually lying below the level of the muscles – so they create like a little valley between the individual ‘blocks’ of muscle.
So – since the ones at the bottom are at the same level as the muscles – there is no ‘valley’ – to create the separated look and hence you don’t see the eight pack – just a six pack – not that “just a six pack” is such a bad thing to have, right?
Thats the simple truth.
Some experts will argue that with “stricter dieting” and “harder workouts” – you can eventually get your six packs to become eight packs…
But if you’ve know me for a while – my philosophy on this is:
Just give me the six pack – I don’t need two more – I have a life to live and it’s not ‘in the gym’…
Vince from http://www.SixPackAbsForMen.com knows exactly what I mean – and he loved the simplicity of my answer. If you happen to go downlaod the free online videos he’s giving away – don’t forget to tell him “Gumba Joey sent me.” (thats Italian slang for ‘friend’)…
Don’t Be Like Everybody Else… Be Fit!
Joey Atlas
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Tags: 6 pack abs, 8 pack abs, eight pack abs, sis pack abs
August 7th, 2008 at 10:46 am
[...] admin wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptOne of the most often asked questions I get from guys is “Joey why is it that some guys have six pack abs and others get eight pack abs? Is it their diet, their workouts or what?” What made me think of writing this article today is my … [...]
September 18th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
Hi Joey, wanted to know the best way to get my abs in shape. I’m fairy slim every where else, it’s those stubborn abs….help.
Tina
March 21st, 2009 at 4:43 am
To Tina,
If you mean your abs are overdeveloped then I’ve found that just flexing them often can tone them down to a slim shape.
April 8th, 2009 at 10:05 am
this is a lie, plain and simple
people arent stuck at a 6pack only because of “genetics”
see, i was stuck at one for a while (in reality, still kinda am)
but in reality, what i have noticed is that not only have i not been doing the right exercise, i havent eaten well enough to induce muscle growth down there
for me, in the earlier stages, my bottom was flat like a board. Once i began doing the right exercise, that has become bigger.. enough to stick out and show(really looks like a “7-pack”)
now i am now goign to complain yet, if it keeps getting bigger and not splitting down the middle like the other pairs, then i’ll say its genetics
but i know that cant be the case, since if i run my fingers through them, it is clear that i have two more down there, not a big one
April 10th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
You all are lucky to have abs of any description. Mine have been removed due to a cancer op and a prothesis sewn in to hold all in place. This makes exercise of any description difficult, yet many women are in my position. A weeks worth of leg lifts just barely allows me to walk without pain.
June 6th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Well as u see in the picture the muscle is built in a 8-pack but just like the article explained the bottom 2 don’t seem separated because there’s a muscle under them which pops out into the ‘valley’ created by them being separated…
So yeah, they’re separated, but no, nobody will be able to see it
[unless u have the right genes...anyway I can't see why 6 pack isn't enough]
All u can do is develop the lower muscle…It’s good but wont make the bottom 2 ’squares’ separate…
June 13th, 2009 at 2:07 am
i got a six pak in 5th grade and my families history is that we are a small build……anywho i am in 9th grade and have an 8 pack! why?…cuz i worked for it! no one in my family has a six pack
June 25th, 2009 at 5:03 am
well i am a girl and i have a 6pack at 11 and my whole family is like skin and bone. the only way you get abs is you work for it and train hard. i have done martial arts since 4 and from then ive been aiming high. seriously guys, you want a 6 pack… work for it.
July 8th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
my girlfriend claims to have an eight pack and be strong she is quite strong and works her arm out a lil but I’m doutin she has an eight pack coz I’ve Neva even seen a six pack on her but if she is telling the truth is there a possibility that it cud just b thru her being very slim or slim and a bit toned also I am onli 12 and don’t wanna ask my parents for weights do u have any exercises I can do with jus my self to get me a mor toned looking six pack or possible 8 pack and som exersices for shoulders biceps and triceps.
July 12th, 2009 at 7:04 am
nice conclusion joey
July 28th, 2009 at 1:00 am
im 15 years old and i got and 8 pack ha… but it took me a while to get i was working on them for a while can wait to go to the pool or beach
August 30th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
im 15 too. when i was just turned 14 i was 4′10 and had man boobs and fat hangin from my stomach. i started working out 4 hours a day and run 3 miles daily too.And now i just turned 15. im 5′5 and have a 8 pack. just shows that hard work can get you any where.
September 7th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
I hate when little kids talk about how hard they’ve worked to get their “8-packs” when its only because they are skin and bones. LOL
September 15th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Yeah exactly… loll.
They think they get their six-pack because they trained for it. But it’s just because they are still growing and therefor their BF% is very low. That’s why people, whom never do any powerlifting but have low BF%, have abs. But when you ask them to do a little benchpressing or squating they can’t do more than 30lbs.
September 30th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Hey no thts not true im 13 and i have 8 packs…..and its because i went to the gym everyday and ate like salads for days ..i really worked hard to lose the fat and i went to the gym like everyday !!! Day and Night !!
October 2nd, 2009 at 11:17 am
I’m 14 and, yes, I’ve got 6-pack. Don’t tell me I haven’t worked for it, I really have. I was only skin and bone when I was younger,then I started to train hard, and I got more and more muscles. Abbas, if you only ate salad, you would NEVER have six pack, ’cause salad don’t contain protein, and your muscles won’t grow without protein. Most certainly, you’ve got a “skinny-pack”.
Something which is also important is to remember to train your whole body, not only your abs.. Doesn’t look nice with six-pack if you’ve got geek arms. And, don’t overdo it. I say this out of experience. Train hard, but not too hard. It doesn’t help to train hard for two months and then quit because you can’t take anymore. It’s training over time which gives results. Much training, yes, but not too much. And yes, the only way to sixpack is, and will hopefully forever be, HARD WORK.
October 7th, 2009 at 5:14 am
I’ve found a good and professional service to help you get six pack abs at http://www.AbsofStoneCoreofSteel.com
They have been doing this many years, and many people have had success thanks to them. Quite interesting.
kind regards!
Robert
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:14 am
you young dumbasses are full of it… I used to have an 8 pack when i was 14 too. I am in very good shape and think i could at last any in a diversified fitness test. I still have abs but not half as impressive as they were when i was 13. You kids sayin you worked hard in the gym…go play some sports and have fun. Liftin and all that shit is not needed…Who cares how many sit ups you can do if you can’t run 5 miles. Also for anyone tryin to work there way into shape, don’t run for miles. Run shuttles and do sprint work, it will tone your entire body.
November 2nd, 2009 at 3:10 pm
i read this article… and it doesnt really say anything about it being impossible to get an 8 pack… ive heard rumors about it being impossible, and ive been goin on a month and a half trying to reach that last two…is thats a true fact, that for some people it is impossible to get an eight pack?
November 23rd, 2009 at 3:24 am
hey little kids:
the reason you’ve got that six or eight pack is mainly because as you go through puberty and grow, you naturally lose weight. You may have had a 6 pack in grade five but it probably wasn’t really cut and was probably because you were very skinny. Yes you may have worked out and eaten only salad, and it may have helped, but eating just salad is unhealthy. I hate when stupid, lazy people try to lose weight by eating very little. Eat a regular meal and just exercise for god’s sake! Also you may have a six pack, but what about your fitness, strength, and flexibility? How fast can you run 40yds or a mile? Can you even bench press the bar? Yeah, you say yes, but my bet is that most of you don’t touch the bar to your chest or you bounce it off your chest like an idiot. Can you touch your toes? Okay since you’re young you’re probably pretty flexible. Also don’t just work out your arms. It looks like shit. Even if you work your entire upper body, but not your lower body, you’ll get body problems (bad back, etc.)
Also, in my opinion, biceps are the most useless muscles in the body and it pisses me off that big biceps are the main sign of strength. The only reason to work them out is to keep them balanced with the rest of the body. Not that any of you care, but just in case, I’m 17 and I’m not just talking. I work out 5 days a week and run 3 days a week (But I don’t work out the same muscles 2 days in a row or when they are sore, because that means they are still recovering from my last workout.). I don’t have a six pack, but I’m working on it (And don’t say that “I’m just jealous.”)
November 25th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
I am 13 and I am week. I will be going off to High school soon and I hear alot of kids get the crap beat out of them. dO YOU GOT any exercises i can do to stregnthen up? and Do you got any fighting tips?
December 3rd, 2009 at 7:59 am
I am afraid you are wrong, at least in my case. I have a very bold 4 pack above my naval, and a slightly less bold 2 pack below it (due in part to what you were saying regarding the muscle’s and tissue’s equivalent level). I have a slight depression along the upper quartile of my top left ab, indicating that, genetics permitting, I would have an 8 pack. But ladies and gents, I regret to say I have a quasi-7 pack.
December 27th, 2009 at 3:15 am
I agree, this makes complete sense. I am 4%BF and I have rippling 6 pack abs. This used to be the norm, but then Taylor Lautner came along with his 8 pack and now that is somehow the standard? Kid has good genetics I guess, but no need to ruin it for the rest of us!
BTW, as a kid I did have a six pack, and yes it was cause I was skin and bones (I called it the “skinny pack”), but I have been going to the gym doing resistant ab exercises for years so now my 6-pack is legit. If you feel it, you can tell.
December 27th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
i have an 8 pack and im 13 and yeah i worked for it took me a year to switch from six pack to eight pack
December 29th, 2009 at 1:33 am
Kids, Kids, Kids… Us older folk don’t need you to tell us ur ages, we can tell ur immature lil bastards by what u say, the human body cant be summed up by a book, and such a large section of it certainly cant be summed up by saying, ‘you just gotta work hard’. Bodybuilding is a science, and no science can be explained in such small writing, if you really want to achieve, and i mean achieve successfully, you need to read books, analyse websites, ask friends and aquaintances, the list goes on, basically speaking u need to get off ur ‘hardcore’ asses, calm down a little, and do some dam research! Most of what u guys say is true, but its only a ‘half truth’, because yes, hard work will develop muscles, but have you considered that hard work may also screw u over for a long time if you do too much of it?? yes, salad is healthy, but like Xaphan says, without some real beefed up foods in ur diet, u can expect nothing more than ripped, but scrawny arms, u’ll look like a nerdy hulk… wich is just weird. On the same note, all protein, no salad, and u can expect to gain muscle at the price of being a sick little bugger every third day of ur life. Maybe ur on a roll, and u already have salad and protein, well done. But food contains a hell of a lot more than that, i used to have sugar all the time, in my cereal, in my coffee, and in the bought and processed foods… the main part of my diet was cereal, and the main drink was coffee, two great things to eat and drink, but over a six month period i suddenly found i had no bloody energy, none! i would be wrecked after a 400metre jog, or 10 pushups, i felt like a fat ass wanker that was slowly dying from diabetes or something. turns out, it simply the excessive amounts of sugar in my diet that caused the weakness, chest pains, and exhaustion. its all good to know what u need to achieve something, but u gotta know what to avoid as well. Hard work, great… too much hard work, ur f*****. And K makes a point that i bet is true for a lot of u young fellas, does the bar even touch ur chest, can u run as far as ur amazing abs hint u can? How fast do u do ur curls, have u got correct posture or are u going to stuff ur back for life? Do u exercise to failure, or do u stop when it hurts, and do extra sets? Cus thats one great way to fail at bulking. Dudes, u got so much to consider, yet ur looking in one direction, ur not thinking outside the box, if u keep being so narrow minded and simple u’ll end up just another dumb footy jock who thinks with his dick and a big mouth. Like i mentioned before, u cant sum up the science of bodybuilding, or getting an eight pack in a paragraph or two, this isn’t supposed to be a freaking guide to getting muscly, its supposed to trigger the light bulb in ur head, get u thinking, get u past the typical cliche bullshit that spouts from the mouths of other youngsters… take advice from someone whos been there, done that, and succeeded. That applies to every aspect of life, not just working out. Peace.
P.S. Hey Camp, getting buff is a start, cus peeps wont want to fight u, much less pick on u if u look capable.. But if u want to know how to fight, begin by learning speed and kicking. not that pretty boy crap where u toe punt them in the shins, practice sidekicking thin air and staying balanced. Just remember that time and practice makes perfect yeh…