Abs and myths

There’s a new urban legend in the making and it all stems from the makeover that actor Shahrukh Khan got himself. Khan’s chiselled new look—complete with washboard abs and lean, vein-popping muscles—has given rise to intense speculation about how Khan, 42 and a chain-smoker, transformed himself into a hunk in barely six months. One theory is that Khan went under the knife.

That he opted for surgical procedures to carve out a middle that wowed you when you saw him bare torso-ed in his new film, Om Shanti Om. That, in all probability, is a myth. True, going under the knife can do wonders for the human body. As we all know, women can get their breasts enhanced to improbable Barbie-like proportions. Men too can get pectoral implants to enhance their chests, calf implants to get from spindly to athletic and even biceps and triceps pumped up with a bit of silicone. So why can’t plastic surgery get you six-pack abs?

The simple answer to that is because it’s not necessary. Everyone, yes, everyone, has a six-pack tucked away into his or her middle. You can’t see it because of what is on top of it—fat. Get rid of those layers, and you too can flaunt what you already have, a six-pack.

It’s not easy to get your six-pack to show. Myths abound as well. Doing endless abdominal crunches are not enough to get a six-pack. Crunches are like any other resistance training work-outs— they help muscles grow larger and stronger but they don’t help reducing the fat that covers muscles. For that to happen, there is no other way than to reduce your overall body fat. There are various ways of measuring body fat—you can either go in for a skinfold caliper measurement (which measures the amount of fat in different parts of the body) or a bio-electrical bodyfat scale (which passes a low-level electrical current through the body) or by hydrostatic weighing (which uses the Archimedes Principle to calculate body density and, hence, fat levels).

According to health experts, for men, it is acceptable to have 18-25 per cent body fat, while for women a higher 25-31 per cent is okay. Go beyond those levels and you’re classified as obese. Fit males should have a 14-17 body fat percentage and fit women 21-24. Athletes usually have 6-13 per cent (men) and 14-20 per cent (women).

If you can get your body fat levels down to athletic levels, your six-pack will pop out magically. Except that there’s no magic, only very hard work that can get you there. What’s the route to a six-pack then? Intensive cardiovascular exercise, like running, cycling, rowing, etc. Plus weight training so that you burn fat but don’t lose muscle. And, last but not least, a sensible low-calorie diet. This could mean saying goodbye to lots of your favourite stuff—carbohydrate and sugar rich foods, alcohol, etc. It would also mean eating less but more frequently to keep your metabolism fired up to burn fat.