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What Body Fat Percentage for Abs?
Working to develop your abs is only half the battle in making sure you look ripped. The other side of the story is the amount of cardio you do and the diet you follow. Strengthening and developing your abdominal muscles while skipping cardio and / or following an unhealthy diet will of course make you stronger, but it won't lead you to getting an impressive, cut figure.
What you need to aim to do in your training and with your diet is lower your body fat percentage. This is not as simple as just losing weight. Reducing the total number of pounds you weigh can be achieved by lowering your body fat OR your musculature （or both together）. In your training you need to be working to reduce your body fat while maintaining or increasing your musculature.
So, what target body fat percentage do you need for your abs to show? The first thing is to make sure that you have been training your abs. If there is no muscle there, no amount of cardio or strict dieting is going to reveal something that doesn’t exist in the first place.
The second thing to understand is the your target body fat percentage will vary if you are a man or a woman. Men on average have a lower body fat percentage then women who carry more fat in their breasts and buttocks. The average for men is 18-24%; for women it is 25-31%. Any more than this and you are fast tracking towards obesity. Part of this percentage includes what is known as essential fat. This is the minimum required amount for you body (and mind) to stay healthy and function normally. For men that figure is 2-5%; for women 10-13%. Lowering your body fat percentage for prolonged periods of time can be very dangerous to your health (Bruce Lee was down to 1% at the time of his death, thought to be a contributing factor to weakening his body). Top athletes and fitness models only hit very low body fat percentage figures for short periods of time (such as when they compete) while usually walking around several kilograms (of fat) heavier. Even then, they are competing within the range of minimal essential fat.
So, what body fat percentage do you need for cut abs? For men you want to be looking at getting down to around 10%. Women should aim for around 17%. These figures are intended as guidelines only. Some people will be naturally lean in their stomach areas while others will find they easily put on weight in that area.
As far as actually measuring your body fat does, this is notoriously difficult and different test methods may well produce different results. Given this make sure that you are frequently checking your progress in the mirror to see if you are developing. Also, considering that muscle weighs more than fat, it should be understood that it is possible to gain weight overall (through developing muscle) while at the same time lowering your fat level and becoming leaner.
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