Explained: Why six-pack abs are so difficult to achieve – and maintain

Many people start going to the gym in the hopes of achieving what has long been seen as the holy grail of health and fitness: six-pack abdominal muscles or abs). But as many people who have tried will attest – including celebrities, such as comedian Eric André – this can be far more challenging than expected. André even equated the experience of trying to achieve a six-pack with being like a full-time job in and of itself.

There are many reasons why “getting ripped” is so difficult. It requires sustained hard work and a strict diet – and may also come at the cost of good health.

Getting ripped

In order to build any muscle, you need to regularly weight train in combination with eating a diet high in protein.

Weight training works by promoting a process called muscle protein synthesis. Since proteins are the building blocks of our muscles, muscle protein synthesis ensures that new proteins are constantly being made to replace the old proteins which are broken down and removed.

Muscle protein synthesis is also increased when you eat a meal containing protein. But if you do some weight training beforehand, the increases will be larger and last longer compared with if you hadn’t done any exercise.

If you weight train and eat at least 20 grams of protein per...

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