How to Get Blocky Abs? A Complete Guide – UPDATED 2022

A defined 6 pack is one of the most desirable features for men and women. Going into 2022, there’s never been a better time to start taking your fitness routine seriously to develop a more defined abdomen. Some people describe this feature as “blocky abs”.

Wondering how to get blocky abs? This guide will explain what blocky abs are, how to develop blocky abs, the benefits of defining your abs for males and females, and more!

 

How to Get Blocky Abs? A Complete Guide

When you hear the term ‘blocky abs’, you might think of something like the rectangle-shaped figure. It’s not quite the same though.

A rectangle figure is something that you’re naturally born with, whereas blocky abs are a feature that you develop through training. But what exactly are blocky abs? And how to get blocky abs?

First, it’s important to understand what exactly makes up a set of abs, and how abs are structured. To create a 6 pack, you need a balance of two things – low body fat percentage, and a defined transversus abdominis.

The transversus abdominis makes up your abs and your core. It’s the muscle that you’re strengthening when you do exercises to build a 6 pack or an 8 pack. This muscle is framed by the obliques, which are what can make your abs look uneven or even.

Your obliques can differ based on your genetics – less defined obliques are caused by bad ab genetics, and might lead to your abs looking uneven or rounded. The transversus abdominis on the other hand starts the same for everyone.

Your abs are covered by a layer of fat, and to have a defined 6 pack you need to cut down this fat by lowering your overall body fat percentage. You can only build blocky abs effectively with a low body fat percentage.

When you’re ready to move on to building muscle in your abs, it’s important to understand how this happens. The transversus abdominis has another layer of muscle on top of it, called the rectus abdominis. These are small, square-shaped pockets of muscle that give you the blocky abs look.

To build blocky and even abs, you need to focus on exercises for your rectus abdominis and make sure that you’re building muscle evenly across the whole area.

Blocky Abs vs Fat Abs – How Do They Differ?

Having a low body percentage is essential to defined abs, it’s still possible to have somebody fat and also have a 6 pack. These are usually called fat abs. But what’s the difference between blocky abs vs fat abs?

You might think that fat abs are kind of an oxymoron – if you’re training enough to build defined muscle in your core, why aren’t you also losing weight?

The answer is that fat abs can be a result of someone’s natural body type. We’re not talking about a pear shape, a round-shaped body, etc… There are 3 scientific classifications for different body types.

These are the endomorph, the ectomorph, and the mesomorph. Let’s break these down simply. An endomorph is someone who has an equal amount of natural muscle and natural body fat. This is the average figure.

An ectomorph will have less body fat and more muscle. This makes the ectomorph body type much leaner than the other body types.

Finally, there’s the mesomorph. People with the mesomorphic body type have a higher ratio of body fat to muscle, meaning that naturally, they’re stockier and a little chubbier.

Fat abs are usually a result of abdominal training on the mesomorph body type. Blocky abs, on the other hand, are more likely to appear on the ectomorph and sometimes endomorph body types.

Understanding Chunky Ab Training

So, to summarize what we’ve learned, blocky abs are abs that have a lot of muscle built in them. To get blocky abs, you need to make lost little pockets of your rectus abdominis muscle into little beefcakes. Understanding chunky ab training is your next step to doing just this.

There are 3 golden rules for chunky ab training: weights, high frequency, and diet. That last point specifically, pay attention to that.

Ever heard the phrase “abs are made in the kitchen?”. What this means is that building an enviable six-pack is just as much about what you eat as it is about how you burn it off.

To get chunky, blocky abs, you need a low body fat percentage. To get a low body fat percentage, you need to burn fat. To burn fat, you need to be in a calorie deficit…and this is where a lot of people fail on new fitness goals and diets.

Creating a calorie deficit is hard, even when you eat right. So when you’re trying to use more calories than you eat, but you’re eating too many calories anyway…you’re fighting a losing battle.

For chunky ab training, you need to lift frequently, with some high-intensity impact training in there if you’re at the right level for it. And you need to supplement your lifts with a healthy, protein-rich diet that still gets you into the calorie deficit zone based on your current weight.

How to Get Visible Abs as a Woman

It’s an unfortunate and outdated myth that 6 packs only look good on men. If you’re wondering how to get visible abs as a woman, you might be frustrated by looking at the advice that’s geared towards the other sex.

A lot of the key points for building abs apply no matter what your gender. However, vitamins and supplements that are specifically designed for women can help you to build visible abs faster, and can also make you feel a lot healthier.

 

Blocky Abs – Closing Thoughts

In conclusion, building blocky abs is a process that you need to take seriously. To build a defined abdomen you need to think of it as a lifestyle change, and not a workout that you’re only following for a couple of days a week.

Keep reading for our best guides to abdominal workouts, core strengthening, and other types of upper body training that can help you build blocky abs.