Abs Calculator

This is the calculator only. If you want the live essay that explains the concepts with the calculators built in, click here.

What's your name?

What is your gender?

Female Male

What is your current mass in pound? ⚡️

Imperial (US) Metric (World)

Do you know your current body fat percentage?

No Yes

How to visually estimate body fat percentage with pictures 📸

If you don't know your current body fat percentage, you can estimate it pretty accurately by looking at comparison photos and reading the description of different levels.

I scoured the internet for the best body fat comparison charts.

Fair warning lots of pictures of people with various levels of body fat ahead. You don't have to be exactly accurate. Be honest. Guys usually think they are leaner than they really are, girls the opposite.

Body Fat Level Examples

Click here to see the full sized image in a new tab. Or just click the image.

Body Fat Level Descriptions

40% body fat: Significant fat accumulation in the stomach and waist region. Basic daily activities like walking up stairs or bending over to pick something up are difficult. This body fat percentage is considered morbidly obese.

35% body fat: This percentage of body fat is more of the beer gut look. The waist circumference at this point can be about 40+ inches.

30% body fat: Fat is present all around the body including waist, back, thighs, and calves. The waist will appear slightly larger relative to the hips, and the stomach will most likely be protruding noticeably over the waist.

25% body fat: This is the start of average territory, but 25% body fat for a man is still considered obese. The waist is creeping over 40 inches, which is considered abdominal obesity. There is almost no separation of muscles, no noticeable veins and no muscle striations. There may be a little neck fat. However, this man may not look like he has 25% body fat in normal clothing.

20% body fat: Low end of the average territory. Muscle definition is not as present and noticeable especially in the abdomen. A man with this level of body fat typically has the “soft” look and has a pouch on his abdomen.

15% body fat: This percentage of body fat usually fits into the “lean and fit” category. Outlines of muscle can be seen, but there is not really a clear separation between them. Muscles and veins can slightly be seen, but are covered by a thin layer of fat. However, the overall body shape is present and can be noticed.

10-12% body fat: Very in shape. This is the beach body fat percentage that most people strive for 🏝. Your abs can be clearly seen. At this level is some defined veins in the arms and legs.

6-8% body fat: Extremely low levels of body fat. Absolutely chiseled from stone. Think Baywatch or Blade. This level is very difficult to maintain and not easily sustainable. This level is characterized by muscle definition in most muscle groups and some clear showing of your veins (vascularity) in areas such as arms, legs, and abs.

5% body fat: Ridiculously (dangerously) lean. All muscles, veins, and striations (the rod looking stripes on a muscle) are very visible. This is around the lowest level of body fat a human male can have. You look like an anatomy mannequin.

What is your current body fat percentage?

At 180 pound, with a body fat percentage of 22%, you have 39.6 pound of body fat and 140.4 pound of lean body mass for a total of 180 pound of total mass.

What is your goal body fat %?

Remember, as a male, your abs really pop at 10% body fat, but you can set any goal you desire here.

How to get to goal % body fat

You are at a body fat percentage of 22%. With your current weight of 180 pound, that means you have 140.4 pound of lean body mass and 39.6 pound of body fat.

		With your goal body fat percentage of goal%, you would have a goal weight of  pound, with 140.4 pound of lean body mass and C pound of fat.
	
		C fat mass /  total mass = goal% body fat.

To make this calculation we assume you keep all of your 140.4 pound of lean mass. We just decrease your fat mass by B pound, and you are at gender% body fat.

(Current fat mass of 39.6 - Goal fat mass of C = B pound of fat to lose)

Let's Calculate your BMR

What is your age?

What is your height in feet?

and your remaining height in inches

We will use the weight that you entered earlier, of 180 pound.

Your estimated BMR is bmrAnswer calories per day.

What is your level of Activity?

Sedentary (x 1.15) Light Activity (x 1.35) Moderate Activity (x 1.55) Very Active (x 1.75) Extremely Active (x 1.95)

Need help picking your activity level? 👇🏻

Click to show the Estimating Activity Level Section

How to estimate your Activity Level

Studies have shown that we all overestimate how much we are active. So read the descriptions, pick where you think you are, then move down one level. For example if you think you are Moderately Active, chose Lightly Active. Since it is an estimate it just needs to be close and then you can see what the results are and tweak it.

Sedentary 1.15

You don’t intentionally exercise at all. Get up, go to work, come home, eat dinner, relax.

Lightly Active 1.2

On average, you walk for exercise about 30 minutes a day. Or you are running or lifting weights fro 15 minutes a day.

Moderately Active 1.4

If I was looking for you on a weeknight, I would call the gym. 50 minutes of vigorous exercise a day. Or about one hour and 45 minutes of walking (for exercise, not going around your house) per day. Most people do not do this.

Very Active 1.6

You move vigorously for your work (think something like construction or yardwork), or you workout every single day for more than an hour. If you were to get this level of activity only walking, it would be a nearly impossible four hours and 15 minutes of walking (again, for intentional exercise) a day.

Extra Active 1.8

Hey there Michael Phelps. Almost no one does this. This means every single day you are working out hard for an hour and a half. Or you are a professional speed walker.

Your BMR x Your Activity Multiplier gives your Total Daily Energy Expenditure or TDEE.

bmrAnswer x Activity Multiple = calories per day.

Breakdown:

You currently have 39.6 pound of fat.

At ?% body fat, you will have C pound of fat.

You have to burn off B pound of fat.

There are 3500 calories in 1 pound of fat.

This means we know know how many calories you need to burn off by eating less. 3500 * B = calories calories to use up.

How much energy will you eat per day?

With your TDEE of X a 25% deficit would = a number deficit per day.

X - a number = 25% deficit recommended calories of energy intake per day.

Daily calories you will eat:

With your chosen energy intake of 1500, your caloric deficit is X calories and your percent deficit is not calculated%.

Time breakdown:

It will take you X days to reach ?%.

It will take you X weeks to reach ?%.

It will take you X months to reach ?%.

It will be daysinsert in X days.

Progress Table

Here is how your journey to abs will look over time:

Enter your information to generate your progress table

Use your plan to track your progress in Excel, Google Sheets etc!

Don't forget Protein and Sleep

A calorie deficit isn't the only thing you need to get abs. You also need to try to maintain or increase your lean muscle mass. You do this through getting enough protein, working out your muscles, and getting enough sleep.

How much protein do I need?

Research shows that you need 0.82 grams of protein per pound of total body mass. At 180 pound total body weight, you need grams of protein a day.

How much sleep do I need?

No calculator here. Almost every human on planet earth needs 7-9 hours of sleep a night. If you think you are special and need less, you are probably wrong.

How should I workout?

You can pick nearly any plan. As long as it has progressive overload where you are lifting more weight, or doing more reps or time, you will maintain and even increase your lean muscle mass.

Final Results: Here is there's plan for abs

Here is your completely calculated and filled out checklist to get abs.

✅ Have abdominal muscles
Go from 22% body fat to ?% body fat, by using up B pound of fat, by consistently eating 1500 calories a day.
Lift weights to keep and gain muscle.
Eat much protein grams of protein a day.
Sleep 7-9 hours a night.

If you do the above steps, re-calculating as your body mass changes, you will get abs in X weeks.

Now is the time to take action

You now have the map. You have the knowledge you need to reach your goal of having abs. Now you just need to execute.

You can do this! 🔥⚡️👊🏼

Want Updates?

Version 1.2 - last updated Dec 9th 2021