Back in the early 90s, I came up with something similar, that absolutely dates me nowadays (after seeing yet another person, huffing and puffing while doing sit-ups);
“You can’t tell the difference between a Ferrari and a Fiero under two feet of snow”
While it helps to work and tone the abdominal muscles; a visible six-pack is all about cutting the subcutaneous fat layer, so the ‘covering’ is thin enough to reveal the muscles beneath.
Actually, this brings up another good point for anyone interested in improving their body composition.
TLDR
Get some cheap skinfold calipers to track your bodyfat percentage. I can recommend the Accumeasure Skinfold calipers available on Amazon for ~$15.
They’re not exactly like my Lange calipers, but in a way, they’re better for most folks.
1) it’s one measurement, to compare against the provided charts, vs 3 or more at various sites with others
2) it has a measurement hold, unlike all the ones used for studies, like the Lange, Harpenden, Lafayette Instruments etc.
3) it takes a bit of practice to develop the consistency, but once you have the technique to get 3 repeatable measurements in a row, it’s consistent enough to track changes in your bodyfat percentage. The ACTUAL bodyfat percentage, is less important than the changes (but FWIW, I’ve been tracking my bodyfat percentage with Lange calipers for decades, and a long time ago, I checked my BF using the Jackson-Pollock 3-site method, against my results from the dunk tank (hydrostatic weighing), and the difference was 0.3%. I’ve tested the Accumeasure against my Lange measurements, and it was off by less than 1%).
It’s 100% possible to get fitter, while seeing exactly ZERO change on the weight scales, if you happen to be losing fat at the same exact rate that you’re building lean muscle (happened to me when I first joined a gym at about 13).
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