# Washboard Abs - Any purpose or are they only for vanity? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 5, 2012, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washboard-abs-any-purpose-or-are-they-only-for-vanity/611890 "2012-02-05T20:48:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washboard-abs-any-purpose-or-are-they-only-for-vanity/611890/1 "2012-02-05T20:48:37Z")
My generation didn’t have washboard abs. It literally took 1500 sit ups a day to get them and even then they weren’t like these guys have today. Here’s a prime example of washboard abs. Only modern gym equipment can get results like that. [![](http://lh4.ggpht.com/hashout/R_4z2_6eyII/AAAAAAAAAK0/vsX8s8ucaec/Jason_Gremley_Washboard_Abs.JPG) ](http://lh4.ggpht.com/hashout/R_4z2_6eyII/AAAAAAAAAK0/vsX8s8ucaec/Jason_Gremley_Washboard_Abs.JPG) Do Washboard Abs make you a better athlete? Are you really any stronger? You run any faster? I did free weights all the way into my early forties. Did a lot of manual labor on the farm. Unloading 150 bales of hay and stacking them in the barn, or digging fence post holes. Unloading 30 bags of Sakrete at a construction site. Walk up a ladder with two bundles of shingles on my shoulders and stack 30 bundles of shingles on the roof. I paid my way through college doing construction in the summers. All the people in my generation did just fine without washboard abs. So, are they strictly a vanity thing? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washboard-abs-any-purpose-or-are-they-only-for-vanity/611890/2 "2012-02-05T21:02:55Z")
What I’m getting at is my core strength was very good. The mix of free weights and hard physical work meant that I was working all my muscle groups. That didn’t give me washboard abs. My abs were tight but not the exaggerated ones we see today. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washboard-abs-any-purpose-or-are-they-only-for-vanity/611890/3 "2012-02-05T21:04:37Z")
If you do regular abdominal work, you’ll have washboard abs. You just need to lose the bodyfat that’s hiding them. The guy in your link probably is down around 4-6%. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washboard-abs-any-purpose-or-are-they-only-for-vanity/611890/4 "2012-02-05T21:09:52Z")
I don’t buy the OP’s premise. Please post many more pictures of washboard abs from your generation and then several contemporary photos for purposes of comparison. It is my understanding that the muscles can only get so toned and differences between an extremely well defined set of abs and less taut abs is mostly a matter of body fat. So if people were less concerned about body fat compared to overall poundage, maybe there were just fewer people with really low body fat and toned abs. (My impression of the period based almost entirely on Hardy Boy novels and similar youth fiction is that being scrawny was a terrible thing to be and anyone who started working out to build muscle also started putting on more body fat as a side effect of eating more.) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washboard-abs-any-purpose-or-are-they-only-for-vanity/611890/5 "2012-02-05T21:12:51Z")
Washboard abs = low body fat; there’s really no other way to show your abs. Building ab muscles isn’t that big a deal, you don’t need modern gym equipment to do that. Getting them to show up is the hard work, and that’s more diet than lifting. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washboard-abs-any-purpose-or-are-they-only-for-vanity/611890/6 "2012-02-05T21:16:02Z")
Here’s a typical muscular guy from the early 1950’s. He was a big heart throb for the ladies. > **[Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr | Burt Lancaster Picture #10446476 - 454 x 303...](https://fanpix.famousfix.com/gallery/burt-lancaster/p10446476)** > > 23 July 2023... Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr | Burt Lancaster Photo ID: 10446476. Picture of Burt Lancaster - - Latest Burt Lancaster image. [http://www.acertaincinema.com/workspace/media/burt-lancaster-rose-tattoo.jpg](http://www.acertaincinema.com/workspace/media/burt-lancaster-rose-tattoo.jpg) He’s 20 years before my time but a good example of beefcake. Burt obviously worked out a lot. But he doesn’t look like the pretty boys today. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washboard-abs-any-purpose-or-are-they-only-for-vanity/611890/7 "2012-02-05T21:16:56Z")
I think it’s genetic. 5% body fat doesn’t mean the fat is distributed evenly and some people are genetically predisposed to achieving very low body fat without starvation. Or at least that’s what I keep telling myself. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washboard-abs-any-purpose-or-are-they-only-for-vanity/611890/8 "2012-02-05T21:21:28Z")
Weirdly it seems that while some women like washboard abs, most really don’t care all that much as long as you are strong and fit. Fetishizing washboard abs seems to be (from what I’ve seen) mostly a thing gay men like, or alternatively a goal for people who are into body building for it’s own sale. It’s very difficult to get visible, well defined washboard abs because of the low fat subcutaneous levels required to display them. You need to workout and be genetically predisposed. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washboard-abs-any-purpose-or-are-they-only-for-vanity/611890/9 "2012-02-05T21:30:22Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Here’s a typical muscular guy from the early 1950’s. He was a big heart throb for the ladies. > [http://www.fanpix.net/picture-gallery/burt-lancaster-picture-10446476.htm](http://www.fanpix.net/picture-gallery/burt-lancaster-picture-10446476.htm) > [http://www.acertaincinema.com/workspace/media/burt-lancaster-rose-tattoo.jpg](http://www.acertaincinema.com/workspace/media/burt-lancaster-rose-tattoo.jpg) > > He’s 20 years before my time but a good example of beefcake. Burt obviously worked out a lot. But he doesn’t look like the pretty boys today. I imagine he didn’t restrict his diet enough to reduce his body fat percentage far enough. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washboard-abs-any-purpose-or-are-they-only-for-vanity/611890/10 "2012-02-05T21:32:54Z")
We all have abdominal muscles like that (although maybe a bit smaller). The only difference between the pic in the OP and the average person is that the guy there has very low body fat. ETA: Here’s the [Wikipedia article on the rectus abdominis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rectus_abdominis_muscle), which is the muscle that you’re seeing when you think washboards. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washboard-abs-any-purpose-or-are-they-only-for-vanity/611890/11 "2012-02-05T21:32:57Z")
I’m not an expert but from I’ve learned, people that get down to very low bodyfat lose strength & stamina. Body Builders will practically starve a few days before competition to drop bodyfat and show the muscles. Then go back to a normal training weight. If washboard abs require extremely low bodyfat, then maybe they aren’t that desirable for athletes? As Runner Pat said… I only brought this up because of the current obsession for washboard abs. Every tv commercial for gym equipment has a dude and lady bulging with W. Abs. There’s several products sold on tv to get W abs. Its like you just have to have W abs. 😛 > [@](#): > > If you do regular abdominal work, you’ll have washboard abs. You just need to lose the bodyfat that’s hiding them. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washboard-abs-any-purpose-or-are-they-only-for-vanity/611890/12 "2012-02-05T21:49:35Z")
I find they’re very useful for camping. Sometimes, particularly when you’re out for more than a week, you just need to clean your clothes. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washboard-abs-any-purpose-or-are-they-only-for-vanity/611890/13 "2012-02-05T21:53:23Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m not an expert but from I’ve learned, people that get down to very low bodyfat lose strength & stamina. Body Builders will practically starve a few days before competition to drop bodyfat and show the muscles. Then go back to a normal training weight. Only if they starve themselves to the point of total glycogen depletion. Marathon runners (notably Frank Shorter at 3%) certainly don’t lack stamina and they are _not strong_ by choice and the needs of the sport. Washboard abs don’t require low bodyfat, only if you want them to show. ---
**Author:** ![Marconi\_N.Cheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Marconi\_N.Cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marconi_N.Cheese)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washboard-abs-any-purpose-or-are-they-only-for-vanity/611890/14 "2012-02-05T22:05:19Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > I find they’re very useful for camping. Sometimes, particularly when you’re out for more than a week, you just need to clean your clothes. Good point. The downside is they’re likely to attract bears. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washboard-abs-any-purpose-or-are-they-only-for-vanity/611890/15 "2012-02-05T22:10:13Z")
I wonder if it’s partly an “achievement” thing. A guy with a 6-pack has something that lots of guys would like to have, but few actually achieve. And, ironically, women tend to find _that_ attractive even if they don’t care so much for the aesthetics. Of course then comes the question of why did guys want to have a 6-pack in the first place. This is a bit more of a complex question I think. An interesting one too. Like other cultural body things, like shaving legs, it seems to have sprung up overnight this idea that if you don’t have a six pack you aren’t 100% fit. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washboard-abs-any-purpose-or-are-they-only-for-vanity/611890/16 "2012-02-05T22:11:04Z")
> [@Marconi\_N.Cheese](#): > > Good point. The downside is they’re likely to attract bears. And just when I thought the original couldn’t be beat 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washboard-abs-any-purpose-or-are-they-only-for-vanity/611890/17 "2012-02-05T22:11:20Z")
These days I scrub my clothes with my love handles. 😃 I need to drop 20 lbs before my back packing trip next summer. > [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > I find they’re very useful for camping. Sometimes, particularly when you’re out for more than a week, you just need to clean your clothes. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washboard-abs-any-purpose-or-are-they-only-for-vanity/611890/18 "2012-02-05T22:14:14Z")
If you have the money, a plastic surgeon can do subcutaneous implants for you-Florida and L.A. are the best places to look. The cost? $15,000 and up! But choose your doctor with care-this is an operation that is easily botched. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washboard-abs-any-purpose-or-are-they-only-for-vanity/611890/19 "2012-02-05T22:42:50Z")
Vanity. As **Aceplace** has pointed out, abs we’re not a big deal and were not considered particularly sexy up until about 20 years ago. Indeed, women of the 1950s & 60s thought big, defined muscles were gross. By the 70s, polls showed that women felt that the butt was the sexiest part of a man, and ranked big muscles at the bottom of the list of properties. That changed by the 90s. Six-pack abs became desirable, and men went for them because of the change in perception. Eventually, they will be as quaint as codpieces. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washboard-abs-any-purpose-or-are-they-only-for-vanity/611890/20 "2012-02-05T22:49:35Z")
[Bruce Lee](http://www.mikementzer.com/blee.html) was able to show off his abs. Did he have _any_ body fat? We’ve had this discussion [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=634590&highlight=washboard) recently. Agreed that the media idealized image of abs like that is of recent vintage and that beefcake of past eras did not require those abs. You can probably trace it back to when GI Joe toys went from being [normal](http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1915120,00.html) athletic male proportions to [the Superman builds](http://www.hisstank.com/gallery/Toy-Fair-2007/GI_Joe_Toy_Fair_2007_0001). Maybe that first HeMan cartoon? Not so sure it requires specialized equipment so much as the absurdly low body fat percent, _and_ exercises targeting ab muscle hypertrophy, _and_ a genetic predisposition to develop those muscles. Of course those abs are all vanity. That level of low body fat is not sustainable by most nor is there any reason to think that such a low level contributes to athleticism or to long term health; superficial ab hypertrophy does not equal core strength which often means the long stabilizer muscles most of which don’t show much. [Michael Phelps](http://www.hunkymalecelebs.com/michael_phelps/pictures/3.jpg), athlete, very very low body fat … washboard? Nah. Lean, muscular abs, yes, but not like the vanity abs. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washboard-abs-any-purpose-or-are-they-only-for-vanity/611890.md?page=2)