Road to 6-Pack Abs — Part 1
Starting a new series. The goal lives on my impossible list under Strength & Fitness — “visible six-pack” — and I want to actually pin it to a date, share the receipts, and not let it slide off the page for another year.
Inspired by Ankur Warikoo’s “21 km to six-pack in 5 months”. Different starting point, different sport mix, same idea: write it down, show the data, get there.
Where I am right now
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 81–82 kg |
| Height | 178 cm |
| Age | 29 (30 on Dec 16, 2026) |
| Body fat % | unknown — getting a DEXA before Part 2 |
The targets
By Dec 16, 2026 (my 30th birthday):
- Sub-75 kg on the scale
- Sub-15% body fat
- Visible six-pack — abs you can actually see in the mirror, not “I can feel them under the layer”
Sub-15% is the realistic line where abs start showing for most men; sharper definition lives a few points lower. Getting under 15% honestly is the goal — the mirror will tell me how much further (if any) past that I need to go.
Why the year is shaped the way it is
This isn’t a pure cut. I have a racing calendar to honour, and the training has to do double duty.
| Block | Months | Primary focus | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Run + long Sundays | May → Jul | Running volume, one long ride/week | Build aerobic base in the heat without the bike load |
| Cycling build | Aug → Oct | Bike volume + intensity | Re-enter cycling shape after the run block |
| Race-specific | Oct → Dec | 1-min and 5-min power | Nationals — last week of Dec |
Cycling is not the highest training priority this year — strength and body composition are. But I race with a team and the community matters, so the periodisation has to land me at Nationals in December with usable form. Strategy: prioritise the 1-min and 5-min power numbers over endurance — short, hard, repeatable efforts are also what supports lean mass during a deficit, so it doubles up nicely.
What I’ll share publicly
Each post in this series will be a mix of:
- Weight + body comp — weekly weigh-ins, DEXA when I get one
- Diet structure — macros, what a typical day looks like
- MyFitnessPal exports — actual logged days, not the curated version
- Workout plans — strength sessions, run weeks, key bike sessions
- What’s working / what isn’t — honest monthly recap
Cadence
Monthly recap as the anchor post, with a short mid-month interim if anything material shifts (PR, plateau, injury, plan change). The chess Road to ELO 1500 series runs in parallel — different domain, same accountability shape.
What’s next
Part 2 — the diet structure: target macros, the food framework I’m starting with, and the first week of logged MFP data. I’ll also book the DEXA so the body fat number stops being a guess.