Abstract: Surface Anatomy of the Muscular Abdomen - Variations By Sex and Race

INTRODUCTION: The aesthetic muscular abdomen is highly desired by both men and women. Despite its importance in aesthetics, there are few studies identifying the ideal features and measurements. METHODS: Thirty-two male and 41 female participants were recruited from the 2016 NPC Infinity Fit Championships bodybuilding competition. Abdomens were first categorized into rectus muscle tendinous intersection (TI) configuration. The symmetric category was defined as TI that were inline across both rectus muscles in at least two consecutive tendinous intersections. The chevron TI as any abdomen that demonstrated greater than 15 degrees of arch in two or more consecutive TI on each rectus muscle. The stair step configuration is defined as TI at different levels in at least two consecutive TI on each rectus. Measurements were then taken to determine the dimensions of each abdomen, and subcategorized by sex and race. Pictures from each TI category were compiled into a survey, and sent out on the social media platform Facebook.com. Results were analyzed using the Friedman’s test and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test. RESULTS: African American male participants demonstrated 69% symmetric, 15% stair stepped, and 15% chevron TI, with aesthetic preference significantly higher for the symmetric configuration (p = <0.001). Caucasian Males demonstrated 53% symmetric, 32% stair stepped, and 15% chevron TI, with aesthetic preference significantly higher for the chevron configuration (p = <0.001). African American female’s TI configurations were 50% symmetric, 33% stair stepped, and 17% chevron, with aesthetic preference significantly higher for the stair step configuration (p = <0.001). Caucasian female’s TI configurations were 72% symmetric, 13% stair stepped, and 15% chevron, with aesthetic preference significantly higher for the symmetric configuration (p = <0.001). CONCLUSION: Symmetric tendinous intersection configuration was the most common for all cohorts. Also, each cohort seemed to demonstrate roughly the same percentage of the chevron configuration (15–17%). The greatest variation in tendinous intersection configuration was observed with stair stepping (13–33%). There was a significant aesthetic preference for one type of TI within each subgroup, however there was no consistent preference for a particular configuration when subgroups were combined. While tendinous intersection definition is an important feature of the aesthetic muscular abdomen, there appears to be no particular tendinous intersection configuration that is significantly more preferred.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-ND

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