Body fat %

I need to lose some weight, (been spending too much time on LPSG rather than at the gym! ) at the moment I am about 20% flab.

I found this website and have realised that I could get a 6 pack from the 4 months left at my gym.

Anyone monitored their body fat during weight loss or weight training?

At what percentage did your 6 pack appear?

i dont know when mine happened but im pretty sure it depends on your body weight. its simple though, just do cardio exercise, drink water, and dont eat junk.

I think once you get down around 10% (give or take) you can see them. It is hard to stay there, though.

10% is a bit too low isn't it Lex?

I thought 14% was the minimum that you should go to.

A general rule of thumb for most athletes is that you maintain your body fat in the 10-12% range until your're entering the period of peak performance/competition at which point you drop it down to about 8-9%. Below 8% is considered unhealthy. These are general guidlines that vary with person and sport. If you're not "in competition" and are just trying to maintain a tight body, it's my experience that keeping it in the 9-12 range is relatively easy to maintain and works well.

If you have well developed abs, you should see a six pack starting at 15 percent bodyfat. The top two rows of abs should be visible at this stage. Water under the skin has a lot to do with abdominal definition and if you are water logged, you won't see much even at low bodyfat levels. The problem is the last one or two rows of abs (it is rare to have four rows of abs, most people have three) are hard to see at 15 percent bodyfat. Again, if you have well developed abdominal muscles, it will be easier to see them with higher bodyfat levels.

So Lex is right, at 10 percent most everyone is really cut and some are ripped at that bodyfat level. You can look great at 15 percent if your muscles are well conditioned and you have your subcontaneous fluid levels kept to a healthy minimum. I did a couple of bodybuilding contests as a teenager and had to "cut up" after a fat adolescence. I am now currently losing weight and am at around 18 percent bodyfat, but have well developed abs, and no problem showing a sort of clear "4 pack". Two words brother - INTERVAL TRAINING!!!!!!!

I saw that body builders get down to 5-6% for competitions, how do do they do that?

That is usually attained by having a LOT of muscle. All that muscle creates an unbelievably fast metabolism that has the capability to burn bodyfat at an accelerated rate. They also use drugs to cut up like GH and Insulin, they used to use Winstrol and Albuterol when I was bodybuilding in the late eighties and early nineties, I don't really know what they are using now. The stack of ephedrine Hcl., Caffiene, and aspirin is the safest OTC way to cut up with pharmaceuticals. Bodybuilding.com carries one of the only liscensed versions of ephedrine hcl. currently available in the US.

Seriously? Federal law now prohibits the sale of ephedrine hcl. How did bodybuilding dot com manage to get around the federal law?

I'm glad you bring this up, tripod. Some people, no matter what diet and exercise regimen they are on, just can not get body fat % down that low, or if they can, they can't get the distribution that they want. Use of hormones, (including insulin and anabolic steroids) is exceptionally dangerous. And maintaining a body fat percentage that is too low can have disasterous effects on the body's natural hormone production. Fat metabolism is involved in most of the body's hormone production and metabolism and balance.

The way to look great and be happy with your build is to have a balanced eating regime (I hate the word diet) with lot sof protein, water, and little of the bad stuff (all the things that taste really good).

I know many hot guys who have great builds and don't have 6 or 8-packs.

If you exercise and change your eating habits (meaning change your entire lifestyle), you will see an increase in muscle mass and a decrease in body fat. Increased muscle will, in turn, burn more fat and make you more lean. At some point, your weight will remain constant but your physique will change (for the better).

Lex--man without a 6-pack

When I was in high school, I was thin. 6' 4" tall, and a whopping 165 pounds. I rode my bicycle everywhere, and several times a week would go on a 30 or so mile ride. I got lots of aerobic exercise. But no matter what I tried (natural, that is, no chemicals) I still had something of a "spare tire." On my little 32 inch waist. Situps and crunches didn't help. More aerobic exercise didn't help. That's just they way I was, and still am, built. Unless I take some pretty potent drugs or major surgery, I'll be destined to have my little bit of spare tire. And ya know, I've gotten used to that, and I'm OK with it. I know, it sends some of the image queens into a tizzy, but so be it.

Working construction keeps me in the 12-14 range. I can only imagine where I would be if I quit drinking. I say I can only imagine because its the truth, I will never find out. I thought the ban on ephedra expired?

I just had my % taken at the gym and mine is 12.7%. My abs show just a tiny bit which really pisses me off. Hawaii has made me very lazy but im getting back into shape. Im a skinny bitch to begin with so ive been lifting as well. My b/f is at 8% body fat and u can deffinately see his abs but he's a gymnast and has been blessed with good genes to boot.

But from what i understand.. the 10% is when they start to show!

ranges on the person....for most <15% a toned abdomen will show. For others it will take 10%.....The reason swimmers look so ripped is bc they're body fats before big competitions are closer to 5-8%. Anything lower than 5% is dangerous bc your body needs the fat for cushioning of organs and also hormone production. When I swam at university I was 3.5% and had constantly to see a nutrionist for increasing my body fat. They put me on a high fat high calorie diet and I lost 5 pounds :( Eventually I just gave up on it bc i was healthy. Now i have probably tripled my body fat and I want to drop it back down <10% but its hard to do with 12+ - 36 hour shifts

As a girl , mine is 20 % and i show abs sometimes....at 18 % its perfect but i can't eat burgers hahaha......10% on me i'd be dead i reckon!!!

:)
Honey