Wanting bodyfat below 10%
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My photo is about 8.1% I had a Dexa earlier that day... The leanest I ever got (usually in the 8s by the time the pools and beaches open) .
It's winter now and I'm fattening up to between 10 and 12 and staying there until spring in the hopes of adding a bit more lean mass. I'm in my 50s so it's harder every year to add muscle but I seem to be able to rip off the fat fairly quickly.3 -
You can continue to eat pasta but not much of it.
For example limit your spaghetti to less than 5 strands.
(Just kidding.)
Seriously, pasta is very calories dense so you can't eat much of it.1 -
What a genuine 7-8% body fat looks like
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Unless that's a person with a lot of visceral fat and a fatty liver that is more like 4. That's far more shredded than unlimited IFBB pros full of drugs and dehydrate. They typically hit the stage between 3 and 5.7
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jamesakrobinson wrote: »Unless that's a person with a lot of visceral fat and a fatty liver that is more like 4. That's far more shredded than unlimited IFBB pros full of drugs and dehydrate. They typically hit the stage between 3 and 5.
That’s burto Nunez 6 weeks out from show2 -
Nobody since munzer really hits 3%
Well apart from this guy
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LOL Somebody get that guy a sandwich and a glass of water STAT!
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I prefer this look...
Reg Park
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jamesakrobinson wrote: »Unless that's a person with a lot of visceral fat and a fatty liver that is more like 4. That's far more shredded than unlimited IFBB pros full of drugs and dehydrate. They typically hit the stage between 3 and 5.
Or people overestimate their leanness....4 -
livingleanlivingclean wrote: »jamesakrobinson wrote: »Unless that's a person with a lot of visceral fat and a fatty liver that is more like 4. That's far more shredded than unlimited IFBB pros full of drugs and dehydrate. They typically hit the stage between 3 and 5.
Or people overestimate their leanness....
Most likely.0 -
Well short of an autopsy Dexa is (IMHO) one of the best ways to determine it. I get one every 6 months so I don't think I am delusional about my body composition.2
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jamesakrobinson wrote: »Well short of an autopsy Dexa is (IMHO) one of the best ways to determine it. I get one every 6 months so I don't think I am delusional about my body composition.
You look pretty ripped there.
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What a genuine 7-8% body fat looks like
So an important thing to note is that just as Dexa can be "fooled" by super-hydration to make the lean mass seem higher (and therefore give a lower bodyfat percentage), dehydration by using diuretics will give a higher bodyfat reading. I personally follow the guidance and book my scans in the morning before I go for breakfast so I can be empty but not dried out or holding extra water. I am paying for the scan so I want useful information.
The above photos are OBVIOUSLY using diuretics and / or haven't had a sip of water or a milligram of sodium for a while. That skews Dexa incorrectly toward fat.
You are supposed to be "normally hydrated", void your bladder and not full of food. I reiterate that those photos are in the 4% range and abnormally dry and sodium depleted.4 -
jamesakrobinson wrote: »What a genuine 7-8% body fat looks like
So an important thing to note is that just as Dexa can be "fooled" by super-hydration to make the lean mass seem higher (and therefore give a lower bodyfat percentage), dehydration by using diuretics will give a higher bodyfat reading. I personally follow the guidance and book my scans in the morning before I go for breakfast so I can be empty but not dried out or holding extra water. I am paying for the scan so I want useful information.
The above photos are OBVIOUSLY using diuretics and / or haven't had a sip of water or a milligram of sodium for a while. That skews Dexa incorrectly toward fat.
You are supposed to be "normally hydrated", void your bladder and not full of food. I reiterate that those photos are in the 4% range and abnormally dry and sodium depleted.
So how do you test the bf% of an IFBB pro on stage?0 -
Ah... Got me there. I suspect that if it's measured, it's done before the sodium and water restrictions... I doubt there's all that much actual fat loss in the last couple weeks? (maybe some from fat burning drugs?). I expect the numbers given in the stats are an educated guess based on what was measured and extrapolating. The guys who collapse and die get autopsies... Luckily that's fairly rare but definitely provides some data points.1
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jamesakrobinson wrote: »What a genuine 7-8% body fat looks like
So an important thing to note is that just as Dexa can be "fooled" by super-hydration to make the lean mass seem higher (and therefore give a lower bodyfat percentage), dehydration by using diuretics will give a higher bodyfat reading. I personally follow the guidance and book my scans in the morning before I go for breakfast so I can be empty but not dried out or holding extra water. I am paying for the scan so I want useful information.
The above photos are OBVIOUSLY using diuretics and / or haven't had a sip of water or a milligram of sodium for a while. That skews Dexa incorrectly toward fat.
You are supposed to be "normally hydrated", void your bladder and not full of food. I reiterate that those photos are in the 4% range and abnormally dry and sodium depleted.
This was 6 weeks out. He would be "flat" and glycogen depleted but not cutting water or sodium!1 -
Stage ready
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What a genuine 7-8% body fat looks like
No way that's 7-8% BF. I got down to 8% (as measured by hydro) a couple of times and never looked like that.
It looks more like 3-4% (as do the other pics of the dudes w/shredded glutes do) which you can achieve for comp but is unhealthy and unsustainable in the long term.
FWIW, 5% is generally considered the min fat necessary for men to maintain healthy body function, which includes your brain and hormonal systems.1 -
This is 3%, burto is nowhere near that lean
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Man I’d help ya but I know I’m mean but I don’t even know if I’m under 10 how do you know you’re exactly 11.8? That’s pretty precise don’t cha think2
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thapainmaker wrote: »Man I’d help ya but I know I’m mean but I don’t even know if I’m under 10 how do you know you’re exactly 11.8? That’s pretty precise don’t cha think
Personally, I like to take it out to three decimal places.1 -
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How much does a DEXA scan cost?0
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jamesakrobinson wrote: »My photo is about 8.1% I had a Dexa earlier that day... The leanest I ever got (usually in the 8s by the time the pools and beaches open) .
It's winter now and I'm fattening up to between 10 and 12 and staying there until spring in the hopes of adding a bit more lean mass. I'm in my 50s so it's harder every year to add muscle but I seem to be able to rip off the fat fairly quickly.
You look closer to Jon Venus in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdG3QfmjpvU, he was tested to be 17%. 2 -
This video shows just how random dexa scans
Can be
No, the video doesn't show that DXA results are random. It shows that they vary and aren't perfect. No method of BF measurement is. They all vary in accuracy and reliability; some more than others. The video points this out too
The degree of error for both DXA and hydro is reported and generally accepted to be about 5% and the results/pics used in the video for those methods are within that possible degree of error, especially if you watch Part 2 of the video, where the host gives his description of what he considers to be the main characteristics of the different BF levels from >25% down to <5%.
The video also illustrates why the BodPod is considered one of the least accurate and reliable methods of BF measurement w/a potential degree of error at 10%. Far less accurate than DXA or hydro.
If you haven't watched both videos, you should. They are both funny and informative.
FWIW, I have been routinely measuring my BF quarterly for the past year using both DXA and hydro. The DXA results have always been 2-3% higher than the hydro and my last results put me between 10.9 (hydro) and 13.4 (DXA). Based on the descriptions in Part 2 of the video, I'm in the 10-12% range which I believe is consistent w/the DXA and hydro results that I've been getting.
I once got an 8.9% BF result w/hydro but I knew that I wasn't really at 8-9%. I was extremely dehydrated at the time (after sunbathing all day in 100+ degree weather. It was an ego boost to get that low # but was essentially a waste of $39 (the cost of the test). No subsequent result has been so low.
In any event, even as a regular user of both DXA and hydro, I think the point that the videos is trying to make is valid.
Do not take the DXA or hydro results as PROOF that your BF is at a specific level. It is only an indicator, within a certain degree of error, of what it is.
As the photos/clips in Part 1 and the descriptions in Part 2 make clear, you'll know just by looking in the mirror what your "relative" level of BF is.
From this perspective, I would tend to agree that paying good $ to get just to put a # on your BF% is probably unnecessary, if you ONLY get a measurement of BF vs LBM. It's nice to be able to put a # on it but it's certainly not essential.
DXA, on the other hand, measures more than that. It will give you a measurement of bone weight (as distinguished from all other tissue that is not considered fat, which will confirm or dispute whether one is truly really "big boned" or not ) and bone density (which is what it was originally designed to measure and is very important if you are at risk for osteoporosis).
DXA will also give you a measurement of VAT (visceral adipose tissue), which is the fat around the organs in your belly and is a better indicator of your risk for diabetes, heart disease and other medical disorders than just your BF% over all.
Less important but possibly useful, DXA also gives you a separate BF measurement by body part - legs, arms, torso and abdomen. While we all know that we can't spot reduce, this kind of data can either confirm or debunk the notion that one carries their weight mainly in one area as opposed to another.
DXA is the only BF measurement technique that can give you such information. So, if you need/want such info, getting a DXA scan can have value beyond just putting a # on your BF level.
If you do not need/want such data, then you can probably skip measuring your BF altogether by any method and just rely on the pics and descriptions in Parts 1 & 2 of the video.
The risk is that you are not or cannot be honest w/yourself when classifying yourself based on the pics and descriptions. If that's the case, then perhaps you should just accept a DXA or hydro result, especially if it gives you a favorably low #.
Personally, I'm a data nerd and will continue to get tested by DXA, if for no other reason than to keep an eye on my VAT and bone density which at my age (67) obviously matters more to people my age than those who are younger. I'll also keep doing hydro just as a basis for a comparison w/DXA.
However, after the final tests that I take this year, I think that I will only do them annually from now on, as long as my weight remains constant, as it has for the past year, as an indictor of my health and for the same reason that I get a physical and take certain blood tests annually.
It is easy (and for me cheap) to do.0 -
Yeah I want to repeat here again... The photos of guys who are looking like they're almost stage ready are almost certainly glycogen depleted. This removes a lot of water from the muscle tissue, in turn making for a smaller (than "true") value for their lean mass... When you plug that lower lean mass value into the equation (ratio really) the percentage of fat is higher. This is exactly why when you (well where I go) schedule your Dexa you get guidance on how to get the most accurate results. You should be "normally hydrated", rested (not recently exercised), and empty (voided bladder and bowels).
Ideally you go in the morning before breakfast after having eaten and hydrated as usual (not your typical cutting diet) the day before.
It's way more accurate if you aren't in any extreme phase.0
https://youtu.be/mrllUxAr1_g
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