5'11 / 163 lb father of 3 (need help getting to 7 percent body fat %)

jasonsunlee · January 2016

I've been at my target weight for over a month now and need some motivational MFP friends that will help me jump start my body to a lower body fat %. My goal is 7% so I'm going to need as much support and help thart I can get.

I've lost 24 lbs in the past 4 months (and I worked extremely hard to get to where I am today). Time for a new challenge!

Yi5hedr3 · January 2016

Good luck with that! Single digits are generally reserved for Bodybuilders on steroids. You'll be doing great to hit 11 or 12.

mirrim52 · January 2016

What approx. BF% are you now?

middlehaitch · January 2016

Given you have established maintenance,
either do a cut, lifting heavy to maintain muscle. Or if you haven't been lifting (progressive compound structured programme), start a controlled bulk, to increase muscle mass, followed by a cut (higher protein levels to help retain muscle) to goal weight to expose muscle.

Your alternate is a recomp eating at maintenance and lifting, this is a slower method.

Not knowing more about you that is the best I can do.
You may have better advice reposting in the fitness sub-forum. Give all your stats - age, weight, BF, cals, lifting programme, etc.

Cheers, h.
PS, why such a low BF?

Springfield1970 · January 2016

Have you been 7% body fat before?

Why don't you be realistic and just say you want to lower your body fat bit by bit and see where you are happy?

I recommend a visit to the gaining weight section. The knowledgable people there have halted countless people realise their body fat dreams. Me for one! Over 30% to 15%.

nxd10 · January 2016

I agree. This is a specialized question for people training for competitive body building.

usmcmp · January 2016

Did you do any lifting during your initial weight loss? What is your current body fat %?

jasonsunlee · February 2016

Never did any competitive lifting but I am committed to earning the body that I deserve. I lift 3 to 4 times a week with mixed cardio 3 to 4 times a week. I watch what I eat and limit my fat intake to 74 grams a day. My body fat percentge is now 11 percent... struggling to cut it further down without losing my weight.

jeepinshawn · February 2016

jasonsunlee wrote: »

Never did any competitive lifting but I am committed to earning the body that I deserve. I lift 3 to 4 times a week with mixed cardio 3 to 4 times a week. I watch what I eat and limit my fat intake to 74 grams a day. My body fat percentge is now 11 percent... struggling to cut it further down without losing my weight.

Busy curious which method you used to get your bf%?

codsterlaing95 · February 2016

7% bf as a goal? Are you planning on competing or something? Try for 10-12% bf.

sunnybeaches105 · February 2016

Stop losing weight and start focusing on either recomp or a clean bulk. Focus on lifting.

usmcmp · February 2016

Maintaining a body fat percentage lower than 10 % (for males) requires significant effort and muscle.

Wheelhouse15 · February 2016

usmcmp wrote: »

Maintaining a body fat percentage lower than 10 % (for males) requires significant effort and muscle.

Not only that, it's not really healthy for all but a small percentage with the genetics that allow for it to be sustain for a long period of time. Men under 10% generally will have hormonal issues and be at health risks that might even be worse than being overweight. I would seriously reconsider the motives for this and if it's even healthy and sustainable for him to be under 10 to 12% let alone under 8%.

Wheelhouse15 · February 2016

jasonsunlee wrote: »

Never did any competitive lifting but I am committed to earning the body that I deserve. I lift 3 to 4 times a week with mixed cardio 3 to 4 times a week. I watch what I eat and limit my fat intake to 74 grams a day. My body fat percentge is now 11 percent... struggling to cut it further down without losing my weight.

You won't do it naturally. You can't recomp from 11% to 7% unless you want to use drugs. One factor is that once you get under 10% or so you will find your testorone levels drop, not to mention as you cut more you will need to drop muscle as you go. Sorry, I don't see this as realistic so why do you want let alone "deserve" 7%? Do you have a full 6 pack now? What's the advantage to going lower?

Sued0nim · February 2016

I agree it seems rather arbitrary

Why 7% if not for stage

20yearsyounger · February 2016

usmcmp wrote: »

Maintaining a body fat percentage lower than 10 % (for males) requires significant effort and muscle.

I agree. It's a pain in the butt. No one deserves 7%, you work hard for it. 10-12% is very respectable.

Neversettle78 · February 2016

I agree with several of the above posters that 7% bf as a goal in a non-competitive setting is unrealistic. For almost all this is not a sustainable or ideal body fat percentage to remain at for extended periods of time.
If you are currently already at 11% bf and are still unhappy then I suspect that building muscle is what you require to achieve what you seem to think you will have at 7% bf. I am only guessing at that though.
Perhaps find an image of what your physical goal looks like, then do a side by side comparison with a current picture of yourself to see what the differences are and work towards those. I am almost certain it is going to be to add lean muscle mass to your frame and not lose body fat.

Zmac34 · February 2016

jasonsunlee wrote: »

I've been at my target weight for over a month now and need some motivational MFP friends that will help me jump start my body to a lower body fat %. My goal is 7% so I'm going to need as much support and help thart I can get.

I've lost 24 lbs in the past 4 months (and I worked extremely hard to get to where I am today). Time for a new challenge!

I'm the same height and 7% body fat is my long term goal as well. If you haven't tried already you could include intermittent fasting, lifting heavy with compound exercises, plyometrics in between sets, rest pause sets, hill sprints on off days, and reverse pyramid training. what I've found works the best for me is resistance training 3 days a week with split workouts of 30 minutes so I hit each muscle group at least twice a week. Then on the off days I am running hill sprints 10-12 reps ranging from 25-50 meters. My core exercises include chin-ups, pullups, dips, bench, incline bench, pistol squats, lunges and then the rest is more single muscle exercises.

I'm not sure what your diet is like but attempt to continue for a high carb, medium fat and low to medium protein for macros and a daily deficit of at least 250 calories. Some good fat burning foods include grapefruit, coconut, cruciferous vegetables, hot peppers, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and turmeric.

Zmac34 · February 2016

usmcmp wrote: »

Maintaining a body fat percentage lower than 10 % (for males) requires significant effort and muscle.

I was at 8% at 24 years old but worked out 6 days a week for 45-55 minutes each workout and played basketball every other day. However my diet was terrible relying on meal replacement shakes, and fastfood as 40% of my daily calories. So genetics and age play a significant factor as well.

Zmac34 · February 2016

jasonsunlee wrote: »

I've been at my target weight for over a month now and need some motivational MFP friends that will help me jump start my body to a lower body fat %. My goal is 7% so I'm going to need as much support and help thart I can get.

I've lost 24 lbs in the past 4 months (and I worked extremely hard to get to where I am today). Time for a new challenge!

What are you using to measure your body fat%? The most accurate way is to have a dexa scan done and after that is a bioelectrical scale.

Wheelhouse15 · February 2016

Zmac34 wrote: »

jasonsunlee wrote: »

I've been at my target weight for over a month now and need some motivational MFP friends that will help me jump start my body to a lower body fat %. My goal is 7% so I'm going to need as much support and help thart I can get.

I've lost 24 lbs in the past 4 months (and I worked extremely hard to get to where I am today). Time for a new challenge!

What are you using to measure your body fat%? The most accurate way is to have a dexa scan done and after that is a bioelectrical scale.

No, scales are unpredictable. If you just look at the study numbers you will think they are pretty decent because on AVERAGE they are pretty good, but the variance is very high so individuals can be off by several percentage. You have to remember that the scale is just a potentiometer and it tries to convert that number into a BF% based on model given your hieight, weight, age and sex. For someone like me, who isn't close to the model, it can be off by 8% or more.

Dexa, Bod Pod and water are the best. 7 fold caliper is very good too as long as the person is well trained and the adjustments are done properly.

cwolfman13 · February 2016

I personally don't think this is very realistic...at least not to maintain at that low of a BF%. I know a few guys that compete and they only get that low for show and it's pretty hard on them at that. They're more like 10% on the everyday.

Age is also going to be a factor here...I'm 41 and I start having issues below about 12%.

jasonsunlee · February 2016

Thanks for all of the replies. I realize that 7% is not realistically sustainable but what's wrong with having a goal and target that's a bit harder to reach.

I just don't feel content on maintaining and am constantly look to improve and shock my body in a healthy manner during the peak months of my training.

To date I am mixing ul my routines with interval weighted sprints, plyometrics, and shorter (but heavier) lifting reps to maximize peaks and performance. I'm in the gym about 2 hours+ 5 to 6 days a week.

Again, I'm not competing just trying my best to maximize my potential and set a target (to see how close if not meet my goal). I appreciate the suggestions and will try some of your suggestions to keeo myself disciplined onmy macros.

5'11 / 163 lb father of 3 (need help getting to 7 percent body fat %)

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