Can anyone hit 5-6% body fat

[madeira17]

Is it strictly time that stops someone from attaining 5-6% body fat or can some people not achieve it. If I keep on dieting down will I eventually get that low or would you guys advise to just start bulking again at 9% and then cut back down. This is purely for aesthetic reasons not that I ever plan on competing I am just curious.

[jlsnyderTypeR]

You're lacking the muscle needed to even consider dropping your bf %. My advice is to keep building while maintaining around 9-10%

[FrosteaTT]

im in the process of fine tuning my diet to get down to 6% or mid 6's, and will try to maintain it.

Will update this thread appropriately

[madeira17]

You're lacking the muscle needed to even consider dropping your bf %. My advice is to keep building while maintaining around 9-10%

Do you think I am 10% now or no? To keep building and sticking around that percentage how much more calories should I eat then maintenance. Maintenance includes my workout correct? So lets say with my workouts I burn about 2400 calories then I should take in how much? The online calculators are strange, does it include working out or no? I read somewhere that taking my LBM which is 130lbs that to build muscle safely without adding to much fat that 2700 cals is good. THanks in advance.

[euclid]

Do you think I am 10% now or no? To keep building and sticking around that percentage how much more calories should I eat then maintenance. Maintenance includes my workout correct? So lets say with my workouts I burn about 2400 calories then I should take in how much? The online calculators are strange, does it include working out or no? I read somewhere that taking my LBM which is 130lbs that to build muscle safely without adding to much fat that 2700 cals is good. THanks in advance.

Bumping this thread for you - I am interested in this as well. I feel like I continually reach the same point and am unable to lose more fat. So I adjust my cals lower and then when my lifts start drastically reducing I get scared and bump the cals back up again...

[TPlain23]

i have to agree here bro, u look great now, but i dont think you have the muscle to still look good if you got 5-6% bf. whatever you choose, good luck bro!



You're lacking the muscle needed to even consider dropping your bf %. My advice is to keep building while maintaining around 9-10%

[PBateman2]

Do you think I am 10% now or no? To keep building and sticking around that percentage how much more calories should I eat then maintenance. Maintenance includes my workout correct? So lets say with my workouts I burn about 2400 calories then I should take in how much? The online calculators are strange, does it include working out or no? I read somewhere that taking my LBM which is 130lbs that to build muscle safely without adding to much fat that 2700 cals is good. THanks in advance.

Honestly, you look 11-12%BF from your avi.

Here is a simple way to clean bulk with minimal fat gain if you are smart:

Workout days: eat 300-500cals above maintenance. Protein 1g per pound of bodyweight and fats at 0.4-0.5g per pound of bodyweight. Rest of cals can fill in with carbs.

Rest/Cardio days: Eat at maintenance following macro suggestions above.

Aim for a 1lb gain every 7-10 days. Make adjustments as necessary. Thats a good and safe way to start - IMO.

[madeira17]

Honestly, you look 11-12%BF from your avi.

Here is a simple way to clean bulk with minimal fat gain if you are smart:

Workout days: eat 300-500cals above maintenance. Protein 1g per pound of bodyweight and fats at 0.4-0.5g per pound of bodyweight. Rest of cals can fill in with carbs.

Rest/Cardio days: Eat at maintenance following macro suggestions above.

Aim for a 1lb gain every 7-10 days. Make adjustments as necessary. Thats a good and safe way to start - IMO.

So I could eat like that while squatting 3 times a week and be ok. I am going to squat using the starting strength program format and deadlift once a week as well. I just want to make sure I am able to gain muscle with that many calories and also add strength in a linear way. Thanks so much guys for everything. That Avi picture I took is from about 50 days ago I am about 146.5 now and was 150 then. It is strange because sometimes in certain light my 6 pack sticks out a lot and other times it looks like I am just small. It is frustrating though haha.

[jchilders04]

Where did squatting come from? He was talking about your diet, not working out, and why are you squatting three times a week?

And maintenance is the amount of calories you need to neither gain nor lose weight, based on your BMR and LBM.

Regardless of anything else, I simply think you need to bulk, at 5'10, 146lb. Use what Pbatement just posted and adjust accordingly.

[BigD208]

Not hating, but it is just completely beyond me why anyone whos not competing wants to try and get to 5-6%....haha your sure as hell not going to maintain bodyfat levels that low for very long at all. If you have decent LBM your going to look ****ing great at 9-10% so why even put yourself through the hell that is getting down to 5-6% if its not for a competition??

[jake1224]

trying to maintain 5% for extended periods of time = death.

Andreas Munzer was at something like 3% for his final competition - I say final because he perished shortly after. His organs dissolved.

[Kraken]

BBers compete at about 4-5% all the time. It's not healthy to stay like that all the time, but they stay that low for several weeks.

Honestly, if you are still trying to gain, being where you are (Already stated, you look about 11-12%) that's a great place to be. I don't compete, but I typically stay between 12-14% so that I am always making gains and don't have to worry about yo yo dieting. Every once in a while, I'll drop a little lower if we are going on vacation or something, but I don't sweat it too much. I end up bulking up during the vacation anyway. haha

[madeira17]

I hear what you guys are saying it is just frustrating as I have been cutting for almost 6-7 months with the last month being a little loose with my eating on weekends. I brought up squatting 3 times a week because I am going to do starting strength and was curious if I would still keep on increasing strength with the calorie reccomendation that bateman gave me.

[Kraken]

I hear what you guys are saying it is just frustrating as I have been cutting for almost 6-7 months with the last month being a little loose with my eating on weekends. I brought up squatting 3 times a week because I am going to do starting strength and was curious if I would still keep on increasing strength with the calorie reccomendation that bateman gave me.


6-7 months is too long to be dieting. You're probably losing muscle and/or after about 12 weeks, the fat loss will start to come to a halt. IMO, dieting shouldn't last more than 16 weeks, tops. After that, it's time to carb up or just eat maintenance for a while and then hit the diet again in 6-8 weeks.

[drew2727]

I think you just need to decide which goal you are trying to accomplish. You are talking about cutting down to 5% then you mention strength gains. Just eat well and don't worry about the 5% it's going to be winter anyways bulk up for sweatshirt season and get cut for spring/summer.

[kodyt21]

Is it strictly time that stops someone from attaining 5-6% body fat or can some people not achieve it. If I keep on dieting down will I eventually get that low or would you guys advise to just start bulking again at 9% and then cut back down. This is purely for aesthetic reasons not that I ever plan on competing I am just curious.

Anybody can get to those levels holding it is another question.

[Yamar1]

Yeah I hit 6 while running tons of miles and training for marathons...though not even sure it counts cause I had no muscle either. I think maintaining a decent amount of muscle mass than hitting 6% will be a real challenge.

[jimmybimmy]

tbh, theres no point in doing it if your not competing in a show.

Ive hit the 5-7% range for wrestling, its not fun, you dont want it, espicially if you have no muscle, cause i couldnt tell a diff from 10%-6%, besides the scale

[K-Dawg_05]

trying to maintain 5% for extended periods of time = death.

Andreas Munzer was at something like 3% for his final competition - I say final because he perished shortly after. His organs dissolved.

the guy was taking retarded amounts of diuretics for retarded amounts of time.... his bodyfat had nothing to do with his death.

Also OP at 145, the last thing you need to do is cut.

[VAnick]

tbh, theres no point in doing it if your not competing in a show.

Ive hit the 5-7% range for wrestling, its not fun, you dont want it, espicially if you have no muscle, cause i couldnt tell a diff from 10%-6%, besides the scale

u have hit 5-7% on a "scale"?

[kodyt21]

the guy was taking retarded amounts of diuretics for retarded amounts of time.... his bodyfat had nothing to do with his death.

Also OP at 145, the last thing you need to do is cut.

If you look him up on google it tells you that more than 10 different kinds of the heaviest steriods were found in his blood. They said his organs and liver and kidneys were broken down mush when they did the autopsy..Ive been maintaining 7%bf at 187 for last 4 months and yes it is ****ING HARD!!! but damn so worth it, when you see your self in the mirror everyday and it boost your confidence and mood for the day. Greg Plitt one of my Fitness mentors stays around 5% all year long every year at 195lbs........everything points to him being 100% natural and even his body is not the steriod type of big so I am very impressed by his physique all year round!

[fatinNYC]

these questions "can i get to X bodyfat" are just plain stupid. They all vary depending on your weight/height/amount of muscle. There is an absolute minimum amount of fat your body needs to survive. Lets for argument sake say that at 5'10 it is 10lbs of fat. If you weigh 100 lbs, you won't be able to get past 10% no matter how hard you try. If you bulk up to 200lbs and maintain that 10lbs of fat, you will be 5%.

For a guy like you at 145lbs, if you really are "10%" bodyfat that means you have 14.5lbs of fat on you. Theres really not much room to lose there. If you cut down to 130lbs, you would have 0% bodyfat and probably be dead. If you cut down to 137.5, you would have 5% bodyfat, and you would probably be really pushing your health limits.

Bulk up to 180 at 10% thhen cut back 8lbs of fat and be a healthier 172 with 10lbs of fat on your body.

[fatinNYC]

If you look him up on google it tells you that more than 10 different kinds of the heaviest steriods were found in his blood. They said his organs and liver and kidneys were broken down mush when they did the autopsy..Ive been maintaining 7%bf at 187 for last 4 months and yes it is ****ING HARD!!! but damn so worth it, when you see your self in the mirror everyday and it boost your confidence and mood for the day. Greg Plitt one of my Fitness mentors stays around 5% all year long every year at 195lbs........everything points to him being 100% natural and even his body is not the steriod type of big so I am very impressed by his physique all year round!

5% at 195 is roughly 10lbs of fat. 7% at 187 is 13.09 lbs of bodyfat.

OP, Notice the difference in these numbers - a mere 3lbs of fat separates an amateur and a pro. What is the real defining factor is not the amount of bodyfat, but the amount of lean muscle. percentages are really not important without building LBM first.

[kodyt21]

5% at 195 is roughly 10lbs of fat. 7% at 187 is 13.09 lbs of bodyfat.

OP, Notice the difference in these numbers - a mere 3lbs of fat separates an amateur and a pro. What is the real defining factor is not the amount of bodyfat, but the amount of lean muscle. percentages are really not important without building LBM first.

This man is right on! You can have 4% at 150 and look worse than a person at 8-9% weighting 180 190.with a higher LBM..If you dont have a sufficient amount of LBM you wont look as good as you think you are at such low bf%.

[jimmybimmy]

u have hit 5-7% on a "scale"?

no im talking about my weight on the scale

[MajorTwang]

Andreas Munzer was at something like 3% for his final competition - I say final because he perished shortly after. His organs dissolved.

His death was less to do with his actual bodyfat levels, and more to do with the absolutely bat-5h1t insane regeime of liver-walloping oral steroids, cutting agents & thyroid, followed up by a dose of diuretics big enough to drain a medium sized pond.

Having low bodyfat isnt dangerous in itself, because the body resists fat loss so hard & regains fat at every opportunity.

It's the stupid things people do to get low bodyfat that causes problems

[kodyt21]

His death was less to do with his actual bodyfat levels, and more to do with the absolutely bat-5h1t insane regeime of liver-walloping oral steroids, cutting agents & thyroid, followed up by a dose of diuretics big enough to drain a medium sized pond.

Having low bodyfat isnt dangerous in itself, because the body resists fat loss so hard & regains fat at every opportunity.

It's the stupid things people do to get low bodyfat that causes problems

Yes this is true..to get to 3 % you need some kind of substance to do so Ive seen maybe one or 2 people that claim 3-4 % and "claim" natural, There is almost no way you can get to that low without some kind of fat burner /synthetic thyroid/clen or other...When you read wiki about andre it says in his autopsy they cut open liver and kidneys and they were nothing left just pure mush like he had been swallowing razor blades for 20 years..thats what orals will do in lack of water as well...not with it

[fat2monster]

Michael Phelps has 0% bodyfat

[weightlifter9000]

Dude, I wouldn't ever go to 5-6% unless I was doing a show. It's just not very realistic to keep <6% for extended periods of time. Keep maintenance at 8-10% and you will still look lean while being able to put on some weight. I'm planning my current bulk at right about 9 or 10% because I have found that anything lower than that is hard to keep growing.

[DaveBriggs]

i have been put in the 5-7% range in the run upto my first and second bodybuilding shows.

i think anyone can do it..you just need to suffer both mentallyand physically. cannot see asingle damn reason to do it if not for a show though as it is something you need to experience to appreciate.

[madeira17]

i have been put in the 5-7% range in the run upto my first and second bodybuilding shows.

i think anyone can do it..you just need to suffer both mentallyand physically. cannot see asingle damn reason to do it if not for a show though as it is something you need to experience to appreciate.

When you are cutting how do you determine your calories and macros? I am asking you in particular not just in general. I am bulking up for the next 4 months or so and then I want to cut down for summer. How many calories do you eat and so and so.