Possible to stay pre contest shape all year round....

[kodyt21]

Seeing how I am an aspiring fitness model and actor in the entertainment industry I always like to stay very lean and ripped all year round..I am 23yrs old stand almost 6'3" at 193lbs sitting at about 9% after clean eating and lots of exercise for last 2- 3 months cutting phase, Im trying to make this last into a life style. One of my mentors Greg Plitt stays @ 6'1 195 @ maybe 5% ALL YEAR ROUND! I mean the shape he is in is just rediculous, granted he is a little older "31" so he has a lil bit of that "old man" muscle started but damn I dont understand how someone can maintain that year around, I mean his pics dont lie he is absolutley shredded ALL the time bc he is on call for fitness shoots and auditions non stop...He basis his nutrition on a low/no carb basis all year round with moderate fat and moterate-high protien, I know every body has different genetics but GOD DAMN that guy amazes me every step of the way, anybody else carry them selves all year round at this low bf year round ? This is thee path I am aiming for and I am just kinda looking for some opinions or ways to accomplish this sort of goal?
Thanks ahead of time!

[DanTheManB]

Seeing how I am an aspiring fitness model and actor in the entertainment industry I always like to stay very lean and ripped all year round..I am 23yrs old stand almost 6'3" at 193lbs sitting at about 9% after clean eating and lots of exercise for last 2- 3 months cutting phase, Im trying to make this last into a life style. One of my mentors Greg Plitt stays @ 6'1 195 @ maybe 5% ALL YEAR ROUND! I mean the shape he is in is just rediculous, granted he is a little older "31" so he has a lil bit of that "old man" muscle started but damn I dont understand how someone can maintain that year around, I mean his pics dont lie he is absolutley shredded ALL the time bc he is on call for fitness shoots and auditions non stop...He basis his nutrition on a low/no carb basis all year round with moderate fat and moterate-high protien, I know every body has different genetics but GOD DAMN that guy amazes me every step of the way, anybody else carry them selves all year round at this low bf year round ? This is thee path I am aiming for and I am just kinda looking for some opinions or ways to accomplish this sort of goal?
Thanks ahead of time!

I'd say a true 7% is about as lean as one would enjoy/want to stay year round. Obviously if the goal is not to get bigger muscularly speaking and the person would love just to stay lean with what they have....yea 7-8% would be most comfortable. But again it depends on your BF set point. I've stayed 5ish percent post show for about 6 months and hated my life....I've stayed around 7% and felt fine though. Others may feel like hell at 9%

[_jim_]

/\/\/\/\
This, 5% would be miz, but then again it isn't my job to be lean all year long. Since when is 31 considered an old man LOL.

[DanTheManB]

LOL just noticed the 31=old comment.

yeah....ESPECIALLY today with people being in better shape in the bodybuilding and fitness community 30s are now more like the mid 20s (srs)...

I get what hes sayin though....one can build a better thickness/density the longer they lift while overloading the muscles

[DanTheManB]

also remember that the higher % of muscle one has the lower the body fat ....

[kodyt21]

LOL just noticed the 31=old comment.

yeah....ESPECIALLY today with people being in better shape in the bodybuilding and fitness community 30s are now more like the mid 20s (srs)...

I get what hes sayin though....one can build a better thickness/density the longer they lift while overloading the muscles

HAHA yea sorry for the old man dig, but you know what i mean about the muscle density and **** lol My father catches me on that **** all the time I better watch my tongue. But my paps is 51 and he aint never worked out a day in his life just got his workout from working contrustion all his life and here I am working my ass off day in day out doing insane amounts of weight lifting and such and still to this day his forearms and biceps are still more dense, harder than mine just bc hes used them for far longer than ive even been alive, safe to say im almost catching up haha
Yea I guess Im looking to maintain 190 ish in the 7% range then, I just want to stay low enough so if I do have an audition for something in a weeks time i can drop the carbs and water and shredd the last %. Seems like the best approach..so I 've got about 2-3 more percent to go without sacraficing to mucle muscle loss..
Thanks a ton for your imput keep em comin!

[DanTheManB]

HAHA yea sorry for the old man dig, but you know what i mean about the muscle density and **** lol My father catches me on that **** all the time I better watch my tongue. But my paps is 51 and he aint never worked out a day in his life just got his workout from working contrustion all his life and here I am working my ass off day in day out doing insane amounts of weight lifting and such and still to this day his forearms and biceps are still more dense, harder than mine just bc hes used them for far longer than ive even been alive, safe to say im almost catching up haha
Yea I guess Im looking to maintain 190 ish in the 7% range then, I just want to stay low enough so if I do have an audition for something in a weeks time i can drop the carbs and water and shredd the last %. Seems like the best approach..so I 've got about 2-3 more percent to go without sacraficing to mucle muscle loss..
Thanks a ton for your imput keep em comin!

take it slow

[KnowstheSky]

Post contests in June, I have been using fitday.com to track my daily macros and also calories burned. Have been eating about 200-300 calories below my needs 4-5 days a week, indulging some on weekends. Took my protein up some the past few weeks to keep the muscle filled out better, along with fats. So far I am about 10 lbs over contest weight, and feel great. Probably about 7% if I had to guess. I don't want to feel brittle, like I did when competing. So this is working for me while staying lean, which is my goal.

Point is, you can do it, just takes extra work. Like being on a cutting diet year round!

[UCFBuilder]

i would love to stay 7% year round..but the truth about it is..with my body at least...i cant....my body just wont let me..so its needless to say that if i ever got down to 4-5% i def. couldnt maintain that

my body is fighting me every step of the way...im hungry 24/7..irritable as hell..weak as hell..and just generally hate life until im back up around 10-11%...

if u can maintain 7% year round and live normally..than more power to you man..no reason why u should go to a higher BF if u can do everything just fine at a lower one

[SupaaJ]

i would love to stay 7% year round..but the truth about it is..with my body at least...i cant....my body just wont let me..so its needless to say that if i ever got down to 4-5% i def. couldnt maintain that

my body is fighting me every step of the way...im hungry 24/7..irritable as hell..weak as hell..and just generally hate life until im back up around 10-11%...

if u can maintain 7% year round and live normally..than more power to you man..no reason why u should go to a higher BF if u can do everything just fine at a lower one

This tends to happen with me when I break the mid 7's barrier. Life is pretty much hell at this point (food ALWAYS on the mind, dream about it sometimes, weakness in the gym even after (2) days straight carb ups on +maintenance calories).

Being ecto though, I can do real well in the 8-9% range in the gym and in the feel good range of normal life.

But yeah, no one is comfy at 4-5% (not that I would know firsthand, I'm currently the leanest I've ever been in the mid 6's and it's a real struggle right now.....I 'assumed' the drop from 7 to 4/5 range would be 'kind of' hard. Lol @ that guesstimate....it's BRUTAL hard).

[kodyt21]

This tends to happen with me when I break the mid 7's barrier. Life is pretty much hell at this point (food ALWAYS on the mind, dream about it sometimes, weakness in the gym even after (2) days straight carb ups on +maintenance calories).

Being ecto though, I can do real well in the 8-9% range in the gym and in the feel good range of normal life.

But yeah, no one is comfy at 4-5% (not that I would know firsthand, I'm currently the leanest I've ever been in the mid 6's and it's a real struggle right now.....I 'assumed' the drop from 7 to 4/5 range would be 'kind of' hard. Lol @ that guesstimate....it's BRUTAL hard).

YEA I understand your points, GUESS IM trying to find the happy medium for me not to be miserable but also be ready with in a week or 2's notice to tighten up to photoshoot shape..i think im around 9-10% now @ 192lbs im getting there very slowly, ive got last 3-4 % to go of stubborn "hip/kidney fat" and chest can tighten up also...i took a progress pic today...i have 5 more weeks to get leaner, DIG DEEP!! lol

[alemus]

This tends to happen with me when I break the mid 7's barrier. Life is pretty much hell at this point (food ALWAYS on the mind, dream about it sometimes, weakness in the gym even after (2) days straight carb ups on +maintenance calories).

Being ecto though, I can do real well in the 8-9% range in the gym and in the feel good range of normal life.

But yeah, no one is comfy at 4-5% (not that I would know firsthand, I'm currently the leanest I've ever been in the mid 6's and it's a real struggle right now.....I 'assumed' the drop from 7 to 4/5 range would be 'kind of' hard. Lol @ that guesstimate....it's BRUTAL hard).

I just ran into this post, and Im really diggin' it, even though theres a bunch of guys on here, Im competing in September in bikini division and although its not nearly as taxing on the body as bodybuilding/physique is, it still is hard. Im ALWAYS thinking of food, and Im ALWAYS hungry. But I love how lean I am...I went from 19% to 11.5% (current) and I want to stay this lean because this is finally the leaness Ive been wanting but im afraid of whats going to happen post contest. Im so over the carb cycling I just want to be balanced

[Barn01]

I just ran into this post, and Im really diggin' it, even though theres a bunch of guys on here, Im competing in September in bikini division and although its not nearly as taxing on the body as bodybuilding/physique is, it still is hard. Im ALWAYS thinking of food, and Im ALWAYS hungry. But I love how lean I am...I went from 19% to 11.5% (current) and I want to stay this lean because this is finally the leaness Ive been wanting but im afraid of whats going to happen post contest. Im so over the carb cycling I just want to be balanced

Good luck, if you stay that lean then you'll likely stay that hungry!

The body will fight you after a while to put on some bodyfat. Remember it's a smart machine and it likes to have a reserve tank of energy. Usually if you're lean and ripped long enough it tends to find a way to raise your BF%. It will take more and more muscle from you and you'll keep getting smaller. Or you'll usually have to accept a bit higher BF level until it's happy. How do you know when enough is enough? ... when you stop being so damn hungry all the time is a good indicator that you hit a comfortable / healthy zone. If you lift heavy and often, your body will try and put you in a place where you can add more muscle. We really are not only what we eat but we are what we demand of our bodies. You just have to listen to it. Those that don't know how to listen to what they need have a tendency to be either over or under weight for their needs and suffer the consequences either way.

[areya2005]

Don't forget about the metabolic damage you'll cause. If you want to stay "competition lean" year round, be prepared to continuously lower your calories only to maintain. Once you decide to eat "normally," you'll put on fast so ridiculously fast, it's not even funny.

One thing I've noticed is that NO ONE CARES what we look like! You'll spend so much energy trying to stay in a condition you think is ideal when it just isn't worth it. People will look at you, be like, "oh, she's lean," and forget about it half a second later.

[Cumulonimbus]

Slowly up your calories post contest, then maintain a small but optimal surplus.

[Cytrainer913]

If you are young and I say 25 and under, trying to stay in a condition that is very hard can also deny your self of the benefits of that anabolic window that is there for you to put on the size that might not come at another time in your life. Now again that doesn't mean to go off and eat like crazy, but a little surplus can go a long way. And by staying leaner, it actually creates a better area to put on lean tissue, now that doesn't mean to the point of contest ready nor to the point of being too heavy, and these are estimates here, but I think too heavy for most guys that would be <15%, now again sometimes below 10% for some is very easy due to great genes and metabolic rates, while for women I would think the best thing for them to stay below is about 22%.

[tenacious707]

It is possible but few people do it.. Martin Berkhan from leangains.com maintains pretty low bf year round.

[red_cat]

One thing I've noticed is that NO ONE CARES what we look like! You'll spend so much energy trying to stay in a condition you think is ideal when it just isn't worth it. People will look at you, be like, "oh, she's lean," and forget about it half a second later.

Very true. Unless you're actually a fitness model or have a career where you need to be "contest lean" for photoshoots, your friends aren't going to notice a difference between 6-7% and 10-11%. They'll just say, "You look awesome, man!"

[tyseagle]

Personally I really wanted to stay lean all year round after doing a couple shows and having to diet so extreme for them. So after the last show I decided that I wanted to see my 6 pack year round. I feel thats a good gauge for me. I've never gone by a certain percentage or anything, just found that I feel strong and have lots of energy and can still maintain a good solid 6 pack. That is the most i'll ever bulk. If I start to lose some definition in my 6 pack I know i'm eating to much.

[chickeneater]

Regarding the poster above who mentioned Martin Berkhart and maintaining low BF%:http://www.leangains.com/2010/03/mai...-body-fat.html

[coconuttree2009]

I just ran into this post, and Im really diggin' it, even though theres a bunch of guys on here, Im competing in September in bikini division and although its not nearly as taxing on the body as bodybuilding/physique is, it still is hard. Im ALWAYS thinking of food, and Im ALWAYS hungry. But I love how lean I am...I went from 19% to 11.5% (current) and I want to stay this lean because this is finally the leaness Ive been wanting but im afraid of whats going to happen post contest. Im so over the carb cycling I just want to be balanced

Do you know what 11.5% fat for female means? Forget about bikini class, figure girls come in at 15-17%, 9-12% is for female bodybuilders.
I hate to burst your bubble but you are not anywhere near 11.5%, neither you need to be for bikini.
How did you come up with 11.5% anyway?

[Melina81]

Do you know what 11.5% fat for female means? Forget about bikini class, figure girls come in at 15-17%, 9-12% is for female bodybuilders.
I hate to burst your bubble but you are not anywhere near 11.5%, neither you need to be for bikini.
How did you come up with 11.5% anyway?

Yeah that's closer to the range I am in and you can see all the heads in my quads. I have maintained contest shape going on 5 months via a really slow reverse diet - I even lost weight for a period of time.

I am hungry but I am ALWAYS hungry - no matter how much I am eating. I am currently eating 1,900-ish but even when I have eaten more it makes no difference. I am the type of person who will eat until I am sick :P

[juliacheh]

I maintained 14%-15% for two months, and it was an epic fail. And I probably should have been even slightly leaner for the show (in legs/glutes), judging from Melina's condiotioning which I view as true figure condiotioning. (The fact that she was awarded third place blew my mind honestly)

Never again am I getting below 16-18 again which is around my set point.

And coconuttree2009, how you be so negative in your comments

[Melina81]

I maintained 14%-15% for two months, and it was an epic fail. And I probably should have been even slightly leaner for the show (in legs/glutes), judging from Melina's condiotioning which I view as true figure condiotioning. (The fact that she was awarded third place blew my mind honestly)

Never again am I getting below 16-18 again which is around my set point.

And coconuttree2009, how you be so negative in your comments

Aww I love you!

[juliacheh]

Aww I love you!

Love you too, f. retarded judges, you should have got a pro card.
I decided just to improve for myself and walk around with a decent physique Looking forward to more of your pictures.

[alex a]

As soon as you stop looking like a bodybuilder.. you are not a bodybuilder....

if you have to tell people..."i workout, im just bulking" games over! jk..

Nothing wrong with fattening up a little bit... contest shape is a subjective term....
if your bone dry, grainy hard, hams glutes split.. the whole nine yards.. no way to keep that year round.,,,
but a good lean look is something everyone should strive for...
my suggestion is really to have a look that you can take your shirt off and be proud..
prepping for a show is hard work, but off season is when you address your weak areas and put on some good lean muscle...

[adamjohn32]

my two cents it really depends on the individual and their goals. imo, if you need to maintain a lean physique (for work, etc), than can be done. if you are a bodybuilder/physique athlete trying to address weak points or gain mass in an off season, you might have to add some fat to maximize your gains due to your own physiological makeup (i.e. some can gain muscle while lean, others not so much).

my best advice is to try to stay in that lean spot and see how your energy levels, performance, etc are. if you're not progressing in the gym or feeling run down you may have to put on some lbs. if not, then keep on being lean.

[Cumulonimbus]

If you are young and I say 25 and under, trying to stay in a condition that is very hard can also deny your self of the benefits of that anabolic window that is there for you to put on the size that might not come at another time in your life. Now again that doesn't mean to go off and eat like crazy, but a little surplus can go a long way. And by staying leaner, it actually creates a better area to put on lean tissue, now that doesn't mean to the point of contest ready nor to the point of being too heavy, and these are estimates here, but I think too heavy for most guys that would be <15%, now again sometimes below 10% for some is very easy due to great genes and metabolic rates, while for women I would think the best thing for them to stay below is about 22%.

Lipogenesis is an anabolic process. Just saying

[mrusa85]

As soon as you stop looking like a bodybuilder.. you are not a bodybuilder....

if you have to tell people..."i workout, im just bulking" games over! jk..

Nothing wrong with fattening up a little bit... contest shape is a subjective term....
if your bone dry, grainy hard, hams glutes split.. the whole nine yards.. no way to keep that year round.,,,
but a good lean look is something everyone should strive for...
my suggestion is really to have a look that you can take your shirt off and be proud..
prepping for a show is hard work, but off season is when you address your weak areas and put on some good lean muscle...

Agreed. A bodybuilder should look like a bodybuilder year-round, not shredded, but not definitely not looking liking an offensive lineman.

[mrusa85]

Lipogenesis is an anabolic process. Just saying

Ends up being a catabolic process for most people.