10.8% bf and still no abs.. Wtf!

[toddmclain02]

So I just got double checked at my gym and With a very experienced trainer got me once at 10.8 and 10.5% bf. I have a clear 4 pack but all my fat is on my lower abs. Pics I look like 14-15%. Anyone have this fat placement and bf% issue. I'm thinking I'll have to drop down to like 7% mother trucker!

[Serpentarius]

post a pic before anyone else responds

[sharpieblet]

if the pics say you look higher, it's likely that you're actually higher. the mirror don't lie. human error CAN.

[Sinaku5]

So I just got double checked at my gym and With a very experienced trainer got me once at 10.8 and 10.5% bf. I have a clear 4 pack but all my fat is on my lower abs. Pics I look like 14-15%. Anyone have this fat placement and bf% issue. I'm thinking I'll have to drop down to like 7% mother trucker!

Please tell me you didn't get tested by one of those electronic devices that somehow magically take measurements of your bf as you hold it out straight...If so then you have your answer.

How did your trainer check ur bf if it wasn't through that btw?

[toddmclain02]

Please tell me you didn't get tested by one of those electronic devices that somehow magically take measurements of your bf as you hold it out straight...If so then you have your answer.

How did your trainer check ur bf if it wasn't through that btw?

Tested with calipers, 3 point

[Sinaku5]

Tested with calipers, 3 point

Strange that you wouldn't see abs at 10.8 I think. Post -pics ppl here will judge ur bf more accurately.

[LordWolfz]

To see lower abs, it's 75 % fat and 25 % genetic (Depend of the abs attachment)

post pic

[KennyKenassi]

I was measured at 18% bf and my abs were showing. Maybe you just need to work it out more. Try some weighted ab exercises until failure.

[Inkmywholebody]

You look good but it looks like you had a bumpy road through your weight loss journey. And what I mean by that is you still have your love handles fat, which should have been gone. You were losing weight for a year unless at some point you started bulking.

[BigD208]

Hey bro congrats on the progress, you are doing an impressive job. I just checked the pic on your bodyspace from March 22 and you look to be around 15%, maybe a bit higher. So with it being just ~3 weeks since that photo I think that the test was pretty off. You are in the home stretch bro, just keep gunning !

[toddmclain02]

My new profile pic shows me at 192. Suppose to be 10.8% what say yee? If you look at my lower abs youll notice a little extra skin and saggy feeling fat pocket.

[Devils]

That saggy fat pocket is excess skin from when you were bigger.

That's the lasting consequence of getting that big, it doesn't magically shrink.

Abs are there at the top though, so it's more than most people see.

[Pietens]

Head to a university and get a bodpod/hydrostatic assessment. Much more telling. Also there are multiple equations used for caliper assessing. Ask your trainer to use the others. E.g. I think one of the equations uses Triceps, lower abdomin, and thigh. Try the one that uses subscapular, tricep, chest, oblique, abdomin and thigh.

[Chemistryguy85]

I know what you are talking about. I had my BF% measured by caliper, seven site, and by DEXA. I was the results were around 4.7%. I have no abs and when I posted pics, the estimates placed me at between 13-16%.

The eyeball test may not be accurate, but it is what matters the most.

[AlwaysTryin]

I know what you are talking about. I had my BF% measured by caliper, seven site, and by DEXA. I was the results were around 4.7%. I have no abs and when I posted pics, the estimates placed me at between 13-16%.

The eyeball test may not be accurate, but it is what matters the most.

Well you knew 4.7% was totally wrong

[kevi204]

You and i have almost the exact same belly. 3 point caliper test put me at 8.7, lol, i knew that couldn't be right. But anyways i have tried my hardest doing lower ab exersizes a couple of years ago developing a hernia along the way, "be careful". I'm starting to give this cut a "real go" again and see what happens, I'm not too confident i'll lose the loose skin, but at least hopefull i'll lose those pockets of fat in the lower abdoment. Good luck with that.

[scotchchris]

I know what you are talking about. I had my BF% measured by caliper, seven site, and by DEXA. I was the results were around 4.7%. I have no abs and when I posted pics, the estimates placed me at between 13-16%.

The eyeball test may not be accurate, but it is what matters the most.

Maybe you had a big lunch. That can bring you up 10-12%

[alg0801]

I measured myself. Starting 20% and after 9 weeks Calipers showed 11-12%. I knew I wasn't this low. Problem was that i was pinching too hard with the calipers which made my tests around 4% too low.

I must have actually started at 24% and now after correcting my mistake calipers show 15-16%. This is more inline with the estimates I received on the forums.

I'd be willing to guess that this is where most people screw up with calipers.

NOW I'm scared that if I cut down to 10% before bulking I'm going to go Auschwitz mode because I'm going to be a lot lighter than I anticipated.

[Chemistryguy85]

DEXA is supposed to be the gold standard in determining body composition. My point is that apparently I have deposits of subcutaneous fat that conceal my abs. Neither the DEXA nor the mirror lies.

[TelusLob]

DEXA is supposed to be the gold standard in determining body composition. My point is that apparently I have deposits of subcutaneous fat that conceal my abs. Neither the DEXA nor the mirror lies.

Can you post a pic of your scan + a pic from that date it was taken? I have to see this to believe it. But just understand that Dexa is not 100% - nothing is *while living*

OP - what are your lift #'s? 10% body fat @ 193 lbs - you must have some serious muscle to have 170+ lbs of LBM -

[Dom87]

So I just got double checked at my gym and With a very experienced trainer got me once at 10.8 and 10.5% bf. I have a clear 4 pack but all my fat is on my lower abs. Pics I look like 14-15%. Anyone have this fat placement and bf% issue. I'm thinking I'll have to drop down to like 7% mother trucker!

From my understanding (and maybe I'm wrong), unless you have incredibly developed lower abs (or you're very genetically gifted) you're not going to see them until you hit around 6-7% bf. Seeing you abs around 10% is specifically referring to upper abs. Anyone heard this before? I'm in the same boat I can't see my lower abs, but it's because I'm not at a low enough bf% yet.

Hope I helped.

[Ryanast]

didn't read thread but my response to the title is:

it's because you're not 10.8% BF

[BigD208]

Judging by the New avi I'd say you are under probably under 15% bra. Just really dial things in here for the next 8-12 weeks and you could definitely be lookin lean.

[toddmclain02]

Can you post a pic of your scan + a pic from that date it was taken? I have to see this to believe it. But just understand that Dexa is not 100% - nothing is *while living*

OP - what are your lift #'s? 10% body fat @ 193 lbs - you must have some serious muscle to have 170+ lbs of LBM -

I have a bad shoulder so my bench isn't what I'd like it to be...
Bench - 3 sets 10,8,6 @ 215,225,235
Curl - "..." 110,120,130
Dead lift "...." 225,235,245
Squat .... 350,360,370
I need am pretty "weak" but I don't want to hurt my shoulder even more. A doctor called it "weight training" shoulder. Hurts like a bitch every day I do anything with shoulders or chest.

[TelusLob]

I have a bad shoulder so my bench isn't what I'd like it to be...
Bench - 3 sets 10,8,6 @ 215,225,235
Curl - "..." 110,120,130
Dead lift "...." 225,235,245
Squat .... 350,360,370
I need am pretty "weak" but I don't want to hurt my shoulder even more. A doctor called it "weight training" shoulder. Hurts like a bitch every day I do anything with shoulders or chest.

With those lift numbers + pic, I'd be willing to wager a lot of money you aren't 10%. My guess is about 13-14%. If you had 170 lbm, your lift numbers would be higher than that IMO.

[toddmclain02]

With those lift numbers + pic, I'd be willing to wager a lot of money you aren't 10%. My guess is about 13-14%.

Ya i was thinking more like 13%.... Oh well, cut or die for life right!?!

[csb5731]

Tested with calipers, 3 point

Do you have the measurements?

[TunaShakes]

Bodyfat is just a number, so just cut until you're satisfied with the mirror. The problem it looks like you're running into is the caliper test itself, the original test was based off the skin folds of cadaver parts not to mention the consistency of the trainer over a period of time. Calipers just like the Bio-electrical Impedance test is fairly inaccurate but can show trends over time that are helpful. Bod-pod / Dexa / Underwater weighing are going to be the only accurate ways of testing body fat, and the mirror is going to be the only one out of them all that really matters in the end.

[TelusLob]

Ya i was thinking more like 13%.... Oh well, cut or die for life right!?!

FWIW, at my lowest, I tested in the 9% range, but I was more like 11-12%.
Don't get caught up in the numbers. I'd guess another 5-8 lbs will make a world of difference.

[lunchboy]

I have a bad shoulder so my bench isn't what I'd like it to be...
Bench - 3 sets 10,8,6 @ 215,225,235
Curl - "..." 110,120,130
Dead lift "...." 225,235,245
Squat .... 350,360,370
I need am pretty "weak" but I don't want to hurt my shoulder even more. A doctor called it "weight training" shoulder. Hurts like a bitch every day I do anything with shoulders or chest.

That "weight training" shoulder is more than likely a result of improper form. I would take a week or 2 off from anything that has a strong emphasis on shoulder (ohp and bench are the 2 biggest that come to mind) to get the shoulder in better shape.

Damn, compared to your squat your deadlift is lagging severally.