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 25% body fat isn't as high as you think!!!
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| Author | Topic: 25% body fat isn't as high as you think!!! | ||
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Amateur Bodybuilder 
Posts: 198 |
Every time I mention my body fat is 25% in a post someone always acts as if I'm the fattest SOB in the world. I had it measured using the latest technology with an air compression pod. I'm 5'10" 185 lbs. How fat could I freakin be! Any way the dude that did the test was thin, looked like an aerobics instuctor and he said he measured 21%. He also said that people in the fitness industry are starting to realize that for years body fat % has been understated. The "experts" are now saying that 20% is within the healthy range. My point is that I bet a lot of you have a higher BF % than you think.    | ||
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Freak 
Posts: 1661 |
quote: 25% bodyfat bro is equal to 25% of your 185lbs is fat that is 46.25lbs And I dont know what aerobics instructor it was but the ones i my gym are between 9-14% Peace [This message has been edited by The_Iron_Game (edited January 28, 2001).]  | ||
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Amateur Bodybuilder
Posts: 237 |
1/4 of your body weight is fat. sorry bro that doesnt sound very healthy to me. | ||
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Elite Bodybuilder 
Posts: 1172 |
i agree with the part that people understate their bodyfat. i've seen pics where people say "i'm 12% bodyfat" and i'm thinking yea right try 20%. | ||
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Amateur Bodybuilder
Posts: 198 |
I think some of you are missing the point. I'm just saying that the standards for what is considered fat for normal people are changing. What was once considered obese is now turning out to be normal. Of course you bodybuilders can cut up to 4 or 5 % but I'd bet if you had your fat measured off season it would be higher than you thought. | ||
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Pro Bodybuilder 
Posts: 588 |
Question.....Since when do the people on this board, esp the hardcore guys, judge themselves by normal standards? All your doing is trying to justify your situation by what one person said. I was at 20% bodyfat at 260 lbs, So I was carrying slightly more fat then you, as you don't have much muscle mass. I was a fat ass, I can't imagine how bad you look, you don't have any muscle to hold it on. ------------------ | ||
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Amateur Bodybuilder
Posts: 198 |
No need for flaming partner, In my defense I have benched 405 in contest so I would say that there is some muscle hiding under my 25% blubber. | ||
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Amateur Bodybuilder
Posts: 237 |
first of all the amount of muscle you have doesnt necessarily indicate your strength. second of all you are right about the standards of bodyfat changing. what is considered a normal bodyfat % is rising and let me tell you why. obesity in the U.S. is at epidemic proportions so of course the average bodyfat % of the average american is going to go up. just because something is normal doesnt make it healthy or desirable. | ||
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Amateur Bodybuilder
Posts: 75 |
I get the same shit when I post that my body fat is 27%. Now, I got that number of a Tanita scale, so I'm not sure how accurate it is, but I know that I am definitely not obese. In fact, if ya'll saw me in the gym, I don't think a single one of you would call my "fat." ------------------ | ||
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Amateur Bodybuilder
Posts: 198 |
Receiver, there is quite a bit of correlation between muscle mass and strength (have you ever seen someone with 12 inch arms press 405?) True some smaller powerlifters can lift huge weights but if you look at them you can tell that they are carrying some muscle mass. | ||
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Amateur Bodybuilder
Posts: 77 |
hey plifter, the 25% thing sounds fucked up. the fact that you bench 405, and your lean body mass is only 139 is pretty amazing. either the fat % is off, you don't bench 405, or you have absolutely nothing else to you physique except chect, anterior delts, and tris. | ||
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Freak
Posts: 1661 |
Who really cares what bf level you are at, what you want to do is think of ways of reducing it. Peace ------------------ | ||
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Amateur Bodybuilder
Posts: 198 |
I think if you guys used the POD method you would be surprised at what BF% you really are. Like I said the guy that did the test said he was 21% and he looked skinny to me. | ||
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Freak
Posts: 1661 |
No dis respect to your goodself plifter, however from what I saw in your original pictures you had way over the original 12% you claimed. You then had it tested again and it came out at 25%. No offence but from what I saw in those photos I would have estmated between 20 & 25. The issue is not really the gym instructor or aerobics teacher who did it and had 21% but looked skinny. You have 25% and you didnt look to skinny. This is just constructive crtitism and by no means a flame. From what I have found if you always compare yourself to others you will reach your goal but it will take you twice as long. ------------------ | ||
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Pro Bodybuilder
Posts: 367 |
not high is youre a cow. ------------------ | ||
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Cool Novice 
Posts: 40 |
Sorry bud. That is way high. I am a personal trainer and have been doing bf measurements for years(caliber & impedence). The reason they changed the standards, is that america as a whole is getting fat. I still use the old standards, anything on a man over 15% is overweight. Don't kid yourself, 25% is high as hell. I am 16% now and about to start a diet. Get on a eating program. | ||
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Pro Bodybuilder
Posts: 595 |
none of you guys know what you are talking about... You have to take into account itramuscular fat stores and skeletal fat... That is why bodyfat is being tested with x-ray like machines similar to a CAT Scan. I can;t remember the exact name. But they stated that 6% bodyfat using traditional methods is equal to around 14% | ||
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Amateur Bodybuilder
Posts: 118 |
Does anyone have pictures, on a website somewhere, where we can see different bf% and what they look like? If you can post your own picture and bf%, would be great. | ||
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Amateur Bodybuilder
Posts: 273 |
regardless of method- 25% is cause for concern for a bb--tomo | ||
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Elite Bodybuilder
Posts: 627 |
Rugby has a good point. Calipers only measure subcutanious fat and ignore visceral fat stores. This compression tube or what ever probably measures total fat. I am kind of skeptical about these tubes but they seem to be at least as accurate as the water displacement meathod. All current bodyfat measuring meathods have limitations so I just ignore them and go with how I look in the mirror. If I don't have abs and I am not bulking then I need to diet. Of course I have never seen my abs and that is why I have spent the better part of the last 5 years dieting. If you are happy with how you look then don't worry about bf%. giantset ------------------ | ||
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Guru 
Posts: 4576 |
Isnt the guys goals powerlifting? Did I miss something, since when are powerlifters terribly concerned with bf%? There goals are to lift big, not bb'ing - did I miss something? ------------------ For a good time click here: Search and Profiles (300Kleens Board) | ||
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Amateur Bodybuilder
Posts: 159 |
RECEIVER-I totally agree with you. Obesity has become an epidemic in this country. Just because being overweight has now become a norm it does not mean that it is healthy. If 25% is normal now then what is it going to be in 20-30 years,50%? Just go back to the 60's or 70's. I think you will definitely see a difference in physique? | ||
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Amateur Bodybuilder
Posts: 118 |
This epidemic is getting so bad that fat chicks think they are hot. It is politically incorrect to say "Lose twenty pounds and maybe I will go out with you". | ||
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Freak
Posts: 1661 |
Slopain, he is a powerlifter but he went to have gyno surgery and the doc said he was too fat. Dont ask me why the doc said that but plifter wanted to reduce it, or so I thought. ------------------ | ||
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Amateur Bodybuilder
Posts: 75 |
I've had my body fat % measured on this thing you stand on and it measures it through your feet. Can anyone explain how these instruments work adn how accurate they are. I think they use sound waves and resonance or something. | ||
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Amateur Bodybuilder
Posts: 198 |
Yes I'm a powerlifter that's been on a huge ass bulking period for a year and a half. I went from 160 to a high of 197 while on my last cycle. I'm back down to 185 (10 weeks clean) But I am somewhat concerned with how I look. I just want to get to about 15% BF. I know I'll never get down to 5% like BBs (unless I don't eat for a month) As Kevin Spacey said in American Beauty "I just want to look good naked". I'm cutting back on calories (I used to eat 3 or 4 doughnuts a day!!) I think in a few months I'll get the BF down. But I still don't think I'm fat. Some of the ladies I work with have said I look "buffed". I'll get my goals eventually. It's just that having a Dr. call me a lard ass and saying that I should only weigh 150 at 5'10" shook me up a little bit! | ||
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Elite Bodybuilder
Posts: 628 |
150 at 5'10. Does your doctor want you to look like an eithopian? | ||
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Amateur Bodybuilder
Posts: 93 |
thats bs, im 5'10, and know for a fact that the average/optimal weight for this height is 165lbs, still pretty skinny, if your lean. | ||
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Cool Novice
Posts: 22 |
25% is fat, what do you look like with your shirt off? probably not to good | ||
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Elite Bodybuilder
Posts: 1286 |
Rugby has a very good point. We bodybuilders mostly go by the caliper for bodyfat tests and I feel this is the best way to measure progress if you are using the 7 sites. It's easy, fast and cheap. The results may not be accurate but it's consistent. On the calipers an athlete can get to 2.5-3% bodyfat. Of course this number doesn't make sense. In real life doctors have found the lowest possible bodyfat to be 4% and this was in a very well trained african american man. In reality or 3-4% on the calipers maybe 8% by the other method. plifter you really should get it done by calipers and then we can advise you. If you where 25% on the calipers at 185lbs. That would mean if you lean out at 8% which is when you should be able to see all abs. You will only weigh about 151lbs @ 5'10... ------------------ | ||
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Amateur Bodybuilder
Posts: 286 |
I agree, 99% of trainers underestimate bodyfat. What do you expect from someone who becomes certified by taking a two week course? It's bull shit about 20% being healthy. Thats an excuse. The average Joe is usually in that range thats all. Does'nt mean it is healthy. I assure you that they have not changed the healthy bodyfat ratios. I hold a state title here, and I never go above 12% in the off season. The average Joe thinks I am 3-6% right now. I am 13%.....little over what I should be, but my six pack still shows dramatically...just smoother. If your bodyfat is not low enough, you will never obtain the look necessary to win a competition. Thats why it is important not to get too fat in the off season. The weight will look great on the scale, but when you diet back down, you'll find that you really did'nt gain all that much quality muscle. See it all the time. Dude goes to 275 in off season, drops to 220 to compete and looks basically the same as the year before. All kinds of weight and strength gains in the off season, but most is due to fat and water, not muscle. It is true though 99% of people have no clue what 5-7% bodyfat really looks like. Heres an example Kevin Levrone was 4.7% at this years Olympia/ 2nd place at almost 5%. Coleman was 4.2 according to our NPC state chairman. | ||
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Amateur Bodybuilder
Posts: 118 |
xricseink, could you post your picture? Would like to see what 13% or where ever you are at looks like. Due to our different body composition, our sub-species do not fit into average Joe type tables. | ||
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Amateur Bodybuilder
Posts: 237 |
sounds to me like your in denial. | ||
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Amateur Bodybuilder
Posts: 77 |
i still think it's messed how you can bench 405 at a LBM of 139 or so. |
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posted January 28, 2001 02:10 PM
