I was talking to an old trainning buddy of mine and bf% came up. I mentioned mine was 4.4%(really) and he bluntly said thats not healthy because if you walk around like that for too long you will eventually burn the fat that protects your heart whcich could lead to a heart attack. Also he mentioned being more injury prone at a low bf%. Is all of this true?
4.4%! thats ridiculously low. I remember reading something from Arnold’s Modern Bodybuilding Encycolpedia that dead bodies, cadavers (sp?), have the low body fat. In the 3s and 4s.
how factual that is, I don’t know. I do know that for 99.9% of the general population, it’s very unhealthy to have only 4.4% for extended periods of time.
If you really are 4.4% every muscle in your body would be shredded. That would be awesome.
I’m about 8-9% at 5’11/182lb. I wish I was 4.4%
That is absurdly low and he’s somewhat correct. If your bodyfat gets extremely low, all of the cushioning around your internal organs goes as does the padding on the bottom of your feet. I would imagine if you can walk without pain and bruising, your bodyfat might not be 4.4%. The only way to be sure is to get dunked in water to have your BF measured at a local university or something. Calipers aren’t very accurate when you are dealing with either very high or very low bodyfat levels.
Lucid is correct. A trainer at the gym once had me at 4.7% by the digital calipers. The high quality ones too. They were totally off. At best, I might have been 7.0%.
The only place you’ll probably find hydrostatic underwater weighing equipment would be at a university, and they don’t provide body composition analysis unless you’re part of a study. If you really care that much, you’d be better off going to the local hospital and getting measured by a DXA (Dual X-ray Absorptiometry) scan. It’s pretty pricy, but it’s extremely accurate.
~Paul
Your joints will be less cushioned, so they will be more prone to injury.
yeah i don’t think im that low either. i was thinking i was more in the 6 to 8% range. But i have noticed my body is hurting alot more in places i’ve never had problems with.(i.e. abdominal muscles, my left lat hurts like a mug too.)I think i just need to eat more