Looking at the pic i would guess you need to be around 160lb - 170lb ish to be 10% kinda lean.
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I did not know that. The tech who did mine yesterday emphasized the importance of hydration and that it could skew results etc. but didn’t really quantify how much.
If you are well hydrated, you may increase your overall body mass by 5 or more lbs. This would reduce your BF%, because your amount of fat stays the same but is a lower percentage of a larger body mass number.
Example:
Dehydrated: 200 lbs, with 45 lbs of fat = 22.5% BF
Hydrated: 207 lbs with 45 lbs of fat = 21.7% BF
So not a huge difference but certainly a difference.
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I think that’s about where I land as well. Probably on the higher end of your range, but it really is hard to say for sure.
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You likely need to lose 30 or more pounds. Do you think you can do it in 18 weeks?
I believe 27% is likely accurate, and 10% in 18 weeks is going to be very difficult but possible. You will be looking at nearly 3lbs a week of fat to lose, not to mention there will be some muscle loss being that aggressive.
I’m not here to indulge myself but I am 5’10” and was shredded at about 5% at 173# with a medium frame. This guy looks like he has a large frame and he only needs to get to 10%. I think perhaps he’ll need to be in 170s, 180 at most. But this is a guess.
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And what if you knew precisely your percent body fat?
That will be a challenge.
From your goal, this is all that matters.
I would keep using the calipers to track progress. It is repeatable once you learn how to use them. All you need to know is whether you are losing fat, or not. The mirror will tell you what you look like.
It is imperative that you not lose too much muscle while trying to lose fat. You need a strength metric.
Yeah i remember your prep thread, you looked great.
@gman12 looking forward to seeing your journey. Keep us updated with the progress.
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I think 32% is accurate. While you have good shoulder and arm development, the rest of you is covered in both SQ and Visceral fat. Think Wagu beef when you look at your legs. You are 1 year minimum to lose all that while keeping your muscle.
Well, the last two comments are not helpful at all, but @gman12 how you doing on your cut? 3 months is enough time to make some solid progress.
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I’m currently down to 204lb, so about 1lb per week since I started at 220lb back at the beginning of January. I realized that I have much more body fat to lose than I initially thought, so I took the slow and steady approach. At this point competing is out of the question and my new goal is to get down to 190lb and maintain at that weight for the rest of the year.
See updated pics below, what body fat do you guys think I’m at right now ?
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Congrats on the progress.
18-20% now? It’s always hard to tell. DEXA would give you the best result if you really wanted to know.
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Take a relaxed front and back photo. Make sure it’s not within an hour of working out. Flexing doesn’t help with BF assessment nor your arms covering your mid section.
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I couldn’t disagree more. Who cares what your body fat percentage is? What does it look like it is!!
OP was hoping to compete.
Bodybuilding competition is all about looking better than you are. You pose to look more defined than you are. You pose to look bigger than you are. You pose to look more symmetrical than you are. Deception is a needed art in competition.
OP is making progress. He needs to pose his legs from the back. His back double biceps is pitiful. His upper body is flexed while his lower body is taking a break.
I much prefer to see flexed poses.
This is the core question. You’re telling me it’s easier to assess flexex with his hands covering his outer waist? Come on man, you’re smarter than that.
You might have made that inference from me stating that competitive bodybuilding encourages the bodybuilder to pose how he looks the best. And that makes perfect sense. Who would pose to look their worst?
But the truth is that I didn’t say that the OP should pose to hide his weak points if he is looking for opinions (you could have made that inference, but I didn’t say it.) If OP wants our help he needs to reveal his weak points, not hide them. When he competes he should conceal his weak points as much as possible.
I always want to see flexed muscles from anyone hoping to compete. That is what they must learn to do to have a good chance of success on stage.
I maintain that percent body fat is without merit. What do you look like in the mirror is what is important. Percent body fat is a number, just like how much you can bench press. The judges don’t ask either question. Why should a competitor worry about them? Sure, competitors can brag about them.
I wouldn’t call it smart. It is knowledge from experience. Remember I was once a National Judge. I never once wondered what percent body fat a competitor had.
If you want to be a successful competitor, the core question you ask yourself is, “What do I look like in the mirror?”
So if somebody posted “how do my brownies look” you would say “I never once wondered about brownies, show me your other baked goods”.
Seems like you’re reading the wrong thread.
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Maybe you didn’t read the OP’s first post…
So, maybe the above comment doesn’t make as much sense as you initially thought. I will answering the question that he should be asking.