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Body fat %
Brind Surch
Posts: 90
in General Chat
Hi
i was wondering what you think the optimal body fat % is for sporting perforance? i will be mainly doing olympic and sprint.
Andy
i was wondering what you think the optimal body fat % is for sporting perforance? i will be mainly doing olympic and sprint.
Andy
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The lowest absolute value is 4% I believe, but you would only really find this in bodybuilders!
I think the lower the % the better. Any extra buoyancy you get from a bit of extra fat is going to be far outweighed in the cycle and run, where it will act as extra weight and extra wind resistance.
Personally if I were you I wouldnt be worrying to much about your %, it will decrease with time as your body adapts to the training. If you are looking for a value I would say aim to get below 10%, mines about 7%ish at the moment.
you may need slightly more for ironman, but then if you consider the amount of energy each gram of fat contains - about 37 kj, 9 kcal, you are unlikely to burn it all off even in an ironman race!
however eating fat does not enhance our ability to use it in endurance sport training hard does. So in conclusion some fat is good, so a small percentage is good to have ..... too much is bad as its excess baggage and also carries other health risks.
These are my golden rules for fat loss. In rough importance (decreasing). The basic rule in energy out > energy in, but its alot more complicated than that.
1. Weight training is essential - this not only increases your metabolism, but lean muscle uses more calories while you are sitting on your ass. This will also achieve what people like to call "getting hormonal" this is required to rid the last bit of fat, by increasing testosterone/adrenaline levels etc.
2 Lots of small meals rather than 3 big ones, this keeps your metabolism high, and big meals tend to cause fat deposition as your body thinks its gearing up for starvation.
3. Less starchy carbs (potatoes, bread, pasta) swap the bread and pasta for brown options and get rid of the potatoes!
4. more protein - you will need this for you muscles, plus protein is thermogenic, which means it takes quite a bit more energy to break down protein than it does for carbs - although it is not what some have suggested as being negative calories.
5. Include days when you eat alot more carbs than usual, about 1 day or 2 a week should do it. This will reset your body back to that energy intake level, as if you are always on carb/calorie restriction your body will get used to it and reset its metabolism as a result!
6. 5 supplements work synergistically to increase metabolism, adrenaline levels, fat breakdown. So get them into your diet!
They are -catechins (green tea), caffiene, capsacins (Chili peppers), tyrosine (red meats) and theres another one but I cant remember! oh yes, garlic!!
at the clinic we use calipers which measure the diameter of a skin fold on 4 points on the right side of the body. I was taught to use,area over bicep, tricep, upper back, just above the hip and then the calf. These measurements are then put into the Yuhasz equation. This method is fairly accurate, but results vary between ages and gender, and especially people who train and those that don't.
The easiest way now is with bioelectrical impedance machine, like the scales or hand held one. Its based on lean muscle being a better conductor of electricity than fat. These are also fairly accurate, but its best used as a monitor than absolute values.
There are other methods which are more accurate such as the water immersion test, but it is harder to find places to get these done.
Once again skinny is good
Fat is a major fuel source for the body , we cannot be without it, we are all using it as a fuel right now as we sit in front of our computers and share our ideas.
Good luck
I do mine once whilst standing on it, and once whilst balanced on my hands on it, and take an average!
In their journey they were eating approx 5k calories a day but burning up to 11k!!! When they returned they found they were on technically 0% body fat (weighed themselves in water). The only reason they thought they were still alive is that they still had calories coming in to keep basic organ functions going, but they had just burn't off all their fat reserves - something that until that time people thought was impossible as it would kill you.
I had always heard for a heavyweight rower (as I was) that about 8-12% was ideal, sure that is different for a lightweight though. Again the principle generally was at my club - if you can pinch it it shouldn't be there. If you work on that theory you don't really need hi-tech scales!!!
i come from a physio/sports science/strength and conditioning background and agree that bioelectrical impedence has its faults but this is far better than that and its gotta be safer than standing on your hands tommytri and britspin!!!
by the way, generally 0% bodyfat = death, Ranulph Finnes is, as always, the exception rather than the rule ... male bodybuilders can get down to 3-4% pre comp its true, but the methods they use and the fact that they do it makes them extremely unhealthy and indeed ill!!! Kelly Holmes in her hayday, and boy did she look good, was about 10%!!
and Britspin, porridge and syrup/honey... FOOD OF THE GODS!!! infact if there was a god of triathlon i wonder what they'd be called... any ideas anyone!!!
I did once ask a mate of mine in radiology to get me a MRI so i could have it measured, but at £1000 a scan you can guess the look that i got! hah!
I understand your worries about me balancing on my hands, but ive been walking on my hands since I was about 10! its a great builder of upper body strength!
With regard to Endurance gods
He god of the 1st discipline ---- Ian Thorpe
he god of the 2nd discipline ---- lance Armstrong
He god of the 3rd discipline ---- Kenenisa Bekele
she god of the 3rd discipline ---- Paula radcliffe
she god of the 2nd discipline ---Victoria Pendleton
she god of the 1st ---- ?
In my endeavor to learn to swim I have watched many many videos of top swimmers, so thorpe, phelps, popov etc.
In comparison to the other two when I watch thorpe I am completely mesmerized, his rhythm is incredible, i could watch it all day.
I don't eat butter/marg etc etc, use only olive oil and eat a really healthy diet - tons of veg, brown rice, brown bread etc etc.
I think I like that phrase "skinny fat" - will just carry on doing what I am doing and call myself exactly that!
I understand that the larger the breasts, the higher the reading. Any correlation in your experience folks?
Pretty sure there's the basis of a research topic here somewhere....
At least nobody has mentioned shaving, yet.
Leaglebeagle, those instructions sound a bit harsh... age dependant, 31% is only just above a "normal" range for a female and certainly not obese!!! and in the words of the fabulous Beautiful South, isn't 10 perfect!!!