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EricT · 02-21-2007, 10:41 AM

If you want to gain a good deal of muscle then you do not want to try and be at very low BF levels. WHY? Because, for most, at those levels a lot of the anabolic hormones that control this stuff bite the dust.

So the estimate I remember is somewhere between 10 to 17% for men and 12 to 20 for women. For men at over 17% you become less sesitive to the hormones. So there is some reason why a person might want to slim down first. However, that person could concentrate on strength which would help to slim down while hopefully building some muscle underneath.

I want to say something about these misconceptions concerning the pictures you see on fitness magazines and stuff like that. Also the guys you see on those bowflex commercials. You know, I got my bowflex 3 months ago, worked out 20 minutes a day and now I'm all jacked up and shredded. Oh, and I'm almost 50 years old.

These people are fitness models. Actors. Whatever. They are paid to appear in whatever media and sell a product, or delusion. The way they got there and the product are not the same. Very few people will walk around looking anything like "big" and also be single digit BF. When you see them like that it's a snapshot, just like when you see a pro bodybuilder on stage it's a snapshot. Be real.

John Basedow, even if he tried to get bigger, would probably find that some bodyfat gain had to come with it. Likewise, a bodybuilder who cuts down and tries to stay that way could see his gains diminish very quickly. I am not saying that the pros get hugely fat on off-season. 10 to 17% bodyfat is actually very healthy and not really "fat" at all.