Body Fat Percentage- When to Switch to Gaining Muscle

Hi folks-

I was wondering at what body fat percentage should someone move towards a routine/diet to gain muscle, as opposed to losing weight. As we know, doing both at the same time is difficult. I’m getting fit, but knowing that point is confusing. I’m sure there are many different opinions on this, but just to guide, I am ideally looking to get ripped while bulking up a bit.

As an aside- anyone have success with Accumeasure calipers or myotape measurements to estimate?

@LasherNY1, for men Lyle McDonald recommends dieting first if you’re above 15% bodyfat and ideally, you want to be between 10 – 12% before entering a bulking phase.

Prior to starting to bulk, once your bodyfat levels are down eat at maintenance calorie levels for 2-weeks. You then enter the bulk phase which you stop when your bodyfat gets back to 15%, at which time you start cutting again.

The premise behind this is that over time you should be able to increase lean muscle mass without gaining a tremendous amount of fat.

Susan
www.CatapultFitnessBlog.com

So does this mean that if I’m in weight loss mode and still have a ways to go that I should be focusing my exercise strictly on fat and calorie burning or should I be incorporating some strength training as well?

Thanks!

Rex

I think whatever you doing including trying to lose weight some strength training is recommended to retain lean body mass. It will slow your weight loss since you will lose less muscle when in caloric deficiet – but that’s a good thing. You’re generally trying to minimise muscle loss and maximise fat loss.

Definitely incorporate strength training. You are going to feel stronger and look better. Plus you’re going to have a little boost in your metabolism if you have more muscle, so that should help you keep the weight off too.

Fat loss and Building muscle have absolutely nothing to do with one another. There is no reason you can not do both at the same time.

What it does require is a little more thinking on what you put into your body and when. When your muscles need the protein to heal/build it has it.

The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism will be. Having more muscle will actually help in your fat loss.

The problem that many have with building muscle and losing fat is its not real easy to tell which you are gaining. The scale becomes something useless.

If your ultimate goal is to bulk up and lose fat, there is no reason you can not do both.

It’s all a bit confusing admittedly. I’m definitely getting in shape, but perhaps not as fast as I’d hope to. I’ve lost a few pounds, but really what it comes down to I’m thinking is body fat percentage. That isn’t the easiest to measure.

While I’ve used calipers, I question my ability to self-measure.
I think I’m going to get a test at the gym periodically to guage progress in concrete terms.

I would think that I’m about 10 lb away from my personal goal (in terms of weight), if I can maintain muscle, so it’s not a lot. It just seems like my body is fighting me, as I’ve cleaned up my diet quite a bit. Also- and this makes it difficult, as I’m in a position where I need to dine out a couple of times a week or eat outside of the home due to my work position and or family/social obligations. This also further complicates estimating calorie intake, etc.

Anyone have any further pointers- especially in dealing with this aspect?

Thx for the useful info already provided!

I’ve been trying to track body fat as well, and not doing that great of a job. It’s hard to know exactly where to measure. If I move the caliper by less than an inch the percentage I measure can vary by more than 4%, so I don’t know what to think. Although I do get more consistent measurements from my thigh than I do from the siliac measurement. I own one of those body fat scales too, and there a total waste of time.

The only thing that really seems to show whether or not I am getting thinner is my waist measurement. It’s so easy to measure too, that even I can’t mess it up. I just have to make sure I am relaxed and not sucking in my belly at all.

About eating out, a good idea is to get a salad or a chicken sandwich, or something like that. If you strip off the cheese and dressing/sauce, then it is not that high in calories. And, avoid dessert, and anything that looks like it is deep fried (french fries, the typical crispy chicken, etc).

Good luck!

Agreed- I do try to keep it very clean when out, but, you can’t always- (darn relatives!).

@ LasherNY1 : Trying to measure and get consistent and accurate results just by using calipers takes a bit of time and practice. I get the same trainer to do the body fat measurement once a month, another thing I have found useful is to take waist, chest, arms, leg, calf measurements and track them. I have for example some times stayed at the same weight but still lost a lot on my waist. I also take photos every few weeks which help me keep track of progress or lack thereoff. It’s also worth remmbering that all methods of taking bodyfat are estimates and have a margin of error so unless it’s done consistently (with the same error) it could be misleading.

jon_c: Do you think that your advice also applies to someone who is beyond the intermediate level? Do you believe that someone who has lifted consistently for ten years on a progressive program is going to be able to put on ten pounds of muscle and lose ten pounds of fat at the same time?

On a different note: I agree with Lyle’s recommendations and the reasons behind them. However, they may not be all that practical for someone who is coming from being obese. I say this simply because its very difficult to go from 28% body fat to 12% body fat in one dieting cycle. That’s something that would take well over a year of dieting. I think that its very difficult on the body, and the mind to diet for 18, 24, or more months!

In that case you may be better to limit your dieting phases to six month windows, then eat at maintenance or slightly above, for a couple of months, and then diet again.

My point is this; don’t think that you can’t add muscle, or eat some extra calories until you get to 12% body fat. That may be the most efficient way to do it….but it may not be practical.

Of course I do chaddukes. What does fat have to do with muscle and vice verse? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

OF COURSE you can do both at the same time. They are two different things.

So, how would you advise someone who is 220lbs. at 28% body fat, and wants to be 175 at 10% body fat to go about achieving that goal?

High reps low weight, not rocket science Chad! John is very correct. Don’t forget to shorten rest intervals to 60 seconds. If you want real advise find a body buiding forum, people transform just as John said, without supplements or steroids. Diet alone, meh. Like I keep saying look at results of people you want to look like. Look at their workout logs and progression take advise from them. Also this is not an over night process. It becomes a change in life style, one you won’t regret. Take small steps but keep going. Susan makes a good point. You will not see muscle definition until 15% body fat and abs at 8% on average.

But, how would you advise them to eat?

You’ll want to increase the protein a bit. Fuel your body before work-outs and after.

chaddukes, have you ever seen this show called Biggest Loser? Have you seen some of these guys? They’re gaining some pretty good muscle the same time they’re losing fat. You just need to make sure you’re eating healthy. Getting proper nutrients to fuel your fat burning and muscle building.

That’s it? Up the protein?

How does one get to the 45 pounds of weight loss?

Everything I’ve read says that you can’t effectively do both at the same time. To lose weight you need to have a caloric deficit, to gain muscle you need to eat above your maintenance level. Which means that you will inevitably put on fat which you will need to cut later. You might get people just starting out making modest gains but as I understand that once your over the newbie gains you have to be consuming more calories to put on muscle and gain strength. Now of course there are some programs that zig zag you calories so that you consume more on days you lift and less on days when you are inactive, so those could work, haven’t tried them so can vouch for them. I could be wrong of-course but that’s what what I’ve been reading in various books and articles.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/forumdisplay.php?…
Lasher go through journals read about people doing what you want to do and ask them questions. Good luck with the body transformation. A case based approach is much better than taking advise from a article or book as you never know who was paying for that research or what motives the author had.

body transformation advise

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/newyearsguide.htm

@rexharris, I apologize if I’m rehashing what has already been written, but I’m short on time and just want to answer your question.

You absolutely want to strength train if you’re trying to lose weight. The more lean muscle mass you build, the higher your resting metabolic rate (RMR) and the more calories you’ll burn at rest. If you have a fair amount of weight to lose, assuming you have doctors approval, my recommendation is to strength train and incorporate high intensity interval training (HIIT) into your workout 2 – 3x/week.

Susan
www.CatapultFitnessBlog.com

@SusanneNY- thanks a bunch- your input has been especially helpful.

@DaPrettyBoi- thanks for the links- very very useful info.

Your advice is appreciated guys.

In response to daprettyboi’s comment, I just wanted to add that, although you won’t see muscle definition until you read a low bodyfat percentage, you shape of your body will change, which is alot of fun and very gratifying.

And to lasher, if you want to be successful losing weight when eating out, one trick you can use is to multiply your estimate of the calories of your dish by 20% if no calories are given. 10% if the calories are given. Then use that estimate and portion your food accordingly. Take the rest for leftovers.