BF% Goal

[twanger]

Hi Everyone,
I started back in May, with 30+% bodyfat and not able to do a pull-up. Since then, I've done 5x5 do the letter, with 30 mins cardio after each workout, and 60 mins cardio on off days. I'm now down from 233lbs to 187 lbs, and at 17% body fat, (and I can do a dead hang pull up!). What's a good goal for me to be in terms of BF%?

Thanks

[bkklift]

Being happy with how you look in the mirror is more important than BF% I say.

I was told I was at 17% bodyfat, in fact higher in my progress pics, and I'm ok with that...

[PaulieBee]

I'd definitely agree with bkklift. If you feel happy when you look in the mirror then the battle is half won.
I'm currently in process of reducing my BF%, I've gone from 22% to 17% at present, I feel much lighter on my feet and generally healthier. That said I feel that I'd still like to reduce it further, so my next goal is 14% over the next 7 weeks, I'll see how I feel then.
I read an article on T nation a while back which I found very useful, it was about bulking but had some interesting facts about BF% it was called - The Truth About Bulking- Is bulking up to gain muscle a good idea? by Christian Thibaudeau.
Also I currently using the following as a guideline (some of the descriptions are from that article)-

<9% VERY LOW FAT - Very lean with excellent muscle separation.
9-12% LOW FAT - lean with good muscle separation.
13-16% AVERAGE FAT - Look ok but will have little or no muscle separation - you will look basically the same where ever you are in this range.
17-19% - VERY HIGH FAT - you will look fat
20% - OVER FAT - Ditto but more so

The above are figures for a 20-30year old for 30-40 the percentages for each range are slightly higher.
I think eventually I' like to get into the LOW FAT range but I'll have to judge as I go i.e. some people look a bit ill if BF goes too low.
At the end of the day this is a very subjective area, as long as you're lifting heavy and eating well and you like what you see in the mirror thats all that matters. Hope this helps

[bkklift]

I'm kinda surprised with the description of those %'s.

During my last medical they measured by bodyfat using a bio-impedance machine (I know some say they are notoriously inaccurate, others swear by them) and I measured about 17-18%. If you look at my progress pics in my log, I don't think you can describe me as very high fat.

Even calipers are highly subjective depending on who is using them and how.

I wonder if it's possible to find photos of individuals who have been professionally measured, say by hydrostatic weighing, and comparing their bf%.

[PaulieBee]

bkklift, this is just a rough guide, its just a sliding scale with unfortunate labels - "over fat" aagh.
Two months ago I was 22% and I don't think anyone would have described me as over fat - I seem to carry the weight quite well although I did feel I needed to drop a bit.
I've only just started to use calipers and I'm still trying to get a feel for where in percentage terms I'm most comfortable.

Like you said calipers are very subjective and sometimes you get big discrepances between measurements. That said over long term you can track reliably with them as the odd dodgy measurement seems to average out i.e. the trend of a number of data points is either up or down. Its all relative at the end of the day.

As for yourself, looking at your pictures you look very lean and you are obviously making impressive strength gains so why worry what the chart says.
By the way this is all second hand info, this is where I found the scale etc...

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/drobson98.htm

http://www.tmuscle.com/article/bodybuilding/the_truth_about_bulking&cr=

[bkklift]

Thanks Paulie. Like I said, I don't really care about bf% per say, as long as I am happy with what I am seeing in the mirror.

It's more out of curiousity really, I just see a lot of people talk about bf% and there seems to be such wide discrepancies.

I do agree that bf%, like weight, can be useful for tracking progress but never tell the full picture just by themselves.

[PaulieBee]

Couldn't agree more - its just a guide. To be honest I think waist circumference is a more reliable/repeatable guide. I think if you use a number of techniques i.e. track weight, waist measurement, BF then any discrepances should average out and you should get a good idea where you are compared to say 6 months ago.