Reader omri_ro1 asked in StrongLifts.com Forum:
What do you think is Ivan Stoitsov body fat %? His abs are extremely defined.
Ivan Stoitsov. Bulgarian Olympic weight lifter. Ivan Stoitsov totaled 368kg at 76,83kg at the Weight Lifting World Champs 2007. His 158kg Snatch & 205kg Clean & Jerk got him gold. Here's a video of his 205kg Clean & Jerk.
Ivan Stoitsov' Training. Olympic weight lifters train 6-8 times per week. Often 2x/day. Those workouts burn calories and increase metabolic rate. Add to this muscle mass. Stoitsov's body is a fat furnace.
Weight lifters from his category cut down weight before the meet. Caloric excess helps recovery which is important when training that much. Body fat is the last thing he thinks about, it's all about getting strong to win the medal.
Here's a video of the training of Polish weight lifters. It gives you an idea of the amount of work these guys do. Pay attention to the different weight classes, and the amount of body fat they carry.
How to Get a Body Like Ivan Stoitsov. On the above picture Stoitsov's body fat is around 10%. Stoitsov's abs are strong & thick from the heavy Overhead work & Front Squats. That's why they're defined.
If you want to get a body like Stoitsov, do what he does:
- Get Stronger. More strength is more muscle. Bringing your body fat down to 10% is useless if you don't have muscles to show for.
- Move a Lot. Try to stay fat doing 3x weight lifting, playing squash with colleagues, tennis with girlfriend, some swimming, ... all in 1 week.
- Eat a Lot. All these activities burn energy. You need food. Eat massive amounts of healthy nutrition without even counting calories.
- Be Patient. Stoitsov didn't become like that over night. His body is a result of his training & mindset.
Check out G-Flux: Building the Ultimate Body by John Berardi for more on this.
