The amount of body fat you have determines how much of your muscle will show through. Athletes tend to have low body fat percentages. You can notice this even more in bodybuilders who monitor their body fat, especially in preparation of a competition.
If your goal is to be lean and have your six-pack abs on display, then body fat percentage is probably a concern for you.
Personally, I don't focus a lot on body fat percentage. I know it will go down on its own as I continue to lose weight. Rafi, another fitness blogger from this guest post, wrote a funny article on why we shouldn't care so much about our body fat percentage.
Check it out below:
The Line Must Be Drawn Here! Why You Shouldn’t Care If Your Body Fat Percentage Isn’t Under 15%
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Thanks for the mention Eartha!
-Rafi
Unless you ARE a bodybuilder or a model, it’s not something you should obsess over. Just eat the right foods, exercise and get plenty of rest and your body fat will take care of itself.
Great Article!! I try to stay away from numbers as much as possible, if I feel good my body will usually reflect that. Numbers are sometimes useful but too many times they become an obstacle/obsession, size 2, bench 225, run a sub 6 min mile… Etc. If you feel good and have confidence in yourself that’s what leads to happiness!
Thanks guys/gals for the article.
Hey,
Thanks for the wonderful article. I am neither a model nor a bodybuilder still I never want excess body fat.
I believe that so many people do focus on one thing. Whether it is body fat, weight, BMI, etc, it is important to step back and take a look at several components of success. Body fat is definitely a better benchmark than weight though.
Thanks for the link. Like you I am expecting body fat percentage to go down as I exercise more and eat better.
I am a CPT, I actively encourage clients to monitor their numbers occassionally, but pay more attention to how their clothes fit and how they feel.
I am more interested in understanding how efficiently their body is working than a specific number!
Good Article!
By the way if it would help anyone I have made some free weight loss videos available at http://emailpersonaltraining.com/weightloss
Body fat % is certainly a big issue in my training. I vary from 5-10% and im always monitoring it.