Reducing body fat is a necessary component when competing in bodybuilding to show off all of your hard-earned effort in the weight room. Body fat percentages in bodybuilding can vary considerably between men and women, and in the bodybuilding category in which you are competing.
Essential Body Fat
Your body must maintain a certain level of fat for it to function properly and to be healthy. Essential fat is the lowest percentage of body fat your body must store to maintain health. Essential fat stores in women range between 7 and 10 percent of their total body weight; whereas, essential fat stores in men are about 2 to 3 percent of total body weight. Bodybuilders should avoid reducing body fat levels at or below essential fat stores, as they can still be very lean and ripped and remain above essential body fat levels.
Competition Body Fat Percentages
Body fat percentages vary depending on the category in bodybuilding you are competing in and how your body holds body fat. Men competing in bodybuilding tend to have lower body fat percentages than women, ranging between 5 and 8 percent of their total body weight. Female bodybuilders usually compete with higher body fat percentages between 6 and 10 percent. Women who compete in either fitness competitions or figure competitions usually aim for a body fat percentage between 9 and 15 percent of their total body weight, notes Tanji Johnson, IFBB professional fitness competitor.
Determining Body Fat Percentage
Because muscle tissue, fat tissue, height, bone density and many other factors determine body weight, it is not a good predictor of physique appearances. Your body fat percentage determines how much fat weight you need to lose, and how to plan your diet and exercise program. Measure your body fat percentage using methods such as skin fold measurements, bioelectrical impedance or air displacement. These are the easiest and most accurate methods of determining body fat percentages. However, it is necessary to have a trained fitness professional perform the assessment for the most accurate results.
Planning Your Fat Loss
Your body fat percentage is a valuable tool for determining how long you will need to diet to achieve your goal body fat percentage for competition. A male bodybuilder weighing 200 lbs. who wishes to be at 8 percent body fat at competition must first determine how much fat weight he must lose. If he is currently at 15 percent body fat, he is carrying 30 lbs. of body fat, which means that 170 lbs. of his weight is lean body weight -- muscle, bones, organs, water. Because he wishes to carry 8 percent body fat, he must divide his lean mass by 92 percent to obtain his ideal body weight at competition: 170/.92 = 184.7 lbs. He will need to lose 15.3 lbs. of fat weight to reach his goal. Since it is safe to lose between 1 and 2 lbs. a week of fat, it will take him between eight and 16 weeks to achieve his goal.
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