Nancy and I discuss our training diet and tracking progress as she prepares for her next competition.
Bodybuilding 2007 | Diet | Men vs Women | Metabolic Diet | Nancy Arnold
In this podcast (Quicktime ipod compatible, 13.6 MB; Google flash video), Nancy Arnold and I (Bud) discuss target body fat percentages for athletic men and women. The discussion is relevant for the bodybuilding competition Nancy is targeting 8 months from now.
We're currently following a periodization weight training program from Serious Strength Training. That book recommends following the anabolic (metabolic) diet. The anabolic diet suggests body fat targets of 10% for men and 18% for women while training to build muscle. These targets represent well-known figures for athletic men and women.
However, body fat percentage is hard to measure, so some sources recommend not using it as a diet target. I suspect this attitude is fine for people who are just trying to maintain a level of fitness. If you're trying to pull off the bodybuilding trick of maximizing muscle while minimizing fat, you probably need to measure body fat percentage.
A final issue is the level of body fat you should target for a competition. Male competitors try to get down to 3%, the essential body fat level for continued health. Females require on the order of 12% body fat to function normally. Below this level, their menses stop. Many female competitors go for 10% body fat or below. Sustaining these levels over long periods of time would seem hazardous.
