Negatives of staying lean all year?

[qbkilla]

I know there are some guys out there, Alberto Nunez I think, and probably more fit guys than actual bodybuilders who prioritize size, who walk around in the 6 to 7 percent range year round.

Other than not maximizing growth, is there any negatives of walking around most of the year at such a low bodyfat? Enhanced athletes so lower t levels are not a concern..

Has anyone done this? This is also assuming they have a fast enough metabolism and are active enough to maintain this at 2.5 to 3k calories, not under 2k which imo would be starving if done year round. And also assuming their diet is strictured so they get adequate sodium, potassium, and micronutrients.

 

[luki7788]

What people don't understand is that 90% of bodybuilders have 7-8% bf max. during the offseason, only water and fluid retention is high but fat is low.
You have to understand that there is a difference between "normal" 6-7% bf and stage ready 5-6%

There are no negatives of staying in this range, because 90% of athletes from other disciplines have a year-round fat tactic level of 5-7%, but this is a completely different 5-7% than those of the bodybuilder on the stage after diuretics and the dht drug cocktail.

 

[juggy38]

Well you kinda answered your own question. I can train hard, eat within reason and hang around 12-13% BF.

Within reason does include eating god knows what every UFC fight card at the local bar.


For me to hang at 10% year round, I have to time carbs, limit cheats to one sensible meal, and I’m usually pissed off hangry by Thursday, waiting on Saturday refeed.

To get lower than 10%…I have to go full prep mode…so fuck no. Nobody gives a fuck about my abs other than me. When I want to get creepy lean I will…whenever I get that wild hair up my ass

 

[NEMSZ]

I think unless you have a really fast metabolism or are using a good dose of Tren and HGH and things like that which help you stay leaner with pushing the food a bit it doesn’t really matter the calories because 3k might be decent for one person to maintain and another person it’s a deficit and another it’s what they eat to grow..

If you’re maintaining 6% year round on 3k calories then it must still suck as much as another person’s 1500 calories lol...

I think not being able to enjoy life and eat is a definite downside to maintaining that look, possible health side effects if you account for the drugs involved to keep that look year round if you’re not one of those gifted people that can eat semi freely and maintain that look..

I think 10% is very reasonable to be lean enough to look great, get all the attention from whoever you’re into (men/women) and still be able to enjoy yourself with eating or going out etc and not having to meal prep and micro manage every single thing that goes into your mouth..

 

[juggy38]

Except when tren and HGH doses creep up, then subtract 2% bodyfat from all the above I typed

 

[qbkilla]

I think unless you have a really fast metabolism or are using a good dose of Tren and HGH and things like that which help you stay leaner with pushing the food a bit it doesn’t really matter the calories because 3k might be decent for one person to maintain and another person it’s a deficit and another it’s what they eat to grow..

If you’re maintaining 6% year round on 3k calories then it must still suck as much as another person’s 1500 calories lol...

I think not being able to enjoy life and eat is a definite downside to maintaining that look, possible health side effects if you account for the drugs involved to keep that look year round if you’re not one of those gifted people that can eat semi freely and maintain that look..

I think 10% is very reasonable to be lean enough to look great, get all the attention from whoever you’re into (men/women) and still be able to enjoy yourself with eating or going out etc and not having to meal prep and micro manage every single thing that goes into your mouth..

This is true. Some guys can look lean at 10 percent while I think others can look soft. Height, fat distribution, structure are all in play.

2 guys can be 6 ft 220 at 10 percent, one guy can have full arms and delts and a 32 inch waist. The other guy may carry more mass in his legs and chest, have wider hips, and have a 34 inch waist and not appear as lean as the first guy.

 

[thethinker48]

The longer you do this; the leaner you stay

Body acclimates to the tissue, and you just partition food better. And the more actual muscle tissue you have, the easier it is to stay leaner

Like mentioned above; bodyfat distribution also plays a big role. Some guys distribute stuff so evenly that they look insane at 9-10 %, others can look like a lunch bucket with love handles until you actually diet them down to a level of suffering; and hell they can lose some bodyparts just getting to that bf percentage too

An interesting game we play

 

[aphextwin]

One negative is you can't eat like a pig all the time. Another thing for myself is I get ocd when it comes to seeing my abs and keeping them. I'm not walking around at 7-8% year round.

 

[buck]

While being over weight is not healthy. I would guess that staying very lean year round for decades would not be the healthiest thing either. Trying to get all the nutrients that will lead to long term healthy longevity requires a wide range of foods from various sources, which would require enough calories that could lead to being less then really lean.

 

[USMuscle9403]

My libido decreases when I start getting that lean, that would be the biggest thing for me

 

[GreenTLB6]

My libido goes down when I’m pretty lean which I don’t like. I’m more irritable and my sleep isn’t quite as good. Everything else is better though. Training is better, my cardio is better, muscle building is better, workouts are a fuck ton better.

 

[Dugbet]

What is staying lean?

For me he is someone who is 4-6 weeks away from going on stage. And that means, in my case, starving and getting little sleep, in addition to being exhausted from doing a lot of cardio. And I'm very angry all the time.

So, no, it doesn't make sense to stay in that condition all year.

And as a natty, the libido disappears completely, but that has never been a concern for me.

 

[jay_dub]

I see absolutely ZERO downsides to sayling "lean" all year. None. As long as you're not talking about staying 5% or something.

After getting lean and only eating when "truly" hungry (which took me awhile to recognize exactly when that is after overeating for so many years) I've been consistently getting stronger and more muscular while staying energetic, feeling healthier than ever and in better overall shape than I've ever been in my life. There's absolutely no reason to go over 10% bf in my opinion. None. 8-10% seems plenty high...

I started running first thing I do when I get my ass out of bed, approximately 1-1.5 mile around the neighborhood and I could never imagine stopping now. What it has done for my physique, overall health, and more than anything, mental health, it would be crazy to even consider any other way.

That and recognizing your body will tell you when to eat. It may take some time, especially considering some of the long term habits we all have gotten accustomed to doing repeatedly every day, but when you get to that point and have learned to listen to your body (including all aspects of what your body needs in regards to what to eat, training and sleep schedule) add in the right drugs it's fucking game over.

Relearning the eating process (we Americans have it all pretty fucked up) and learning the art of self awareness took my physique, my training, my overall health, and overall life to the next level. If only I had made these things top priority so much sooner in life. The basics that seem to get lost one way or the other...

 

[machomadness22]

I think it’s pretty hard to stay super lean while trying to get super huge right? I personally think it’s a stretch to say 7-9% bf off-season. I mean maybe for your high level pros MAYBE but even still. I have guys at my gym that look great off season and huge continually putting on muscle trying to move up that are 12-14 even 15% body fat. Me personally man I just live my life, I get tunky hell, I am kinda tunky now but when I trim up. I know how to hang on that muscle. And I think that’s what lifting for years teaches us. Trial and error anyways. Speaking from experience getting fat and trying to get lean sucks I hate it so I try to stay kinda decent looking year round but I don’t care about on weight in the winter while trying to get stronger and bigger.

 

[Love_to_Bodybuild]

Only positives , from health to looking and feeling better, moving faster, better blood sugar levels, I could go on and on

We're not talking 5-6 percent here . I think hawk said it best 8 -10 is best. Maybe 10-12 , no more as you're not going to build muscle any faster, and getting it off sucks, along with health issues, esp for people that run moderate or even high doses of hormones

 

[luki7788]

the optimal level of adipose tissue for building muscle mass for a man is 6-12% (12 is the absolute maximum, I would say the upper limit is 10%) everything above is not optimal - insulin sensitivity is no longer what it should be, and thus partitioning nutrient is no longer perfect, the aromatization becomes too much. And anyone who says they need 12% or more to build muscle can't really keep their whims in check. See who's really making the biggest progress - the guys who take cut and rebound alternately and all year round don't really go over 10% max. I have been repeating this for years, moreover, not only as top pro bodybuilders and top trainers but lazy pigs will continue to explain that they feel optimal at 15% lol. The same is true - up to 6% you feel completely normal, poor libido, etc. starts below 6%, to which 90% of those training in gyms have never reached

Forgive me for bluntness but I'm honest

 

[Tomgrass]

the optimal level of adipose tissue for building muscle mass for a man is 6-12% (12 is the absolute maximum, I would say the upper limit is 10%) everything above is not optimal - insulin sensitivity is no longer what it should be, and thus partitioning nutrient is no longer perfect, the aromatization becomes too much. And anyone who says they need 12% or more to build muscle can't really keep their whims in check. See who's really making the biggest progress - the guys who take cut and rebound alternately and all year round don't really go over 10% max. I have been repeating this for years, moreover, not only as top pro bodybuilders and top trainers but lazy pigs will continue to explain that they feel optimal at 15% lol. The same is true - up to 6% you feel completely normal, poor libido, etc. starts below 6%, to which 90% of those training in gyms have never reached

Forgive me for bluntness but I'm honest

Completely agree, the fatter you are the harder it gets to build new tissue. It is completely opposite what a lot of people say. But a lot of them need excuse to stuff themselves with 12 donuts as a little starter cause it is 'offseason'. Truth is with that approach your offseason ended before it even had a chance properly started cause they fucked up their chances in 6 weeks after competition where 'diet start tomorrow. (this tomorrow is in fact long weeks.

 

[Dugbet]

I started running first thing I do when I get my ass out of bed, approximately 1-1.5 mile around the neighborhood and I could never imagine stopping now. What it has done for my physique, overall health, and more than anything, mental health, it would be crazy to even consider any other way.

Magic is not the act of running, it is the habit of having an activity at that time of day. You could meditate, stretch, read, walk ... and you would get the same mental benefits.

 

[N.L....M.....]

Completely agree, the fatter you are the harder it gets to build new tissue. It is completely opposite what a lot of people say. But a lot of them need excuse to stuff themselves with 12 donuts as a little starter cause it is 'offseason'. Truth is with that approach your offseason ended before it even had a chance properly started cause they fucked up their chances in 6 weeks after competition where 'diet start tomorrow. (this tomorrow is in fact long weeks.

Have you seen some of the strongman competitors who were fat and built tons of muscle fat, after they cut body fat? It is actually proven that up to atleast 30% bf it doesn’t make it harder to build to muscle tissue. There’s actual data along with endless anecdote to back this up.

Staying a true 6-7 year round? People don’t realize how lean that truly is. Show me someone who is actually that lean year round and grows.
A lot of medical literature considers under 8% to be under fat. Staying too lean you will not grow. Your body and brain will not function properly.

 

[Tomgrass]

Have you seen some of the strongman competitors who were fat and built tons of muscle fat, after they cut body fat? It is actually proven that up to atleast 30% bf it doesn’t make it harder to build to muscle tissue. There’s actual data along with endless anecdote to back this up.

Staying a true 6-7 year round? People don’t realize how lean that truly is. Show me someone who is actually that lean year round and grows.
A lot of medical literature considers under 8% to be under fat. Staying too lean you will not grow. Your body and brain will not function properly.

I never said true 6% as this is almost stage ready but 8-12 why not? I like to look like I bodybuilder not some 30% fatzo where you have a head of size watermelon.