Tag: Jason Ferruggia

Body Fat for Men: Testosterone, Strength and Vitality

BodyFat

What is the ideal body fat level for men?

One of my main interest in researching/writing this article is to look at the connection between leanness and healthy hormone levels.  With that in mind, I’ll start with a quote from Jason Ferruggia’s Renegade Diet:

“Someone at 20% bodyfat is almost guaranteed to have high estrogen as well as a host of other problems that would be virtually non existent at 10% bodyfat.”

High body fat levels are  correlated with low testosterone and high estrogen in men (losing combination).  One recent study, in fact, looked at over 800 men, measuring both their body fat and testosterone levels.  As expected, higher body fat percentages were associated with lower testosterone levels.  But the scope and length of this study lead researchers to this conclusion: “Longitudinal analyses showing no influence of baseline hormone levels on change in anthropometric measures imply that body composition affects hormone levels and not the reverse.”1

This study just reinforced something we already know: getting lean and staying that way is important for overall health and vitality.

Is it possible to get too lean as far as hormones go?  Maybe.  One study tracked a natural (drug-free) bodybuilder for six months as he prepared for a competition.  He dieted/exercised his way from 14.8% to 4.5% body fat.  By the time he stepped on stage his testosterone levels had gone from 9.22 ng/mL to 2.27 ng/mL–that’s an 80% reduction.  He also reported a drastic increase in “mood disturbance” leading up to the competition, and his strength level had not fully recovered six months afterwards.2

We have to be careful about jumping to too many conclusions with this study, especially since is based on just one subject/person.   But I’m guessing we’d see similar results if other natural bodybuilders were studied like he was–especially with guys who cut significant weight/fat.  Regardless, there are a couple of very important lessons/reminders:

1. The “shredded” look you see in pictures of bodybuilders and fitness models isn’t their year-round look (especially in the case of natural trainees).

2. The dieting required to go under 5% body fat is likely to make you moody and weaker.  Doesn’t sound like something I’d want to do unless there was a substantial financial reward (along with a pizza and doughnuts) waiting for me at the end of the process.

bodyfattableIt seems there is a happy medium–a range in body fat that would optimize testosterone levels and health for most men.  It’s probably somewhere between 6-17%.   This would put you in the category of “athlete” or “fitness” for most charts I’ve seen online.

Most of us will look great if we keep ourselves somewhere in this range (trainees will usually have visible abs somewhere between 7-10% depending on genetics), and there’s always the option of moving towards the leaner end of this spectrum for certain events or seasons (going to the beach, a pictorial, etc.).

This optimal body fat % range is what interests me–I want to feel good, look good, and stay in good condition year-round.

References:

1. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2013 Apr 26. Sex Steroid Hormone Levels and Body Composition in Men.

2.Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2013 Feb 14. Natural Bodybuilding Competition Preparation and Recovery: A 12-Month Case Study.

Bulking Up: Good Idea or Not?

bulking

I’ve made a lot of mistakes during my lifting career, most of which were committed in my 20’s.  The biggest (and most expensive) blunder was to spend a lot of money on supplements (now I just stick to a handful of vitamins/supplements).

Here’s something else I would do differently if I could rewind and do it all over again: I would have abandoned “bulking” as a strategy for building muscle after my early 20’s (if not earlier).  By “bulking” I mean eating tons of food/calories with little regard for the kind of weight gained (fat vs. muscle).

Before I go any further let me say that I think bulking may be useful in a few circumstances.  Here are some examples:

*Guys in their teens (or maybe late 20’s) who are naturally thin and looking to put on their first 20-30 lb. of muscle (I’d recommend NNMB 2.0 for this category).

*Skinny guys (ectomorphs) who have a really hard time putting on weight.

*Powerlifters who are only concerned about getting stronger and having favorable leverages for strength (with little/no regard for aesthetics).

But I did most of my “bulking” when none of these scenarios applied to me.  I remember being in my late 20’s and following a program that called for drinking one gallon of whole milk a day (around 2,400 calories, not counting the other food I was eating).  This would have been fine if I was a skinny teenager, but I wasn’t.  And I already had over a decade of training under my belt.

I didn’t have much to show for these “bulking cycles” except for fat gain.  This, of course, meant I had to diet and get rid of the excess “insulation.”  I would have opted for slow but steady strength/muscle gains if I had it all to do over.

Anyway, here are some things I’d urge you to consider before getting caught up in a vicious cycle of getting too fat and having to diet it off:

*There are limits to how much muscle you can put on naturally.  Don’t believe you can eat enough calories/protein (or take enough supplements) to look like a guy who is using steroids.

*Remember that you’ll look much more muscular (and attractive to the ladies) if you keep a reasonably low body fat level.

*Overeating is associated with inflammation.  In addition to being bad for your overall health, a constant state of inflammation may actually hinder your muscle growth.1

I’ll leave you with this final quote:

“Beyond your first two years of training gains will usually come at a snails pace. A gain of one pound of real, solid muscle tissue without any fat gain, per month, would be outstanding progress for someone who has been training properly for more than three years.”  -Jason Ferruggia, The Renegade Diet

Notes:

1.  Brad Pilon (author of Eat Stop Eat) has created a website on the Inflamation Theory of Muscle Growth.  The presentation is a bit technical (and long), so let me summarize it this way: weight training causes an acute, beneficial inflammation response.  But chronic, general inflammation (caused by overeating, etc.) could interfere with the body’s ability to recognize and respond to a weight training session.