Fun to see the physical side of his program! But....that really is only 1/3 of what's needed. At that level, everything matters and if he is 155 or 156 lbs, that makes zero difference if his mental fitness or technique training doesn't equal the physical side. Physical, mental and technique are all equal and looped to get to 100%. Ken
Not really. Competiting bodybuilders will rarely be at 6% bodyfat. When they are at that rate, it’s because they are on their way to either being lower or higher. On stage, the average is more around 2-3%. In the off-season, most end up around 10-15% (to avoid having to shed too much when it comes time to compete). The bare minimum for organs to operate properly is 2%. One time Ronnie Coleman reportedly showed up for a show under 1% (the reported number is 0.33%). BUT he was only like that for a matter of a day, just for the show. It would be impossible to sustain that; organs would shut down. In order to have “abs”, you need to get under 10%. To get that “shredded” look, you need to be closer to 5-6%. In that video/picture, I can believe that Garrett is/was at 6%. And no, that isn’t unheard of or even THAT difficult to maintain (once you have achieved it). As far as it being a “miserable existence”, that is all relative. I’ve had people tell me that I must live a miserable existence based on my eating and workout habits, but I am not miserable at all. Eating like shit, getting sloppy, and not working out would make me miserable. So it’s all a matter of perspective. But as far as his upper body muscles, it could just simply be a byproduct of his training. Everyone is shaped differently. I highly doubt he is trying to max out on bench or curls as part of his program. He may just have good natural shape/genetics, and losing bodyfat made him look super muscular. As we’ve mentioned before he is not a big dude by any stretch of the imagination. He is cut, and standing by himself. There is nothing (nobody) else there to give any perspective. Walking around the mall he would still look like a tinkerbell. But with low bodyfat, the right lighting and camera angles, and most importantly with nobody truly “big” beside him for reference, he looks like a big dude.
Gorilla has the excellent point on the BF thing. Found the pic of Lee Priest from years ago, that sort of shows the bulk to cut / contest stages of progression.
Fun Fact: Lee Priest was used as the model for the computer generation of the modern Incredible Hulk character. Priest is only like 5’ tall, but that is irrelevant. The computer could make The Hulk any height they wanted. But they liked Priest’s body composition, thickness, etc. When making the modem Hulk movie, Priest had to spend hours doing various poses and movements so the computers could use his body to generate The Hulk.
Yup, knew that about Lee. First time I met him and Jay Cutler ( BB and not football ) , I was surprised as to how "not tall" each of them were. Especially Lee.
Thanks, good info here. What I meant by the miserable existence was not necessarily in regards to the work required/lifestyle but more the side effects from maintaining too low of a BF% such as low energy, low test (and the plethora of side effects that stem from that), poor sleep patterns, lower endurance, etc. But I guess maybe that doesn't really apply until that 2%-3% you mentioned. I totally get the lifestyle side of things. When I started out, I swore I would never diet/count calories/etc. It just seemed too daunting and like too much work and I love food too much. I just wanted to go to the gym, put in the work, and get healthier. But I eventually realized how much my diet was working against me and decided I wanted to maximum all the work I was putting in at the gym and the work I was doing outside of it, learning how to improve my technique/form, optimize my routines, etc. Been actually planning my meals and just counting calories and protein for the last 6 months or so and I'm so glad I started. Everything from muscle growth & recovery to sleep patterns to digestive health & blood pressure improved significantly within a month. And now it is part of my lifestyle that I embrace. I do understand the thoughts about a lack of reference points for his actual size and upon further research regarding the height & weight of other pro riders, it looks like he's in the normal range. My buddy that I compared him to must just be an anomaly (which doesn't surprise me, he can literally fit in my wife's helmet and she's 5'5" 125 lbs).
The miserable part(s) of being that fit? The guilt... ...when you drink as much alcohol as you want, spend too much time cokin', jokin' and smokin' in the pits, the after party BBQs and follow-up trips to the ice cream parlor before hittin' a Rave on Mallorca. I can't speak for anyone else, but I'd feel terribly disappointed with myself.
Yeah, those things (negative side effects) don’t really come into play until you get below 5%. Many people will say 6% is the “magic number”, and anything lower than that can be detrimental. But I’ve known people who carried 5% with no issues whatsoever. Personally, I hang around 8-9%. I can do that year round with little effort (by “little effort”, I mean by maintaining my normal eating and training habits). I have/can shed another 1-2% if I have a reason to (vacation for example), but doing so takes additional effort and dietary changes from my norms, and I don’t sustain them (on purpose). There are other factors with the guys you see on stage at 2%. 1. Gear 2. They aren’t that low for very long. They time it so they “peak” at that % for the contest, and will then go back to normal. As far as what you’ve got going on, good on you dude. As the saying goes, “You can’t out train a shitty diet”. If you are putting the effort in the gym, then it makes sense to put in effort outside of the gym so you can actually get/see/feel the full benefits. And you hit the nail on the head with “It’s part of my lifestyle”. The importance of that CANNOT be overstated. Anyone with the right motivation can do anything for a week or two. But to get and maintain results it needs to be sustainable, it needs to be a lifestyle. Believe it or not, you’ve actually got the hardest part over with. Now it’s just a matter of staying consistent and seeing where it leads you. Nice work dude.
Thanks. I actually think I did it right by initially doing it wrong if that makes sense. Pretty sure if I had gone balls deep from day 1 on perfecting my routines, meal planning, hitting the gym every single day, etc. I would have just burned out quickly within a month or 2. Fitness hasn't really been part of my lifestyle since I was about 20 (I'm 33 now). I've gotten into "routines" on and off for a couple months at a time for years but could never maintain it. I think the big difference this time was starting out just going over to the gym during lunch with my boss and a couple coworkers a couple times per week. Then progressing to hitting every day. Then figuring out my ideal supplement stack. Then dialing in my routines and techniques. Then improving my diet. All these changes coming one at a time allowed me to make it a lifestyle adjustment, not just something I did for a couple weeks. Most recent addition has been working with a personal trainer to dial in my technique and form in ways I haven't been able to do on my own. Been working with this guy a little over a month and it's already resulted in some major improvements.
Nah dude I get it, and it totally makes sense. I can’t remember if it was this thread or another one. But I mention before how when people want/need to get in shape (especially people that are obese), I will tell them to not change anything about their lifestyle in the beginning. I only ask that they drink 20oz of water 20-30mins before each meal, and then eat much slower. I don’t even tell them to eat anything different. Just drink that water first, and eat much much slower (put the fork down for 30-45sec between bites). Then from there, start replacing cokes with water, maybe walk on the treadmill for 20min a day, etc. Making too many (and or drastic) changes immediately is a good way for someone to set themselves up for failure. Make small changes that are sustainable. Once that becomes a habit, then add something else (or remove something else). It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
All of this is good food for thought for me. I am getting older and would like to lose some body fat for good, that I think is mostly driven by my lack of a good diet. It is not that I eat crap most of the time, I eat decent food but probably too much with an occasional crap (ice cream) thrown in. I don't drink soda, mostly water and a couple cups of coffee a day, I am active, mountain bike a couple days a week in the summer, play hockey once a week year round, walk my dog ~2.5 miles a day 6x a week in the summer, etc. I usually only workout (lift weights, recumbent bike) in the winter, 2x a week, I have been working out for decades, when I was younger I did it more frequently and for more of the year. What is my best option to lose fat from a sustained diet perspective and still have energy to do everything I want to do - meaning the low carb thing is out, I have tried it, it worked well for losing weight but I feel I lost a ton of muscle mass and my energy was awful? I'm not sure if there is enough info of what I wrote, I am not great at putting my personal stuff out there but would sincerely like to make some changes that I sustain and not just do it for a few months. Any help/advice would be appreciated and I would be happy to answer anything that someone would need to know to provide this advice. Go easy on this chubby kid!
It's pretty simple eat less, work out more. Your not working out enough. Cut out the sugar and processed foods. More produce,less fat and sugar. People don't realize what a huge difference diet makes, more so than working out.
So most important thing to remember. There is precisely one and one way only to lose weight - caloric deficit. You can eat less, workout more, take supplements or meds that increase your metabolism or decrease your appetite but ultimately it call comes back to burning more calories than you intake. My personal experience - I've stayed pretty much the exact same weight since I got back into a workout routine last year. However, my arms, chest, and legs have gotten bigger and my waist has shrunk. Strength and endurance has also increased substantially. Given all of that information, the only logical conclusion is I've been recompositioning, as opposed to bulking or cutting. As mentioned earlier, I actually started watching my diet a few months back. One of my big triggers for doing so was to drop my muffin top. I had started to develop some really good muscle size and definition all over but couldn't shake the muffin top. Fast forward to today. Aiming for a caloric deficit while still getting 1g protein per lb of body weight resulted in what was almost a whole30 diet. Completely unintentional but pretty hard to hit a caloric deficit while achieving that protein goal on anything other than lean meats, veggies, and only the most healthy of dairy. Problem is I have found myself to constantly be hungry. I go fucking hard in the gym. If I am not in significant discomfort the rest of the day after my workout and at least somewhat uncomfortable the day after, I feel like I failed. I also usually run 10ish miles per week in the form of a 5k midweek and 10k on the weekend. When the weather stays consistently warmer, I'll replace a lot of that with mountain biking and hiking/backpacking. So I'm in recovery mode 24/7. What this has led to is I cheat on my diet almost constantly, usually by eating more than the portions I allocated myself for that meal and/or eating some healthy fatty stuff (nuts, avocados, etc.) or something sweet. The sweet thing was new for me as I've never had much of a sweet tooth. But it seems by inadvertently cutting out carbs (pastas are a big one that I've had to mostly cut), my body seems to crave sugar, which manifests as a sweet tooth. So I look for chocolate protein bars, stuff sweetened with stevia or monk fruit, or just eat chobani vanilla greek yogurt. My results: I still have the muffin top That said, I have recently added a few lbs of bodyweight but have added an immense amount of muscle size and strength (relatively speaking). However, as I also mentioned in a previous post, that diet change, while initiated for a reduction in body fat, resulted in a ton of other benefits. More energy, better sleep, improved digestive health, lower blood pressure, and I honestly think it even impacted my mood positively. The way I would translate this all for you is I'd suggest taking a similar approach to my own, but maybe with less focus protein and more on caloric deficit (since it doesn't sound like you're trying to pack on muscle mass like I am). Aim for that lean caloric plan and then add just a little bit of healthy carbs and fats on top while staying under your maintenance calories. Personally, I actually just started TRT and am hoping that provides the extra edge to burn this last bit of fat I can't seem to get rid of. Kinda feel like cheating but honestly, I'm not competing with anyone but myself and I don't enjoy being constantly miserably hungry so fuck it. But TRT is a whole nother conversation and I'm still way too early into it to have much of an opinion yet. Pro tips: supposedly drinking water helps decrease appetite. I have not found this to be true but others swear by it so probably still worth a try. I drink well north of a gallon/day and water just does not help when I'm hungry. The one thing I did find that helps - capsacin. Apparently it is an appetite suppressor and sure enough I have found it easier to stick to my allocated portions when I can find a way to make my meal spicy. I'm just an amateur over here that's found himself balls deep into learning about fitness for my own betterment but am far from a pro so take all this with a grain of salt. My best advice is research, research, research. I spend a ton of time reading articles and watching videos from professionals, getting insight from the fitness junkies around me like Broome, etc. and identifying the common themes. You'll find a ton of people with a ton of different opinions and that's ok. You can try to sift through all the different opinions later. But you'll also find plenty of those consistent themes that you can confidently follow early on.
Thays what I tell people all the time. Ease I to everything in phases instead a complete shift all at once. I think people who go that route tend to sustain longer.
You might want to read up on the Zone diet. Basically, it emphasizes a mix of fats, carbs and protein in a specific mix. The idea is to give the body a specific mix of types of nutrients to optimize energy. The basic Zone diet is 40% carbs, 30% fats and 30% protein. Unlike many of these "diets" it is sustainable, as nothing is restricted, just keep the foods you choose to eat within the mix of carbs, fats, and protein. For body re-composition I used 40% or a bit more protein, 30% fats and carbs (maybe a bit lighter on the carbs), with making the carbs more complex (slower to turn to energy, and taking more energy to convert them - also called low-glycemic). The timing of meals to energy expenditures in the plan is still good. Its a process, it takes time, but if you stick with it, it will produce results. The idea is to up the protein to preserve muscle, eating less carbs (especially those that are digested quickly) to promote fat burning. But still eating enough to maintain energy (just some caloric deficit daily to promote fat burning). I took off 60+ lbs over an extended period of time using this method, and kept it off for 30 years.
Wow, some great information here, I appreciate everyone's input and time, thank you! It's great hearing from people that made changes later in their life and made it stick. Like Redtail mentioned I am not interested in adding a ton of muscle mass, I have always been lucky that way since I started working out in college. My main issue as I have aged is added unwanted fat which was much less of an issue when I was younger. Part of my problem with lifting weights is I have accumulated many injuries over time related to sports and motorcycles, things that once were my strong points I now have to figure out how to strength train around those. TRT is another thing I have been interested in learning more about but have done nothing with it. The first step is to get tested to see where I am at which I am getting close to, I started looking into to these guys: 10xhealthsystem.com Has anyone had any experience with them? I just want to become leaner, retain the muscle I have, and lose fat, easy right. @Gorilla George I would be very interested in what you have to say as you know allot about this stuff, any advice would be appreciated!
One thing you didn't mention is your age- I'm 48 and what I've found is that without drugs (TRT) the process will be much more drawn out before you see results. I believe anyone can get fit at any age, but it takes patience as you get older for the changes to manifest. Don't know what your lifestyle is, but for me (travel constantly, no kids) meal prep is the only way to go. I did it myself for a while, but I wasn't getting enough variety which then leads to me making bad choices on the road. I've tried a few, I'm on a Fresh 'n Lean kick right now and I really like it. What it provides is not rocket science- it's portion control. And if you're lucky, a decent portioning of your macros (protein, fats, carbs.) I still haven't found the mix of exercise type and diet that has given the best results. Due to my job (traveling) when I'm home, I'm always exercising outside- running or cycling. I only go to the gym once a week and do a heavy, total body workout. I would probably be better off doing more weight lifting and breaking it up by body part, but I just don't like going to the gym more than once a week. Oh, and you'll have to give up or severely restrict your alcohol. That is one of the big keys.
