Beyond-Brawn-2nd-Edition

BEYOND BRAWN
woman. Any less bodyfat than that and you may inhibit your muscle building.
But going under 10% and 17% respectively is a necessary temporary
condition if you want to look your best for a contest, photography session or
other special occasion.
20.151 Some hard gainers, however, are naturally very lean, i.e., below 10% (male)
and 17% (female). is is their natural condition which they do not have to
discipline themselves to maintain. ese people do not necessarily need to
increase their bodyfat in order to gain muscle.
20.152 Bodyfat more than 15% may mistake you for a fat man rather than a muscleman,
especially when you are dressed, unless you have huge muscles.
20.153 Before you apply yourself to getting a very low level of bodyfat, make sure
you have enough muscle. Never forget that if you want better muscle shape
you had better apply yourself to getting bigger muscles. Ideally, spend a few
years getting big and strong while keeping your bodyfat level at no more
than 15%, for a man.
20.154 Once you are satisfied with your development, at least for the time being,
you can concentrate on detail, symmetry, definition and the full aesthetic
package—if you are so motivated. If so, you may need to spend the necessary
cycles on a sequence of specialization programs to correct apparent
symmetry deficiencies—see Framework 6 in Chapter 12. en you will need
to follow this specialization period, which could last as long as a year, with a
fat-loss program in order to become very lean.
Goal setting
20.155 Accurately calculate how much fat you need to lose to get yourself to a given
bodyfat percentage, say 10%. For example, if you are 20% fat at 200 pounds,
you have 40 pounds of bodyfat. To reduce to 10% fat you will have to lose
20 pounds of fat. You can then calculate how many months you need to get
to your target. Knowing so specifically where you stand, and the map of
progress to your goal, will help rivet your attention. If you are holding your
muscle mass while losing bodyfat, your gross bodyweight will decrease in
line with your fat loss. But if you are a beginner you may be able to maintain
your gross bodyweight, or perhaps even increase it if you gain more weight
of muscle than you lose of bodyfat.
20.156 Very importantly, lose bodyfat at no more than a pound a week, and preferably
more like a pound every two weeks, so as not to risk altering your
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