Hi, my name is Jerry Bruton. I've been participating in amateur natural bodybuilding since I was in my thirties. This sport requires being muscular and lean to be competitive. You may think this is the extreme of low body fat percentage. I only go to the extreme range for competition.
I use Look Better Fit’s Body Composition Table to prepare for bodybuilding competition. The sample table shows the changes in my body composition as I prepared for the 2009 NPC Excalibur Masters 60+ competition. With weight training, proper dieting and the aid of knowing how I was progressing to a leaner physique, I won first place.
You will find tracking your body composition just as useful as your scale when you are working forward a leaner look.
Six pack abs at 60
When you see a person looking fit, you see a person with a beautiful figure and great muscle tone. Their physique is not disfigured with excessive fat, they show muscle tone because there is a minimum layer of fat covering their muscles. How many times have you hear "I just want to be toned". The only way you will look tone is to keep the body fat down. If you need proof, infomercial models demonstrate the meaning of muscle tone.
Exercise and a proper diet are essential to control your body fat. To measure you body fat you need more than a scale. A scale measures your total body weight. The scale is measuring your lean body weight and your body's fat combined. Your body's lean mass weight and body fat weight is referred to as your body composition. Your lean body mass consist of your bones, muscles, skin, blood, and organ tissues. The fat body weight is adipose tissue or fat cells. A level of essential body fat is necessary to support your normal health. That level of fat is called essential body fat. Your essential fat is 10-12% for women and 2-5% for men.
In addition to essential body fat, you will have body fat referred to as storage fat. Storage fat accumulates under the skin, subcutaneous fat, and surrounds the internal organs, visceral fat. The tables below show the ranges of total body fat for men and women. When you are on a weight loss program, reducing your total body fat percentage should be your goal.
The charts below show body fat measured as a percent of total body weight.
Body Fat Ranges for Men
| Body Fat | Age | ||||
| Range | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50-59 | 60+ |
| Very Low | <11% | <12% | <14% | <15% | <15% |
| Low | 11-13% | 12-14% | 14-16% | 15-17% | 16-18% |
| Optimal | 14-20% | 15-21% | 17-23% | 18-24% | 19-25% |
| High | 21-23% | 22-24% | 24-26% | 25-27% | 26-28% |
| Very High | >23% | >24% | >26% | >27% | >28% |
Body Fat Ranges for Women
| Body Fat | Age | ||||
| Range | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50-59 | 60+ |
| Very Low | <16% | <17% | <18% | <19% | <20% |
| Low | 16-19% | 17-20% | 18-21% | 19-22% | 20-23% |
| Optimal | 20-28% | 21-29% | 30-22% | 23-31% | 24-32% |
| High | 29-31% | 30-32% | 31-33% | 32-33% | 33-35% |
| Very High | >31% | >32% | >33% | >34% | >35% |
Skinfold capliers are one method to estimate your body fat percentage. Skinfolder capliers are used for anatomical measurements from areas of your body. your skinfold caliper meansurements are combined with your sex, age and body weight and applied to a formula to estimate your body composition. Its a fairly accurate method.
If you are on an exercise or diet program, Look Better Fit provides way for you to keep track of your body composition. All you need to do is sign up. Once you sign up, you have access for entering your measurements and a body composition table. Three anatomical site measurements, your weight, age and gender is all you need.
Your information is only available to you. If you do not have skinfold calipers, a printable form is available to take to your trainer. Request your trainer to take your measurements. Return to LookBetterFit.com, login and enter your measurements.