Health Ideal body fat % for men (another example that bigger is not always better)

[POB]

Another ball in the basket of "bigger is not always better".

The finer balance of some muscle + low body fat % is definitely the way to go if you wanna look max for attraction!

 

[DarkKnight]

Agreed and I also believe people underestimate muscle density for that athletic ripped look

 

[Alpha13SC]

A little nitpick, the % aren't accurate and there's this dark tone skin difference, but yeah, some muscles with low % bf is ideal.

 

[Beam]

Interesting and I've observed this as well personally. Was always bigger and got complimented on looks quite a lot pre 2020, but during the big lockdown got leaner (and smaller) from my home workouts and suddenly started getting a lot of attention from hotter and younger chicks. Started getting called hot and sexy quite frequently as opposed to good looking. Have put on a bit since then but am trying to get back to that level. Noticed that I did have less visual pop with clothes on when leaner though. So while I did better in the interactions themselves, getting leaner reduced my presence and I noticed less IOIs pre approach when wearing shirts (wife beaters were another matter, lots of IOIs then)

Agreed and I also believe people underestimate muscle density for that athletic ripped look

Huh, been lifting for a long time and have never explicitly heard about muscle density before. Of course you see guys who are small and ridiculously powerful but never thought about the inner workings before. Interesting.

And yeah, those percentages are way off, especially the 3% and 5%. No way in hell they are that low.

 

[DarkKnight]

@Beam try some kickboxing. You'll understand what I mean real soon. You become like steel instead of a puffed up baloon so to say.

 

[Alpha13SC]

Interesting and I've observed this as well personally. Was always bigger and got complimented on looks quite a lot pre 2020, but during the big lockdown got leaner (and smaller) from my home workouts and suddenly started getting a lot of attention from hotter and younger chicks. Started getting called hot and sexy quite frequently as opposed to good looking. Have put on a bit since then but am trying to get back to that level. Noticed that I did have less visual pop with clothes on when leaner though. So while I did better in the interactions themselves, getting leaner reduced my presence and I noticed less IOIs pre approach when wearing shirts (wife beaters were another matter, lots of IOIs then)

The solution is to do a lean bulk. For example, having 15% is a little bit too much, even for starting a lean bulk.
Sodium manipulation and a clean diet and choosing combination of macros can help with water retention and can improve facial aesthetics, along with cardio on this one.

Same with meal timing, so most of the carbs will go into the body as glycogen and minimize getting fatty, so the muscles appear as big as they can, while skin is as much as paper.

Huh, been lifting for a long time and have never explicitly heard about muscle density before. Of course you see guys who are small and ridiculously powerful but never thought about the inner workings before. Interesting.

It's more about types of training which activates different of muscle fibers.

 

[Beam]

@Beam try some kickboxing. You'll understand what I mean real soon. You become like steel instead of a puffed up baloon so to say.

Yeah I have been drawn to MMA for this reason - functional strength, an aesthetic physique and the ability to defend yourself. Have taken a couple of classes and will come back to it eventually for the defence aspect, but right now am focused on calisthenics. Could do both but have other non-fitness related endeavours that are a priority right now. If only there were more than 7 days in the week.

 

[Beam]

The solution is to do a lean bulk. For example, having 15% is a little bit too much, even for starting a lean bulk.

Yeah, I'm planning on lean bulking once I cut down to around 13/14. Did the whole dirty bulk/cut cycle a while ago and hated how it made me look like a balloon. Think I'm hovering around 16/17 right now.

Sodium manipulation and a clean diet and choosing combination of macros can help with water retention and can improve facial aesthetics, along with cardio on this one.

Same with meal timing, so most of the carbs will go into the body as glycogen and minimize getting fatty, so the muscles appear as big as they can, while skin is as much as paper.

Diet is clean and am incorporating more cardio. Used to count macros but not anymore. Have never done sodium manipulation or timed my meals except for intermittent fasting. Will look into these more.

 

[POB]

A little nitpick, the % aren't accurate and there's this dark tone skin difference, but yeah, some muscles with low % bf is ideal.

They are way off!
None of those guys is in single digits IMO.
Point is, if you want to loox max, there's no need to sacrifice condition once you hit a certain size .

 

[Skills]

I would play around and see how are women responding all things being equal, also ask your girls for input....

 

[POB]

I would play around and see how are women responding all things being equal, also ask your girls for input....

Pictures don't lie.
Take weekly pictures in the morning and compare them to check your progress.
Show them to your girls too.