The best body fat percentage for anyone who wants a great physic is around 8 %. Don’t take my word for it, Arnold Schwarzenegger always competed at around 8% body fat. 8% will allow you to see the definition in your muscles and your abs will be defined, but your body won’t be in a state of starvation and you will look healthy.

Many people think they can reach a very low percentage of body fat by lifting weights, doing cardio and doing lots of ab exercises. It is true that all of those things can lower your body fat percentage, however, it is nearly impossible to have a bodybuilder type physique without understanding diet. Your diet is what will make you or break you. In the sport of bodybuilding, it is very common to hear bodybuilders say it breaks down to diet 70% and training 30%.

One of the most crucial things to avoid while trying to achieve a low body fat percentage is sugar. Sugar is a simple form of carbohydrates that causes an insulin response. When your body releases insulin fat is stored. Essentially, when you eat sugar, if those calories are not burned off almost immediately, they are stored as body fat.

Eliminating carbohydrates is not an option because they are the main source of fuel for your body. However, you can almost eliminate sugar without any negative effects on your body. Checking food labels is important. You’d be surprised at how many foods have sugar. Slow burning carbohydrates like vegetables, oats and quinoa are the best way to incorporate carbs into your diet. Even though foods like bread and pasta don’t contain sugar, they do contain processed carbohydrates, which rank high on the glycemic index. The glycemic index is a scale that rates the body’s insulin response. The higher a food is on the glycemic index, the more it raises your blood sugar levels and the more likely it will be stored as fat. Shoot for foods under 50 on the glycemic index.

You do need to lower your carbohydrate intake overall and increase your protein intake. You should try to split up your calories 40% carbs, 40% protein, 20% fats. That, again, is straight from Arnold himself.

The next two things you want to avoid are saturated fat and sodium. Both these items are usually present in high amounts in fast foods and store-bought, prepackaged foods. Even nice restaurants also use lots of sodium to make their food taste better. Sodium causes your body to retain water and a can also make it harder for you to lose fat. Taking into much sodium also leads to high blood pressure and other health risks. Fats are necessary in your diet, however you want to make sure that the majority of them are unsaturated. Unsaturated Omega three fats have lots of health benefits and can actually help you lose body fat. Avocados are a good example of these.

Drinking lots of water will flush toxins out of your body, allowing it to operate more efficiently. There is a long list of benefits to drinking water, but it is necessary for achieving low body fat.

Fiber is important because it can help slow the rate at which your body burns carbohydrates. The slower you burn the carbohydrates the less likely they are to be stored as body fat. Fiber is also an important part of a balanced diet and has many other health benefits. Beans are an example of a food that is high in fiber, protein and ranks low on the GI.

You need to eat small meals throughout the day. The purpose of this is to keep your metabolism up and to avoid excess intake of calories that cannot be burned off before they are stored as fat. Keep in mind that all macro-nutrients (carbohydrates, protein and fat) can be stored as fat when taken in excess. That is why 6 smaller meals a day is much better than 3 large meals.

Finally, you do need to exercise at least 2-3 times per week to achieve 8% body fat. Diet is your most important tool, but exercise is necessary as well to get down to 8% while still keeping a muscular physique.

The #1, absolute best exercise for obliterating body fat is sprints. Sprints are both a power exercise (anaerobic) and a cardio (aerobic) exercise. When the body is at 100% intensity it sheds body fat very quickly. If you like jogging or bodybuilding that’s great, but I still recommend working sprints into the schedule at least once a week to reach your goals that much faster.

If you’re really serious about getting your body fat down to 8%, you’ll need to start preparing your meals at home. I’m going to give you a list of foods to eat and also a list of foods not to eat, to help you with your shopping. Chilli or stew is probably the easiest way to combine most of the good foods on this list into one meal. I guarantee that, the more strict you are with following this list, the better results you’ll get.

Foods to Eat

Proteins
Chicken breast
Turkey (sliced or ground)
90% lean ground beef or steak (no more than 2 times per week)
Fish (Tilapia, Wild Alaskan salmon, or any other types of fish low in mercury)
Eggs
Protein powder
Cottage cheese

Good Carbs

Brown rice
Quinoa (slow burning carb high in protein, containing all essential amino acids)

Beans –black, pinto, white, garbonzo, lentils, (wash them first to get rid of sodium)
Vegetables (main source of carbs) (steamed or raw keeps the most vitamins)
Fruit (no more than 1 piece per day)
Old fashioned or steel cut oats

Good Fats That Help You Get Lean
Nuts- almonds, walnuts, brazil-nuts, pistachios, cashews, macadamia
Peanut butter
Avocado
Coconut oil (ok to cook), uncooked olive oil, uncooked peanut oil, uncooked canola oil, uncooked sesame seed oil (can be used for dressings)

Foods to Avoid
Breads
Milk (too much sugar)
Fried foods
Candy
All baked goods
Pasta
Soda
Fruit juices
Cheese
Pre-packaged store bought food (very high in sodium and usually saturated fat)
Any food or drinks that contain sugar

Things to avoid

Sugar
Sodium
Saturated fat

Good Things

Drink lots of water
Foods high in fiber

Byline: John McKiernan is a personal trainer who enjoys researching information on bodybuilding, supplements, diets, health tips and more. He is the owner of Supplementhelper.com where he shares knowledge and advice about popular bodybuilding and health supplements.

Get Better Results in Less Time with Hybrid Workouts

Hybrid exercises, sometimes called complexes, consist of sets of several different exercises performed together in one giant set. They can be performed using barbells, dumbbells or a weight plates. Hybrids have proven to be an effective training tool for athletes although athletes are not the only ones who should incorporate hybrid training into their workout. Hybrids are an effective tool for anyone looking to improve their level of conditioning or increase strength. They are also an excellent workout to perform when you are limited for time, which most of us are during the holiday season. Hybrids, therefore give you no excuse to miss your workout.

Hybrids as a Warm-Up

Hybrid training can serve as an effective warm-up, much more so than walking on a treadmill or riding an exercise bike. When performing hybrids as part of a warm-up – perform each exercise for six repetitions, without any rest between exercises. Lighter weights will be used in this type of hybrid workout since your work sets are still to follow. Studies have shown that performing this type of workout as a warm-up allows for greater performance during the actual workout.

Hybrids as a Workout

When performing a hybrid workout, each hybrid is performed up to three times with a rest period between each hybrid. Up to five minutes rest should be allowed between each hybrid to ensure complete recovery of your metabolic system. Increase the weight or number of reps performed at each workout to increase its demands. The number of repetitions performed with each exercise should be based on your training goals. When training to improve conditioning levels or lose bodyfat, ten to twelve reps should be performed per exercise. Hybrid workouts train the entire body and are best performed on alternate days, such as Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Example Hybrid Workouts

Upright row

While standing, grasp the bar slightly wider than shoulder width using an overhand grip. Pull the bar up to the top of the chest. Keep the elbows above the bar. Keep the shoulders back and the chest forward. Do not lean forward.

Hang Snatch High Pull

Grasp the bar with a wider than shoulder width grip. Feet should be under the armpits. Keep the shoulders back and chest forward. Knees slightly bent. Lower the bar down to the top of the knees making sure to keep the back flat. When the bar reaches the top of the knees drive the hips upward and shrug the shoulders extending the ankles, knees, and hips in a jumping motion. At the top of the shrug pull the elbows upward until the bar reaches the top of the chest.

Squat & Press

Start with the bar on the bottom of the traps. Squeeze the shoulder blades together keeping the chest expanded. Feet should be approximately shoulder width apart and toes slightly turned out. Sit the hips backward keeping the shins vertical, as in sitting in a chair. Keep the spinal erectors tight. Allow the knees to bend as the hips sit backward. Squat as deep as flexibility allows. After reaching the bottom, drive the head and chest upward when coming out of the bottom of the squat. After reaching the top of the squat, use the upward momentum to drive the bar overhead, as in a rear military press.

Bent over row

Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder width. Bend over at the waist keeping the shoulders back and the eyes looking forward. Arch the back slightly and keep the knees slightly bent. Lower the bar close to the ground and pull it to the bottom of the chest. Do not use the legs to drive the weight up.

Conclusion

Hybrid exercises, if selected properly, condition the entire body and improve the body’s ability to recover. The total work performed in a workout using hybrid exercises forces the body to get stronger. For instance, 5 sets of 6 reps for three sets, performed three times is 270 reps of total work completed even before your workout is started. If done four times a week, 1080 additional reps are done each week. The number of reps can be altered to accommodate any strength and conditioning level. Hybrid workouts are also great when you do not have the time to perform a normal workout. The amount of workouts that can be developed by changing the movements or changing the number of reps used is unlimited. Give hybrid workouts a try as a warm-up before your next workout or as a workout next time you want to get a great workout in less time.

Skinfold caliper test

The tester uses the calipers to pinch(it doesn’t hurt) the skin on 3 to 7 parts of your body. The caliper is a gauge that measures the thickness of the fat.

The parts pinched are usually:

* abdomen
* back of the arm
* thigh
* hip
* back of shoulder

The caliper is not exact. The margin of error is 4 points either way. The tester might not pinch exactly in the right area, or may pinch too hard or too light. Get tested before your workout. After working out, your body pumps up which may make the calipers gauge you to be fatter.

Bioelectrical Impedence

A low voltage is passed through your body to determine bodyfat. The slower the signal the more fat you have. Fat slows down the signal. The signal travels quickly through muscle because muscle is made up of 70% water and water conducts electricity. Fat is only 5 to 13% water so it slows down the signal.

Dehydration can make the readings false because less water is in your system. Stay away from alcohol or caffeine for 24 hours because these substances help to dehydrate the body.

If you are overly fat or really lean this test may not produce good results.

Underwater weighing

This is the most accurate method of testing. You get into a tank of water on a scale. Here is the hard part, you have to blow all of the air out of your lungs and bend forward until you are completely submerged. Make sure to get all of the air out because any extra air makes you appear fatter. You wait about 5 seconds under water while your weight is taken.

Your underwater weight is figured out by a mathematical algorithm that determines your bodyfat. This test is based upon the premise that muscle sinks and fat floats. Muscle is denser than fat therefore it sinks. The margin of error on this test is 2 percent.