Off season my body fat percentage is between 8 and 10%, which is not only a respectable athletic fitness but I remain quite toned. Do not try to go beyond that point, but also try to maintain a 5.5% all the time. l as well. Dr. Mark Hyman shares his opinions and ideas on the topic at hand. Then, it takes me between 10 and 12 weeks gradually decrease from 10% to 5% body fat without losing muscle mass, using the same techniques I use in my ebook. It would be impossible to keep all the while body fat percentage so low, and even if could not believe I wanted to. The effort required to be toned and marked all the time would almost monumental.
It is also probably not healthy to force your body to maintain long percentages of body fat as extreme. Unless you’re a natural ectomorph (thin, with a fast metabolism) your body will fight and always be hungry. Not only that, anabolic hormones may drop and sometimes your immune system may also be affected, including “reproductive functions” reduce extreme levels of body fat. Sorry for the brutal honesty. I just want to point out that it is “normal” walk through life without subcutaneous fat, literally.
Instead of trying to maintain a peak, I use cycles with a program that does not let me go beyond 10% body fat. That’s my line, I would not go beyond that number, is like a personal rule and is fairly easy to keep once you’re in progress. And this practice is not unique in the world of bodybuilding and fitness. Athletes in all sports use periodization to be at its peak during the competition, whatever sport they are playing.