Tip The Body Fat Percentage Factor Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Diet & Fat LossEating Tip The Body Fat Percentage Factor To avoid arriving in Skinny-Fat Land know when to switch to a mass phase Info here by Paul Carter May 22, 2019June 6, 2021 Tags Bodybuilding, Diet & Fat Loss, Diet Strategy, Losing Fat, Nutrition & Supplements, Tips Don t Bulk Until You re Ripped Ideally, you'd want to start a bulking cycle when you're incredibly lean – single digit body fat. Working from an environment with less adipose tissue means less inflammation and usually a better hormonal profile – better nutrient partitioning due to insulin sensitivity and less estrogen (fat cells are highly estrogenic). But most people don't want to do that in the real world. Guys get a hint of upper abs first thing in the morning, swear they're at 9% body fat, and want to start "packing on the gainz!" Well, gear down there, big rig. The difference in being kinda lean and being truly peeled is like the difference between whizzing around the local go-kart track and being on the Nuburgring in a Viper ACR. Yeah, you're on a track in both, and technically in a "race car," but it's just not the same. Since most guys never truly get ripped, they often end up in Skinny-Fat Land. This is where the majority of confusion about whether to bulk or cut comes from. When you're skinny-fat, the scale usually says "runt" but the mirror says "doughnuts." If you're a total newbie (or have less than a year of really intelligent training experience) and you're more than 18-20% body fat, then you're in luck. No really, you are. Because then you're in that rare period of time where you can lose fat while building a decent amount of muscle at the same time. Get into a minor caloric deficit and focus on banging out rep PR's on the big lifts. If you're skinny-fat but in the 12-15% body fat range, then focus on eating a maintenance intake of calories or a very slight surplus, and then bang out the rep PR's. The common denominator? Getting stronger in the growth-producing rep ranges (8-20), and putting on more muscle. The underlying problem with looking skinny-fat really isn't the degree of body fat. It's the lack of muscle underneath it. A guy that's 16% body fat who has a lot of quality muscle underneath will look fairly jacked. And that's the difference between him and the guy suffering from skinny-fat disease who weighs 177 who's also 16% body fat. Muscle cures a lot of problems. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Eating How Much to Eat For Muscle Growth Here's how to tell what dietary approach to take and how much you REALLY need to eat to build muscle. Christian Thibaudeau September 29 Eating Is Bread Healthy You May be Surprised People have demonized bread for years, but they need to find another scapegoat. Bread can be healthy and nutritionally important. Here's why. Dietary Myth Busting, Nutrition & Supplements TC Luoma March 16 Eating The Science of Nutrient Timing – 1 Getting the physique you want is about much more than calories in, calories out. You also need to think about the Energy Phase and the Anabolic Phase. Diet Strategy, Feeding the Ideal Body, Nutrition & Supplements John Berardi, PhD April 1 Supplements The 5 Different Types of Body Fat What kinds of body fat are good, what kinds are bad, and why you want to develop more of one particular kind to burn 300 extra calories per day. Belly Fat, Carb Control, Insulin Sensitivity, Love Handles, Nutrition & Supplements TC Luoma October 24