Tom Venuto Physique Success Series #1

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BURN THE FAT
Fat Burning Tips E-zine

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BURN THE FAT Q & A
WITH TOM VENUTO, Fat Loss Coach
http://www.burnthefat.com
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QUESTION:

Hey Tom,

I've won many bodybuilding contests myself back
in the 80`s and my friend, you are full of it! To start,
let me just say this: If you were 3.7% body fat, you would
be dead! your inerds contain 4% so can you share your
secret how how you stay alive at 3.7% I'd really like
to know! My niece sent your www.burnthefat.com web site
link to me, laughing her butt off. Good luck my friend, consumers
are much smarter than that.

Robert Walker (probably a fictitious name <> Riley Note)

ANSWER:

Robert, you are correct that there is a certain amount of
body fat that is "essential" and therefore, necessary just
for good health and normal bodily functions.

Most medical and exercise physiology textbooks say that
essential body fat in men is approximately 2-3%, although
I occasionally see the 4% number you quoted. The exact
numbers depend on the source. I'm not sure that there is
a "definitive" number of what is essential fat.

Also, keep in mind, that skinfold regression equations
which are used to calculate percentage body fat from
skinfold thickness measurements, are population specific,
so they can overestimate or UNDER estimate, depending
on which one is used on which person.

The skinfold test also has substantial
room for error due to operator (human) error.

Although there are some very high tech and extremely
accurate methods for fat testing today, body fat testing and
especially skinfold testing, is not an exact science. I prefer
to look at body fat testing as a method of getting feedback
and measuring progress, not for obtaining bragging rights.

Body fat percentage numbers are often "fudged",
especially in the bodybuilding community, but I can
assure you, I am not one of the people who fudge them.

During the 2001 contest season when I won my class at the
NPC Natural Eastern Classic Bodybuilding Championships,
I was measured on two separate occasions by two separate
professionals at my club at under 4% body fat (3.7%).
In my 20's, at one point I measured at 3.4%, my all
time lowest.

These were taken with a Skyndex skinfold caliper with a
4 site Durnin equation. There are high tech methods
that are arguably more accurate, but my tests were performed
by qualified experienced fitness professionals who routinely
perform hundreds of such tests every year (and again, I
do it for charting my progress more than anything)

At my competition in October 2005, I measured 5%
body fat, then 2 weeks later I measured 4.5%, again
with skyndex calipers.(you can see my most recent
competition photos at www.bodybuildingsecrets.com
if you look back a couple entries in the blog).

Even at age 37, I am quite certain I can once again
obtain sub 4% body fat this year when I compete again.
Even if I don't, 4.5-5.0% body fat was good enough last
year to take 2nd place in an open (non-drug tested)
NPC contest in a class of 9 competitors.

If you do some research on Clarence Bass, "Mr. Ripped"
himself, you will see that not only does Clarence claim to have
been in the 2% body fat range at one point, he has the
documentation to prove it (photographs of the test
procedure and the printed test results, straight
from the medical center where the underwater weighing took place)

In addition, any good sports medicine expert or exercise
physiologist will tell you that these extremely low body
fat levels are also commonplace in elite endurance athletes,
although they don't carry the muscle that the bodybuilders do.

As for "how I stay alive at 3.7%": You as a bodybuilder, of
all people, should know as well as I do that competition is
all about peaking... I have never made a claim that I stay
at 3 or 4 or even 5% body fat all year round. In fact, I
publicly state quite often that I am usually about 8 or 9%
body fat (I am now). I typically measure between 3.5 and 5%
for competition and hold this for only a brief time - often
only for a window of days.

I know many, many other male bodybuilders who have
also reached these numbers because I have measured them
myself or know the trainers who measured them. I have also
personally measured a few women who dropped into the single
digits in body fat to peak for a fitness or bodybuilding competition.
High single digits for women
would be analagous to low single digits for men.

I am making no recommendations or claims about potential
health effects of trying to stay that lean for too long,
only pointing out the facts to you.

In truth, very low single digit body fat is par for the course
for steroid and drug taking bodybuilders. Perhaps the only
thing remarkable about the fact that I reached sub 4% body
fat is that I did it without ever taking fat burning or anabolic drugs.

My physique is the result of back breaking hard work and
discipline. I have NEVER said I had a magic bullet.
I wouldn't ever say it was easy, nor would I even
say the rigors of bodybuilding at the competitive level
in the final days & weeks of competition prep are necessarily
even healthy - even when you are natural for life. That is the nature
of competive sports. Getting in a race car or the boxing ring
or even on the football field isnt without risks either.

I don't recommend for my clients the same body fat
goals that I strive for - unless they are also competitive
bodybuilders. goals and ideal body fat will vary depending
on the individual.

This is the body fat chart straight from my Burn The Fat book:

: "BURN THE FAT" BODY FAT RATING SCALE :

MEN

Competition Shape ("ripped") 3-6%
Very Lean (excellent)   9%
Lean (good)    10-14%
Average (fair)    15-19%
Below average (poor)   20-25%
Major improvement needed (Very poor) 26-30%

WOMEN

Competition Shape ("ripped") 9-12%
Very Lean (excellent)   <15%
Lean (good)    16-20%
Average (fair)    21-25%
Below average (poor)   26-30%
Major improvement needed (Very poor) 31-40%+

Although these are good numbers to go by, even these
are just guidelines.

Dont be so quick to judge. There are a lot of liars, hucksters
and charlatans out there today, especially on the internet,
mostly people who use the Internet to hide their names, faces,
and fat bodies, but I can promise you I am not one of them. Stop
by my club in New Jersey some day and meet me, & even train with
me, and once you know me, and when you see the shape I stay in - all
the time - and what I eat and how hard I train, you'll see.

The Burn The Fat ebook program advertised on www.burnthefat.com
is not just the same method that tens of thousands of regular
people (read: NOT bodybuilders!), have used in 126 countries to
burn fat, it's the same method I use to hit low single digit
body fat. I am not just a writer - I am a practitioner.

My very best to you,

Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
Fat Loss Coach
http://www.BurnTheFat.com
http://www.BurnTheFatTeleseminars.com
http://www.BurnTheFatInnercircle.com (coming 2006!)
Contact:http://www.burnthefat.com/?doc=contact

PS by the way "inerds" are technology geeks
that sit-in behind computers all day long. "innards"
are your internal organs, which I believe is what
you meant :-)

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DISCLAIMER
The techniques, ideas, and suggestions in this document
are not intended as a substitute for proper medical advice.
Always consult your physician or health care professional
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and suggestions in this document is at the reader's sole
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