great point, kiwi. now i'm no bodybuilder (obviously), but it seems to me that unless you're getting on stage, walking around at 4% is just pointless. if you're doing it for the look, you're going to be a hell of a lot fuller at 8-9% bf and look far bigger, and the bodyfat difference is going to be so negligible no one is going to give a good god damn. and for the most part, even into the low teens is fine because we don't walk around with our shirts off all day, and besides, a guy who weighs 240 at 14% bf is going to command a hell of a lot more respect than the guy who weighs 150 at 4%.
Exactly! There are tons of guys out there who want to be at the leanest possible level for various reasons ranging from attracting potential partners to simply loving the praise and attention they get. A lot of these guys are quite lean naturally to boot. I'm not like that at all - I am way past doing things solely or even primarily to gain recognition from other people. I love lifting for the sake of lifting and that's what drives me to improve. I don't think I could lift at a fraction of the intensity that I work out at now, if I didn't do it for the sole purpose of loving it.
For me to get to near contest condition and stay there would mean a complete change of lifestyle that would be too demanding and restrictive - I'd need to prepare the meals before hand, eat every time the timer goes off and do ridiculous things like carry a shitload of Tupperware to work (not to mention a 4 litre bottle
) etc etc. I'd rather be like Sars or Groink - stay around 15%, enjoy life by realising that if I want to eat a burger, I can and it won't be the end of the world, and take pride / pleasure in going and lifting the heaviest weight I possibly can.
