r/crossfit • u/Mediocre-Aardvark-89 • 4d ago
Is body fat important?
Hi guys. I have nearly 16-17% body fat. If I move on lower body fat, like 12-13%, what are the benefits of this besides aesthetic looking?
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u/ycelpt 4d ago
Yes but going lower has diminishing returns. 20% down to 16% will be more significant that 16% down to 12%. And going too low will reduce performance. Each type of work has a desired zone. So a male endurance athlete may sit quite happily at 10% without loss of performance but strength athletes tend to perform better a bit higher about 16%. CrossFit you need to balance these out and there's little scientific testing for hybrid style training and so it's hard to decide an ideal number, especially when you take into account every body is different, even within the sport. I'd generally err closer to the 16% as it generally pays to be stronger than it pays to be fitter in CrossFit.
You also need to balance out the fact that the deficit you need to go from 16% to 12% will also mean a loss of performance
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u/Pretend_Edge_8452 4d ago
Shared my experience with this recently if you are interested: https://www.reddit.com/r/crossfit/comments/1n2zym6/my_experience_losing_18kg/
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u/agroflorestal 4d ago
For me, a female who is trying to get pregnant, it is really important. So I guess depends on who is asking….
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u/nola_t 4d ago
I always find it interesting that when women post here, they almost always explain their gender, but it’s way less common when men post (eg OP would be at dangerously low BF as a woman if they were going down to 12%).
In my sample size of one, we were TTC for about six months with no success, then I decided to take a break from CF to do just lifting for a couple of months and intentionally bulked/increased my BF and got pregnant right away. I actually thought the break from cardio had really ruined my cardio bc I was absolutely breathless when I returned to CF, but it turns out that I’m someone who just gets breathless during workouts basically as soon as I get pregnant.
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u/NERDdudley CF-L3 4d ago
What? The reasons healthy body fat levels are important pre-conception are the same reason healthy body fat levels are important to a 60 year old man. Just different scenarios.
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u/agroflorestal 4d ago edited 4d ago
Well, I am not an expert, but my doc told me body fat is a key for hormone production, essential for menstrual cycle regularity, ovulation, and reproductive health
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u/NERDdudley CF-L3 4d ago
Your doc is wild if they said fat is a hormone. But healthy body fat levels are necessary for all humans in regards to hormone balance. Creating false dichotomies (not your fault) is partly why there is so much misunderstanding of such a basic issue.
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u/agroflorestal 4d ago
Sorry, misspelling, it is a key for hormone production
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u/NERDdudley CF-L3 4d ago
Awesome, thanks for the downvotes for trying to bring clarity to a basic point of health.
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u/xen0m0rpheus 4d ago
You’re wrong AND aggressive, so you’re being downvoted. Get over yourself.
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u/Radiant_Currency_518 3d ago
What’s wrong about what was said? Also, you’re going to have to learn to not interpret disagreement as aggressiveness.
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u/NERDdudley CF-L3 4d ago
What am I wrong about?
And it’s not aggressive, it’s just commenting back against the overly emotional and highly anecdotal n = 1 nature of this sub.
Rational, evidence-based thought is limited to probably six people within this sub, all of who routinely catch downvotes for their responses.
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u/Particular_Wealth_72 4d ago
Of course. Right now I carry 20+ extra Kilos at 122 kg BW. T2B, Pull Ups, Wall walks are really annoying at this weight. And even tho I am fast at burpees and DU, it'd be easier at a lighter weight.
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u/Total-Satisfaction98 4d ago
Controversial but Ben Bergeron says I think 11% is the goal for elite men, he was pretty matter a fact about it. But obviously people are different Oh before he jumped ship, not that I listen to him, he is one of the few I’ve heard say you need to be a percentage body fat lol
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u/modnar3 4d ago
"elite" also implies +10 training sessions per week what imples the ability to recover from that
the issue with advices from top sports (any sports since sport marketing existed) is that advice for the top of sport isn't really transferable to the rest of the population who has a different life
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u/Xtrmist78 3d ago
My 3 cents. Lighter better Gymnastics and Cardio Heavier better heavier weight lower reps
Not an exact science; but fairly close.
Define your goals and fall in line.
I slow down and gas out in the high 13%. I need to be in the 11-12 to be high speed low drag and still lift heavy.
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u/Cousin-slow-hands 3d ago
Pull-ups will be a little easier. I feel every bit of weight loss (or gain) doing pull-ups
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u/GaviJaMain 3d ago
Having more bodyfat helps in strength. More connective tissue around the muscles.
Less bodyfat helps in all the BW movement. Getting too lean will also fuck your hormones and overall energy.
Fraser said in an interview that when he noticed people being too lean at the games on day 1, they wouldn't get far
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u/BetweenLandAndLens 4d ago
Cardio will improve with less body fat. Strength will improve with more body fat.
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u/NERDdudley CF-L3 4d ago
This is not correct.
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u/BetweenLandAndLens 3d ago
Strongmen are usually bigger and the best runners in the world are usually thinner.
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u/NERDdudley CF-L3 3d ago
Strongmen are strong. Brian Shaw is 17-18% body fat. This is a prime example of how the average person is horrible at estimating body fat percentages.
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u/modnar3 4d ago edited 4d ago
you could do some experiments to check how your performance changes. so do some tests at 16-17% and then the same tests at 12-13%
TEST 1
... is Cindy
if you lost bodyfat and don't perform better in a pure bodyweight workout, you f up badly.
TEST 2
A) 8 min to establish an 1 rm in the deadlift (or clean if you are proficient)
directly into
B) AMRAP 8 minutes at 90% of your 1 rm
This is a strength endurance test. It's mainly about nervous system adaptations and your ability to recover your ATP energy system. Your bodyfat change, should not reduce this score much ... unless you lost way too much muscle tissue.
(If you can squat 200 to 250 kg, you could try the Pig Squat as benchmark, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKr8-HkIAsw This test checks submaximal local endurance, hypertrophy range up to maximum strength)
TEST 3
Do the WOD Science Functional Test.
Death by EMOMx5
12 thrusters (add 2x 1.25 kg each round)
X burpees over (X=7-8-9,... start with 7 and 1 rep each round)
12 thrusters
X burpees over
Rest
The WOD Science test will put you under time pressure, i.e. you will reach your crossfit race-relevant speed with heavier thrusters and more burpees, and then fail.
In general, if your cut becomes closer the one-digit area, the heavier you need to train. You must be in calorie deficit, and the only way to signal your body not to metabolize muscle tissue (into food), is to let your nervous system fire at your muscles => heavy +90% of 1rm training ... at least 2-3 in all areas of your body. ... good luck recovery from that ...
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u/Radiant_Currency_518 3d ago
Nearly ever human function will be better at those lower percentages vs the higher ones.
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u/Bogislaus 4d ago
Body weight exercises will be easier.