15% body fat: This percentage of body fat usually fits into the “lean and fit” category.
9% to 13% Body Fat
You definitely have a six-pack and obvious vascularity—you are totally ripped. Your chest and arms are defined, but bulkier than the body fat group below you.
As a general rule of thumb, 10 per cent body fat is the safest place to be. You're lean enough to show muscle — including your six-pack — and you can see your veins from your shoulders to your hands, but you're not so shredded that you're becoming translucent.
For a man with average genetics and a healthy lifestyle, 14-20 percent is a great, sustainable body fat. It's lean enough to show some decent muscle definition, but high enough that you can build strength and muscle and enjoy your life without strict diets. For a woman, a similar range would be around 21-28 percent.
Men who have less than 6 percent body fat and women with less than 16 percent body fat are considered too low.
The body fat percentage needed to see your pack of abdominal muscles falls somewhere around 14 to 20% for women and 6 to 13% for men. However, the ideal body fat percentage for abs can look slightly different per person, depending on how you carry weight, where you typically store fat and your fitness routine.
15-17% body fat: At this level muscles are still visible. Abs, legs, and arms have definition. There is some separation between muscles there is also some vascularity. Women don't have as much curvature in hips and buttocks because of the low body fat level.
When you hit 20 to 24 percent body fat, there's a good chance you will be soft around the middle. This means your abs will not be visible.
If you want to gain muscle and strength as quickly as possible and you're at or below 10% (men) or 20% (women) body fat, then you should bulk. And if you want to lose fat as quickly as possible and you're at or above 15% (men) or 25% (women) body fat, then you should cut.
According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, there are healthy body fat percentages based on your age. For people aged 20 to 39, women should aim for 21% to 32% of body fat. Men should have 8% to 19%. For people 40 to 59, women should fall between 23% to 33% and men should fall around 11% to 21%.
A good lean muscle percentage range should be about 70% to 90% to be considered healthy. That means that your body fat percentage ranges from 10-30%. Athletes typically range in the 7-22% body fat. Men tend to be on the higher side with lean mass in 80-90% range and woman in the 70-85% range.
Men and women need different amounts of fat. For a man, 2–5% fat is essential, 2–24% fat is considered healthy, and more than 25% classifies as obesity. For a woman, 10–13% fat is essential, 10–31% fat is healthy, and more than 32% classifies as obesity.
Burning the first 10 pounds or 6 percent of body fat is easy for a beginner.
To reach an ideal body fat percentage and have a toned body, you should reduce the fatty foods you consume and exercise at a high intensity (e.g. run or jump rope) for at least 90 minutes every day. The ideal body fat percentage for men should be between 16-20%, and for women it should be between 20-24%.
According to this research paper, men who are between 20-40 years old with under 8% body fat are considered “underfat”, whereas a “healthy” range is described as between 8-19%. For women in this same age group, any level under 21% is “underfat” and 21-33% is considered “healthy”.
It can safely go as low as 10% for women and 3% for men, according to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). With that said, normal body fat percentage ranges that are generally considered healthy for both men and women are provided in the chart below.
People with high body fat percentages or anyone who's been bulking for 12-16 weeks should focus on losing fat before building muscle. People who are skinny fat, new to strength training, or those who want to prioritize their performance in the gym over their appearance should consider bulking before losing weight.
"In general, muscle is not lost before fat—it is very dependent on nutrition and activity volume," Miranda-Comas says. "A person who is attempting to lose weight by not eating may lose weight in muscle first before fat."
As your bulking starting point is within 9-12% in men or 20-24% in women, you will probably gain more muscle and less fat over the course of the bulk. And you can keep on 'lean' bulking like this, but only up to a point, which is about 13-17% for men and 25-27% for women.
For men, if you're around six to 17 percent body fat, your abs should be noticeably visible. For women, the range is 14 to 24 percent body fat. Definition will start to show on the higher end (17 percent for men, 24 percent for women), and your abs will become more sculpted as that number lowers.
Can Everyone Get an Ab Crack? No, not everyone can get an ab crack. This is just one of those areas in which our genetics decide our fate. Some people can do ab workouts religiously and never develop an ab crack, while others can have an ab crack without working out.
No matter how much isolation work you do, the vein will pop up only when your body fat percentage comes down to around 12 per cent. A real vascular vein is visible when you hit the single digit.
18%-22%: Lean. 22%-30%: Moderately Lean. 30%-40%: Excess Fat. Above 40%: High Body Fat Risk.
Male Body Fat Percentage: 10% – 14%
This is the range that most men want to be at for a classical “beach body” look. There will be separation between muscles, but not in every muscle. Veins will mostly only show on the arms, and sometimes the legs.
According to the American Council on Exercise, the average body fat for a guy is 18 to 24 percent. Overall, 15 to 17 percent puts you in the fitness category, while 6 to 13 percent is athlete status, but what's the real difference among the numbers? Guys below 20 percent typically have muscle definition of some sort.