Is 12-15% bodyfat a good base for starting foundation?

I guess I'd call myself skinny fat.  I'm 6'6" and now weigh about 195.  With calipers I measure myself at around 12-15% BF (assuming I'm doing it right, I mean who really knows).  This is down from around 20% last year.  I had thought to go lower but I'm definitely seeing some strength dropoff in the last couple of weeks.  Plus the wife says I'm wasting away and in clothes I definitely look like a skinny guy.

My plan was to stop cutting and start eating at a slight surplus (200 calories) and really just not give a thought to body fat over the next year or so and just focus on getting stronger.  Is my head in the right place? 

i'd say its a very good % base for foundation

Mitchell Church said:

 Is my head in the right place? 

Yes. The calorie counting is an intellectual pursuit. Take care of your GST training, eat according to your appetite (which may sometimes be ravenous, when you're on this program), and you can't avoid getting that athletic appearance. The factor that many people miss is time - It may easily take you a couple of years to get to where you want to be, but you're getting there in a steady fashion, so you'll be more likely to keep your motivation. This is probably not the case with the 'Get-ripped-in-six-weeks' programs, where you basically rob yourself of the nutrition you need to perform.

If you weed out your worst habits, like sodas and potato chips, you're going to get there faster, but really, if you train hard enough you can get away with eating almost any kind of crap, and still drop the fat. 

Hi Mitchell,

Congrats for already achieving some positive changes in your body composition. Like Ravn said, many of us here find that a lean, athletic body composition is a nice side effect of training hard and eating well. Focus on your Foundation, Handstand, and Stretch workouts (you will be doing the Stretch Series, right?  ), and eat real, good quality food in reasonable amounts.

Good luck, and keep us posted! Maybe later we can all geek out on how to get as lean and ripped as Orench in his latest training video... ha!

Best,

Chris

Thanks for the great advice.  It seems simple when you guys say it, but I guess I had not considered that the program is just flat out hard enough that you can't avoid getting that physique. 

Thanks again!

Don't listen to your wife :-)

That's a plan that always works out in the end...

Enough weight loss for the time being.  Now time to focus on building more muscle.  At 6'6" you are somewhat underweight for your frame.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Coach Sommer said:

Enough weight loss for the time being.  Now time to focus on building more muscle.  At 6'6" you are somewhat underweight for your frame.

 

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

I certainly feel underweight.  Well, at least I seem to be heading in the right direction.  Thanks!