Bodyfat levels for competitors?

[lyra]

What percentage of fat are female bodybuilders at during competition? What about men bodybuilders? Just curious...

~Nicole

[abarlament]

Females... maybe 10 or 11%? Men about 4 or 5%.

[gymgirl]

wow females are at only 10% or 11% at competition time? i thought it was like 7%-9% and men were from 3%-5%. i'm not sure this is just want a friend of mine (male) who has competed told me. that's awesome if females are at 10%, i've always wanted to compete in figure, but was scared about trying to attain such a low bodyfat.

[abarlament]

What comes out on calipers is not reality, it's a guesstimation. I believe they have deduced from corpses that 3% of bodyfat in men is permanent (well, if you lose it you die), and women is a bit more, like 8 or 9%. When the calipers tell you you are 2% bodyfat, it's because of the error that you accept when you use them.