Humans come in all shapes and sizes, some people are at 8% bodyfat while other people are at 27% bodyfat. Some people are very comfortable with the bodyfat % that they are at while others feel like they want to lose weight, lower their bodyfat levels to be healthier and improve their self esteem. Then you have those who are trying to gain weight because their bodyfat levels are way too low.
This article is going to discuss 10 very simple tips that you can apply right now to get yourself to look up to 10% B.F. leaner. This means that if you are at 27% and you apply these tips then you will look like somebody who is only 17% B.F. which makes a huge difference.
Notice how the key word here is LOOK up to 10% BF leaner and NOT BE, but its a start and these tips will seriously give the illusion that you are at a lower bodyfat percentage than you are at now.
All of the tips below are for males and females except for the beard tip and the bald tip is optional as well, enjoy.
CLOTHING
Humans are covered in clothes for most of the day so why not use this to your advantage and wear the right clothes that will make you look as lean as possible? Here’s how:
1) WEAR BLACK CLOTHING AND AVOID WHITE AT ALL COST
Black is the shade that makes people look a lot leaner than they are and that’s exactly why most overweight people wear a lot of black and minimize white clothing. White makes you appear fuller and black does the exact opposite. Black is the shade of mystery and it hides a lot of the fat that you may be carrying.
If you really want to maximize this effect as much as possible then I would stick to an all black shirt with no fancy logo’s or designs on it because the more black then the better.
Why stop at only a black t-shirt? You can also wear black jeans and a black pair of shoes if you want to maximize this effect as much as possible! This tip alone can easily make someone who is 20% bodyfat look like they are at 17 or 18%.
2) AVOID BAGGY CLOTHES
Another tip that you have to follow if you wish to look leaner besides wearing black is to avoid wearing baggy clothes. Baggy clothes might actually make you appear fatter than you actually are which is something to avoid if you are trying to look like you are at a lower bodyfat percentage.
3) HAIR
Hair is all over the body, but is that a good or bad thing? Here are some tips on what hair you should keep compared to what you should get rid of to look leaner.
4) GROW A BEARD
This tip applies to the males who are at a high bodyfat: grow a beard. The beard is going to hide all of your neck fat while making your neck look more muscular and it’ll also give you that masculine look as well. Remember when I said how the shade of black makes you look leaner? Well if you have very dark facial hair then it will do an even better job at hiding the fat, it’ll have a very similar effect as the black clothing will. As a bonus, a beard can also cover your fat cheeks which will make you look a lot leaner as well. You can even shape up the beard in a certain way where it makes the edges of your jawline appear sharper which will make you look even leaner.
5) GO BALD
Shaving your head bald will make you look a lot leaner and muscular as well because it will make your head look small and your shoulders look wider which will make your waist appear smaller so its happiness all around, not to forget to mention that being bald also looks badass and you can save close to 1000$ per year by cutting your own hair yourself.
6) SHAVE CERTAIN PARTS OF YOUR BODY HAIR
Hair may be good on your face, but if you have too much body hair then it could take away from your definition and muscularity. This is exactly why bodybuilders will shave every hair on their bodies before they walk on stage. I am not the type of guy that would advocate that someone shaves parts of their body, but in this case it makes sense because it will definitely make you appear leaner.
Lets say that you were 25% bodyfat and you wanted to look leaner. I would tell you to keep certain body hair and get rid of other body hair.
KEEP
Stomach hair and a bit of chest hair
The reason why you would want to keep your stomach hair would be to hide your belly/gut. If you have black hair then that makes things even better because I think you know by now how good black is at making certain bodyparts look thinner.
SHAVE OFF
Back & Shoulders
You want to keep the whole back and shoulders clean shaven because these are the muscle groups that you need to look good because they will add on to your width which will make your waist appear smaller.
Armpits
Too much armpit hair can hide lat definition so it would be smart to just shave the armpits completely because the better your lats look then the better you will be at giving the impression that you have a wide back which will result in a smaller looking waist, its all an illusion.
Arms (you can keep forearm hair if you want though)
Legs are optional
TRAINING TIPS
Now that we got the clothing and the hair out of the way, it is time to get to the training aspect. Training is extremely important for trying to look leaner because you can develop certain essential muscle groups that will make you look leaner. Here are the tips:
1) GET A WIDER BACK
Acquiring a big and wide back will automatically make your waist look a lot smaller which will therefore make you appear as if you are at a lower bodyfat percentage from an illusion standpoint.
2) GET WIDER SHOULDERS
Its fairly simple that the wider your shoulders look then the narrower your waist will look from an illusion standpoint which will make you appear leaner. This is why many male/female models put a lot of emphasis on their v-taper because they know that the wider their deltoids look, the tinier their waist will appear.
3) TRAIN YOUR STOMACH VACUUM
Training your stomach vacuum on a daily basis makes your stomach look a lot more flat which will give the illusion that your stomach and waist are smaller than they really are. This illusion alone can make someone who is 17% BF look like they are at 15% because it will now make the shoulders and back appear even bigger which will make you look leaner. As far as the frequency of the stomach pullover exercise, you can do it a few times throughout the day and be fine as far as recovery is concerned for the most part.
DB Pullovers are a great exercise that help train the lats and the vacuum so that is an exercise that you can do for when you are in the gym.
4) POSTURE
Teaching yourself how to stay as upright as possible is great for your posture. Why does perfect posture make you appear leaner? The more slouched you are then the more narrow and caved in you will appear. On the other hand, standing with an upright posture makes your chest, shoulders and back appear more erect and proud which will make you look wider from all angles so your waist will also look smaller from side, front and back view.
BONUS
TATTOOS
Last but not least, tattoo’s can also make you look a lot leaner if you get the right ones. I personally don’t have any tattoo’s and don’t think that they are for me, but if they are for you then you might as well use them to your advantage and get the right ones in the right spots to appear leaner. You obviously also want to have a bigger reason for getting the tattoo than just to look leaner, but that’s none of my business.
CONCLUSION:
I guarantee you that if you apply most of these tips then you will appear a lot leaner than you do now. If I missed anything then tell me in the comment section below. Hopefully you learned something this article that you could apply to your life. Some of these things are smaller tweaks, but they make all of the difference.