Does it really matter what the bodyfat percentage is for this look?
The look and shape of your body is transient. Muscle size, definition, and overall shape will be defined by your current training regimen combined with the total amount of bodyfat you are carrying.
Your genetic predisposition for bodyfat storage patterns will determine what you look like at various body fat percentages. Men who store a higher percentage of their fat viscerally can have visible abs while carrying up to 15% bodyfat.
On the other hand men who store a higher proportion of their abdominal fat subcutaneously may need to be as low as 10% bodyfat to have visual abdominal muscles.
The genetic predisposition for fat storage in the abdominal area is not within your control. What IS within your control is the total amount of fat you are carrying. No matter what your fat storage pattern happens to be, you can always lose more fat to get to a look and definition that you want.
Knowing your actual bodyfat % isn’t really going to tell you much about your look, knowing your bodyfat % combined with your genetic storage pattern will give you much more information. This can only be determined with a DEXA scan which might be difficult to come by. But thats ok because in the end the only things within your power to change are your total amount of fat and your total amount of muscle.
Focus on changing the things you can and avoid getting caught up in a numbers game about bodyfat and bodyweight.
John
About Allen Elliott