Body mass index can be complicated, especially for those that have more muscle than fat or vice versa. The accuracy can vary for just about everyone. However, it is still commonly used by doctors to help indicate a person’s risk factor. Of course, this changes for men and women that are bodybuilders. So how can you get an accurate bodybuilder BMI? Learn how below.
What is BMI?
BMI or body mass index is a measure of your body fat. It’s primarily based on height and weight. I can be fairly inaccurate when used on its own. However, when used with other health measurement tools, it can be useful for baselines of a person’s overall health. There are four common ranges of measurement when you take your BMI. These four include being underweight, being at a healthy BMI, being overweight or obesity.
For the average person, the equation is pretty straight forward. First you would take your weight in pounds and divide it by your height in inches. Then you would take that number and divide it again by your height in inches. Once you get to this point, you’ll want to multiply that number by 703.
For example, a woman weighs 162 pounds and is 5’-5” (65in). You would take 165 divided by 65, this gives you 2.5. You take that 2.5 and divide it again by 65. This gives you 0.04. At this point, you will multiply 0.04 by 703. That gives you 27.03 or 27 rounded. According to the ranges below, this woman would be overweight. According to the BMI charts, this woman would then essentially need to lose a minimum of 20 pounds in order to be in the healthy weight range.
BMI Ranges
- Underweight: <18.5
- Healthy: 18.5-24.9
- Overweight: 25-29.9
- Obese: 30+
Why It Doesn’t Work for Bodybuilders
The problem that bodybuilders tend to encounter is that the measurement ends up being inaccurate. This is because bodybuilder BMI works a bit different. Where a normal individual that has more fat than muscle could be put into a relatively accurate category. Bodybuilder’s trying to get an understanding of their BMI often end up in the obese or overweight categories. This is because of the amount of muscle they have. The irony is that muscle is denser than fat and tends to take up less space. However, even though it takes up less space it can still weigh similarly to fat.
Using Other Calculations as a Bodybuilder
Usually, a doctor can tell you whether or not the typical BMI calculation will be a good fit or not. However, in many cases, it isn’t so what can a bodybuilder do to get their bodybuilder BMI? There are other measurements you can take to understand your health and wellness. One of those is body composition percentages and another good option is measuring waist circumference.
Body Composition Percentages
In general terms, measuring body composition percentages gives a bodybuilder a good foundation for their BMI. This is because it takes your ratio of lean muscle mass and compares it to your fat mass. This then gives you your body fat percentage.
Most individuals that are athletic tend to fall into 5 to 13 as a man and 12 to 22 for women. If you want to be considered in the healthy range of numbers as a man you’ll want to have between 10 and 25 percentage as body fat. Then as a woman, you’d want to be between 18 and 30 percent. Anything above the higher end of these body fat percentages typically means that the person is overweight or obese.
You can either work out the math yourself or use a tool called calipers. Calipers refer to the skin-fold test. It’s the least time consuming method. As a man, you’d measure your chest fat, abdominal fat, and thighs. As a woman, you’d take measurements of your triceps, about an inch above your hip bone, and your thigh.
As for the general method of measuring, the measurements again change based on gender. For a male bodybuilder you’ll only need to take your abdominal measurement and neck measurement. You’ll then take your abdominal number and subtract your neck measurement. That will give you your number.
However, as a woman, you’ll need your hip, waist, and neck measurements. In order to get an accurate number, you’ll then take your hip and waist measurement and add them together and then subtract your neck measurement.
Waist Circumference
For bodybuilder BMI or even a regular person trying to understand their risk factors, taking the waist circumference could be truly beneficial. Much like the body composition percentages, there are general numbers that are deemed good and others that indicate visceral fat. The waist circumference that tends to be considered overweight for men is 40 inches or greater, where the circumference for women is 35+ inches. Generally speaking, anything under those numbers is considered okay.
Supplements for Weight Loss
Of course, there are several variations of supplements that you can use to aid in any weight loss or muscle gain goals. Many of which are deemed “natural” but still have some pretty gnarly side effects. While prescription variations need to be weighed against their help versus their possibility to cause more damage.
However, there are a new variation of products that work just as well. They’re called SARMs or selective androgen receptor modulators. They tend to work similarly to anabolic steroids without actually being anabolic steroids. One SARM in particular can help those looking for extra help losing the extra weight. That SARM is GW 501516 or cardarine. The cool thing is that it doesn’t just help with weight loss, it can also protect your heart and brain as well. But where can you get it? That’s where Paradigm Peptides can help.
Paradigm Peptides for Bodybuilder BMI Help
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