How to calculate body fat percentage and Lean Mass
How to calculate body fat percentage, Before we dive into how you’re going to bulk, the first thing we need to do is address your current state. That means we’ll be looking at your current muscle mass, your height and how much muscle you’re likely to gain. We’ll also be looking at the metabolic demands of your body, which will tell us how many calories you’ll burn in a given day. That’s going to be very important for building muscle, as we will see in a moment.
So for now, we’re going to start by assessing you and your current situation. We’ll find some numbers to put to your name and while it might all seem a little random, stick with it. In the chapters that follow, these numbers are going to serve as your guide. Knowing yourself is crucial when it comes to gaining muscle!
So first, let’s calculate your current body fat percentage and lean mass…
How to calculate body fat percentage
How to calculate body fat percentage. Finding out how much you weigh is very easy: all you need to do is step on a set of scales and you’ll be given a precise number denoting your weight.
But that on its own is not a particularly useful metric because it doesn’t actually tell you anything about your muscle. Anyone can be ‘big’ – they just have to eat huge amounts of cake! But you’re not trying to get fat, you’re trying to get jacked. That means you’re interested in adding muscle and that’s why you need to know just how much of your current mass is muscle already.
So to do this, you’re going to step yourself onto a set of scales and get your weight in llbs. Done that? I’m 176.4lbs at 5’8’’ by the way, so I’ll be playing along with you.
Now, you need to work out your body fat percentage. This is the percentage of that weight that is accounted for by subcutaneous fat (the fat underneath your skin). And finding this number is fortunately very easy – all you need to do is to measure the thickness of your skin which will include that layer of fat.
To do this, you need to grab a pinch of skin from the side of the tricep. So this is the spot mid-way between your shoulder and elbow and on the outside of your arm around from the bicep.
How to calculate body fat percentage – Measure this and then use the chart below to get your current body fat percentage:
This is a rough estimate of course but you can also get an idea by looking at photos of people at different body fat percentages. If you can see abs but aren’t covered in ripped veins, then you’re probably between 13-10% body fat. If you can see all the striations and the veins, then you’re sub 10%.
Find a number that you think is a fair estimate and then subtract that percentage from your current body weight to find out what you would weigh if all of your body fat were to be removed. If you weighed 100lbs and your body fat percentage were 10%, then you would have a lean mass of 90lbs. For me, that number is 158.76lb because I have 10% body fat (approx.).