However, BMI doesn't distinguish between muscle and fat and, thus, can be skewed, especially because muscle weighs more than fat. So a very muscular person could be categorized as obese when, in fact, they might be very healthy.
Big and bulky muscles don't necessarily produce much explosive force. Such big muscles may even be unhealthy, like in the case of cardiomegaly, the enlargement of the heart. When heart tissue is incapable of exerting as much force as it should, the heart often grows larger to compensate.
The BMI doesn't account for body composition; that is, the relative proportion of fat and muscle tissue. People often point out that a bodybuilder with lots of muscle and very little fat could easily have a BMI in the “obese” category.
Is it possible to be overweight and healthy? Silvana Pannain, MD: Yes, you can be overweight and metabolically healthy. At the same time, we know that obesity is a disease that affects the body in many different ways. Thirteen types of cancer and 200 other health conditions are related to obesity.
Ideal Weight to Height
Weight to height charts let you know inch by inch what your ideal weight should be as a male bodybuilder. The amount of weight increases by five to 10 pounds per inch. If you're 5 feet, 5 inches, then your ideal weight is 160 pounds. If you're 5 feet, 6 inches it is 165 pounds.
The body fat percentage needed to see your pack of abdominal muscles falls somewhere around 14 to 20% for women and 6 to 13% for men.
While it's a myth that muscle weighs more than fat—after all, a pound is a pound—it is denser, which means it takes up less space in the body. This may explain why you look slimmer but the scale hasn't budged. Water weight could also be a factor, according to strength and conditioning coach Brandon Mentore.
People who are overweight do not only have more fat mass but also more fat-free mass [7]. With that, people who are overweight or obese are likely to have more muscle mass and to be stronger compared to people who are not overweight.
Muscle weighs more than fat, for one thing. Extremely muscular individuals could actually have BMIs that classify them as overweight or even obese. Increasingly, health experts say a better measure of overall health includes not only BMI but a test of "fitness," too.
The overweight class has significantly greater proportions diagnosed with of angina, arthritis, and diabetes than the underweight. For all other measures of health (including general health, physical health, disability, and cancer) the health of the underweight class is significantly worse than that of the overweight.
30 to 45min of strength training with weights 3 times a week will have positive effects on your weight loss journey, as well as boost your metabolism. Healthy diet and lifestyle choices should round off the process and provide you with the best possible platform to start losing weight.
People who are overweight do not only have more fat mass but also more fat-free mass [7]. With that, people who are overweight or obese are likely to have more muscle mass and to be stronger compared to people who are not overweight.
You Need To Be “Lean Enough” To Bulk. For this reason, you don't want to begin bulking until you are “lean enough” to do so, as attempting to bulk when you're “too fat” means you're just going to end up getting even fatter.
People are born with an inherited body type based on skeletal frame and body composition. Most people are unique combinations of the three body types: ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph. Ectomorphs are long and lean, with little body fat, and little muscle. They have a hard time gaining weight.
The difference is in total volume. 1 kg of muscle may appear to be the size of baseball whilst 1kg of fat will be three times the size and look like a wobbly bowl of Jelly. Muscle is a denser tissue that takes up less room in our bodies than an equal weight of fat.
Having a "ripped" physique should not be equated with being fit and healthy, according to two personal trainers. In fact, the stereotypical "fitness" image of a six-pack and low body fat levels can often be due to bad health.
How muscular you are: A few people have high BMIs but don't have much body fat. Their muscle tissue pushes up their weight. An example: "A football player or a body builder who is very muscular. Their BMI shows up pretty high, and yet their body fat is actually pretty low," Kahan says.
Genetic influences
The strength of the genetic influence on weight disorders varies quite a bit from person to person. Research suggests that for some people, genes account for just 25% of the predisposition to be overweight, while for others the genetic influence is as high as 70% to 80%.
Muscle is denser than fat, and as it is more compact within your body, as you gain muscle mass, you end up looking thinner, no matter your physical weight. So, if you've been doing a lot of strength training lately, it's likely this is the reason that you're looking fantastic but not dropping those numbers.
Are people who are overweight and therefore larger in size for their height stronger than people the same size who weigh less? It is well-known that body size and strength go hand in hand. The larger the body size, the greater the strength. Larger people can produce more force.
One pound of muscle is equivalent to one pound of fat on the scale. Muscle is more dense than fat, meaning that muscle takes up less space on the body and looks harder and less “flabby.” People with more muscle are stronger than those with more fat.
This is due to the fact that strength is more of a neurological function than a muscle function, and some skinny guys have better biomechanics for specific lifts. It's usually a combination of these factors that allows a small guy to out-lift a big guy.
It depends on how much you weigh to start with, how active you are, and how much muscle you have. Generally speaking, if someone who is fairly lean and active gains 5-10 pounds of weight, it will be noticeable. If someone who is overweight or obese gains 10-20 pounds of weight, it will also be very noticeable.
Gaining Weight Working Out from Strength Training
"A common comment when looking at the scale is that 'muscle is heavier than fat,' which is misleading," says Dolgan. "A pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle; however, the volume of muscle is denser than the volume of fat and therefore, heavier."
To put it bluntly: "Women and men of average height need to gain or lose about about 8 and 9 pounds, respectively, for anyone to see it in their face, but they need to lose about twice as much for anyone to find them more attractive," lead author Nicholas Rule told Medical News Today.