Body mass calculator for weightlifter?

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Jamesy
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27 Mar 2022, 7:53 am

Why isn't there a body mass index calculator for weightlifters since normal bmi doesn't apply to the portion of the population who workout a lot?

Basically a body mass calculator for individuals who weight lift would also include body fat percentage to determine if your a healthy weight for your height.



Ettina
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23 Apr 2022, 5:54 am

How would you determine what percentage of weight is muscle vs fat? Muscle mass won't weigh the same, or even proportionally the same, for every weightlifter.



s7518
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24 Apr 2022, 12:10 pm

You are right, BMI will not be accurate for a weightlifter. It will overestimate body fat.
For body fat calculations, the skinfold method is probably the most common one used and would be more accurate than BMI for someone with a significant amount of muscle. You would have to find a personal trainer who is experienced in taking skinfold measurements and calculating body fat using this method.
A less common method for determining body fat composition is hydrostatic weighing. It is considered to be one of the most accurate methods, but it may be difficult to find a place that does it.
There are also smart scales out now that measure body fat, etc., but they are apparently not very accurate.



Jamesy
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24 Apr 2022, 5:04 pm

s7518 wrote:
You are right, BMI will not be accurate for a weightlifter. It will overestimate body fat.
For body fat calculations, the skinfold method is probably the most common one used and would be more accurate than BMI for someone with a significant amount of muscle. You would have to find a personal trainer who is experienced in taking skinfold measurements and calculating body fat using this method.
A less common method for determining body fat composition is hydrostatic weighing. It is considered to be one of the most accurate methods, but it may be difficult to find a place that does it.
There are also smart scales out now that measure body fat, etc., but they are apparently not very accurate.



I lift weights but have a bmi score of 24.7 currently. So weight lifting hasn’t pushed me into the overweight range.