Did you know that muscle mass percentage is the greatest factor in your metabolism? Many people think factors like age and gender influence metabolism, but this is a misconception. These factors influence your muscles mass, which in turn influences your metabolism.
In other words, men and younger people have a higher natural muscle mass and therefore a higher metabolism. But, there’s nothing preventing people of any age or gender from improving their muscle mass. An 80-year-old woman with the same muscle mass as a 20-year-old man would have very similar metabolic rates!
But, increasing your muscle mass is difficult and requires clear focus and a deep understanding of your body composition. Read on to learn how to calculate your muscle mass and reach your fitness goals!
What Is Your Muscle Mass Percentage?
Muscle mass refers to the amount of skeletal muscle in your body. So, your muscle mass percentage is the percentage of your body that’s made up of muscle.
High muscle mass is a sign of good health and fitness. In addition to having a high metabolism, you’re likely to have good mobility, strength, and balance. On the other hand, with low muscle mass, you likely have poor strength, a slow metabolism, and difficulty balancing.
Your muscle mass can also influence your bone strength, making it an important metric to track as you age. You can improve your muscle mass percentage with intermittent fasting and bodybuilding.
How to Calculate Muscle Mass Percentage
The only way to get a completely accurate muscle mass calculation is with expensive technology. There are bathroom scales that claim to measure muscle mass, but all they do is provide an estimate that’s not very accurate.
The formulas and methods we will give you in this article aren’t exact, but they’re a great way to get an estimate and track your progress.
Use Your Body Fat Percentage
If you have a body fat scale, you can easily estimate your total body fat. Body fat scales are more accurate than muscle mass scales, as they use a small electrical current to gauge your body fat. Fat conducts less electricity, so the rate that the current travels through your body allows the scale to come up with a reasonable measure for your body fat.
Then, you can use your height and weight to calculate your body fat percentage in an online calculator. Then, subtract this number from 100 to find your approximate lean muscle percentage.
This is still an estimate as it doesn’t take your skeleton or water weight into account, but regularly calculating your lean mass in this way will help you gauge your progress.
US Military Formula
Besides using your fat mass, the US military created a formula to measure approximate muscle mass. You can do this by measuring parts of your body with a measuring tape to calculate your circumference value (CV).
If you’re a man, your CV is your abdominal circumference minus your neck circumference. If you’re a woman, your CV is your waist circumference plus your hip circumference minus your neck circumference.
Then, you can use your CV and height on the standard military charts to find your muscle mass and body fat percentage.
Start Tracking Your Muscle Mass Percentage
Depending on your health and fitness goals, your muscle mass percentage can be a valuable metric. You can use it to track your visible muscle and body composition so you can figure out what methods work for you. Start calculating your muscle mass every week and watch it improve as you reach your goals!
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