Back before I was permanently banned from the Muscle and Brawn forums (no, I will not link it; cuz I was wrongfully banned), there was a thread about reaching your muscular genetic potential. Since I can’t get on the forums (obv), I searched the Googlez and found the actual article by Casey Butt (I know, right?). Assuming you’re drug-free and natural, you’ll be able to see how muscular you can get based on a few simple measurements.
Along with calculating your genetic potential overall bodyweight and mass, it also calculates the genetic potential of individual bodyparts. So, based on where you’re currently at and what your genetic potential is, you can see which bodyparts you might want to focus on in your training. You’ll have to read Dr. Butt’s (*giggle*) original article to see that there are some exceptions to the rule, but he provides the equations and tables that show how ridiculously accurate this is. S’rsly, all the sources and research are sited in his article, I’m not gonna regurgitate it hurr.
Now, like any male with a tape measure, I’ve measured various bodyparts before (*ahem*), but for this, you’ll only need to measure your wrist and ankle circumference, just above the rounded, boney….erm….bones…protruding out the sides of your limbs. You’ll also want to have a pretty accurate bodyfat measurement, but it really minimially affects the overall numbers. I would say it’s probably good enough if you’re within 5% of your actual measurement just to get a good idea of what your body is capable of. I would also suggest you have someone else measure this if you’re using a caliper.
I’ve made the spreadsheet easy enough to use that a mentally challenged chimpanzee could use it. The boxes that have a red border are where you enter your information. None of the other boxes that matter can be edited. You don’t need to worry about any equations because I took care of everything else with my wickedly awesome Microsoft Excel skillz. Ok, they’re not really that wickedly awesome on this particular sheet. I didn’t have to write any custom macro’s or even include any “if-then” statements, but you get the idea…
Here’s a snapshot of what my information looks like:
Looks like I can still gain about 14lb. of lean muscle mass. I took it a couple steps further and figured out that my ultimate goal is right AT my genetic potential. My goal is to walk around weighing about ~180lb. at 8% bodyfat. I didn’t show my work on the spreadsheet anywhere, but those are the exact numbers it spit out before I even tried to manipulate it to see what I could be someday. ROCK!
Now, YOU, download the spreadsheet here, and let me know how much further you have to go to reach your goals and/or genetic potential. I wanna know how jacked my readers are!
This will be interesting…but with narrow wrists and ankles and a long frame, I don’t think I will be making your jacked list anytime soon.
Thanks for the easy to use spreadsheet.
Well this is SCARY! I am a woman, but I tried it anyway cause I’m a weightlifter, and it’s saying I should be 250lbs (I’d have to put on 71lbs!) and I don’t plan on doing this! V. interesting though….
Thanks for that!
@Adam
Dr. Butt mention those with small frames, and I highly doubt your goal is to look like a bumbling bodybuilder. But hey, maybe someday you’ll give it a try. Haha. Thanks for stopping by!
@Josie
It’s not saying you “should be” at 250lb., it’s saying you “could be” 250lb. And that 250lb. is what you would be if gained the extra lean mass and held your bodyfat percentage the same. So, obviously, if you gained the lean mass but LOST bodyfat, you wouldn’t weigh 250lb. Thanks for checking it out!
I didn’t read the link so I don’t know how accurate it is, but it’s amusing enough.
Right now I’m 179 at 9.7% BF. The BF measurement is extremely accurate. Here are my stats:
Actual vs. Genetic
Lean Body Mass -21.3 pounds
BWT -23.6 pounds
Chest -8.7 inches
Biceps -2.7 inches
Forearms -2.3 inches
Neck -0.8 inches
Thighs -2.8 inches
Calves -3.0 inches
Looks like Adam Glass is right, NEED TO WORK ON THE CHEST AND CALVES.
@David
Nice to see you here, first of all! Not sure if you’re familiar with Casey’s work, but he has his PhD and developed these formulas using 60 years of data from elite natural bodybuilders. In the article, he states his greatest margin of error is 0.51%. It’s pretty wild to say the least!
I’m in the same boat, except it’s my sister that tells me I have the chest of a 14 year old boy. Epic fail.
Thanks again for stopping by!
Fantastic calculator. I’m supposedly able to gain 21.1 lbs of lean muscle. wow!
Thanks for posting this!
Dave,
Good post and interesting graph. Thanks for doing the math (Those college skills are paying off). Looks like Im just under, but my current goals and program should get me right where the graph predicts my potential. Scanned the original but will read more after work, whats your take on exceeding without a trip to the vet or increasing BF?
@edoublep
It’s really amazing how far away people are, especially if you’re already relatively lean. Before I ran the numbers, I honestly thought I was within 5-10lb. of my genetics, but 14 more pounds?! Damn. That’s gonna take some time, but I’m up for the challenge!
@Dr. Brooks
Thanks for stopping by! Nice work on your training. Love it when Dr.’s actually practice within the field that brings people to their office.
I was talking with Mike Nelson last night about exceeding your predicted maximum. The part that I can’t get my head around is professional athletes. I’m willing to bet that a lot of them exceed their predicted maxes. I mean, Bob Sanders of the Colts is listed as 5’8, 205+. I doubt he has the ankle and wrist measurements needed to come up with those numbers being so short. That means either, A) He’s not natural, or B) Athletes are somehow more genetically gifted at gaining muscle than elite natural bodybuilders (whose sole goal in life is physique development). Don’t get me wrong, elite level athletes in any sport are already more genetically gifted than most of us, but moreso than elite bodybuilders? I’m not sold on that argument.
Somewhere there’s a disconnect between this study and athletes, or like I said, there’s a lot of NFL players that aren’t being tested properly.
I think it’s safe to say that for someone that is a run of the mill gym rat and natural, it’s almost impossible to exceed your genetic potential.
Great question!
its all about pack, gunz, and chest son
Thanks for the spreadsheet. The results after plugging in my numbers made my day! Just having the potential to get over 200 puts a smile on my face…
@Adam
Absolutely. My new programming will be nothing but curls, crunches, and bench presses……or maybe not. Ha!
@Brad
Glad you got some use out of it, and an even bigger congrats on being able to get over 200! The only way I’ll ever see that number on the scale is if I’m a giant fatass as well. Oh well, chicks seem to dig a lean, muscular 175-180 anyways. 😉
Haha, half a pound under 200, so close. Hmm, not sure if I want that large of a chest, but we’ll see how close my training gets me to these numbers. First one I want to hit is the 13.5 forearms. Right now I’m 170lbs at 11% BF calculated with an omron.
Maximum Genetic Potential
Lean Body Mass 175.8 pounds
Calculated BWT 197.5 pounds
Chest 47.2 inches
Biceps 16.9 inches
Forearms 13.5 inches
Neck 16.5 inches
Thighs 25.2 inches
Calves 16.9 inches
Actual vs. Genetic
Lean Body Mass -24.5 pounds
BWT -27.5 pounds
Chest -10.7 inches
Biceps -2.1 inches
Forearms -1.5 inches
Neck -1.5 inches
Thighs -4.2 inches
Calves -2.4 inches
Tried the link to the spreadsheet download but its dead…. maybe someone is looking out for me… I doubt I want to see the results!