Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Muscle Index
The Muscle Index
In fact rapid changes in bodyweight are usually due to changes in the other parts of your Lean Body
Mass that are NOT Skeletal Muscle.
The most accurate way of measuring changes in the size of specific muscles is with a DEXA scanning
machine. But this unfortunately is not available to the general public as it is a highly specialized and
incredibly expensive piece of scientific equipment that is usually only found in composition labs in
universities or other highly specialized health care facilities. Some universities and colleges offer a body
composition service to the public for a fairly decent price (approx $50). If you check with your local
university you might be able to get into one of these labs to have you body composition done. Just be
aware that they typically will only be measuring Total Lean Body Mass vs Fat Mass and have limited or
no ability to distinguish how much Skeletal Muscle Mass you actually have. From there the base
assumption will be that approx 50% of your total lean mass is skeletal muscle.
In other words, since youre not getting your hands on a DEXA or physiology lab any time soon youve
got to come up with a cheaper and simpler way to measure your muscle mass.
This manual is a comprehensive step by step procedure on how to measure your muscle mass without
becoming a body composition scientist.
There are 2 facts that we know about body composition that can be combined to create a simple and
effective way to measure gains in muscle mass.
1. Muscle Cross Sectional Area is directly related to the strength of the muscle. In other words,
the bigger the muscle is the strong it is. Im sure this isnt news to you.
2. Your waist measurement can give us an accurate indication of your overall fat mass as men
typically store the bulk of their fat around the waist.
With these two pieces of information we can determine how much muscle you have with the two
following measurements:
M#2
M#1
M#3
M#5
M#4
TEST LIFTS
There are 5 standard lifts that you will use to test your maximum strength.
(Click each exercise to see a video example of the correct form for each lift)
1. Squat
2. Bench Press
3. Deadlift: Conventional or Sumo
4. Standing Military Press
5. Chin Ups (or Pulldowns if you cannot complete a chin up with your bodyweight)
Note: Select a weight that will allow you to complete between 5 15 reps for each lift.
Testing procedure
It is too difficult to test your entire body during one session therefore you must break up your test days
into sections. The following breakdown is what I have found works best for testing each muscle group
without compromising the other tests.
Test Day 1
Test Day 2
Test Day 3
Warm up the specific test muscles with a series of light sets (approx 40-60% of your working weight) for
3-5 sets (you can take more warm up sets if you feel its necessary). Once you feel that youre joints and
muscles are warm enough complete one test set for each exercise listed. Select a weight you can
complete more than 5 reps but less than 15 for the test set. The total number of reps x the weight you
lift is your aggregate upper body strength number.
If you regularly train in the 8-12 rep range choose a weight that you are fairly certain you can lift for 10
reps to test with. On the other hand if you routinely train in the 3-7 rep range choose a weight that you
are fairly certain you can lift for 5-7 reps and use it for your test set.
Note: It doesnt matter if you dont use the test exercises in your regular workout routine. You can
still use them as a measurement of relative strength. Any change you have in muscle mass and
strength will be reflected in these test exercises regardless if they are part of your workouts.
Use this Formula to determine your 1 rep max strength for each lift:
[(weight lifted x reps) x 0.0333] + weight lifted = e1RM
Exercise
Squat
Bench Press
Deadlift
Standing Military Press
Chin Up (or Pulldown)
Weight
Reps
e1RM
=(S1)
=(S2)
=(S3)
=(S4)
=(S5)
Bodyweight, strength, fat mass, changes in other lean mass, hydration status, and food intake
are all accounted and corrected for with the Muscle Index.
Your Muscle Index is the most accurate scale for measuring changes in your true muscle mass.
From now on the Muscle Index will be the only measurement you should concern yourself with
for measuring your muscle building progress.