Muscle mass percentage?

Kate_UK
Kate_UK Posts: 1,299 Member
edited December 18 in Fitness and Exercise
My new scale gives me a muscle mass percentage of 37.7 but I've no idea of what is a good % for my age/sex/height. Does anyone know of a muscle mass table that I can look up? I've googled it but I can't find one.

Replies

  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    average for a female is 36% so you're right about on target. That's for the average of all adult females though, you guys can have 40 or 45% and be extremely healthy. More important is the Body Fat %. I.E. even if your muscle mass % is high, if your BF% is high as well, it means you could have less bone density than you'd want. For women, it's a good idea to have your bone density tested every few years as women can become highly susceptible to osteoporosis later in life, and the best time to catch and reverse that is when you are young. The next time you schedule a doctors visit, ask him if you can have your bone density tested.

    since you are 30 Kate, this is a great time to have it done, as you are still at an age where you can easily build bone density through proper diet and weight training / resistance exercise. Once you get into your late 30's and early 40's it becomes far more difficult for the body to increase bone density (still possible, but it's far more difficult).
  • Kate_UK
    Kate_UK Posts: 1,299 Member
    Thank you for your reply, my body fat is 25% which I believe is ijust inside the normal range for a woman of my age, although I'm working to reduce it a little. What is involved in a bone density test? I'm in the UK so I doubt its something I'd be able to have done on the NHS.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    Thank you for your reply, my body fat is 25% which I believe is ijust inside the normal range for a woman of my age, although I'm working to reduce it a little. What is involved in a bone density test? I'm in the UK so I doubt its something I'd be able to have done on the NHS.

    it's a laying down scan. Doesn't take that long. Most full medical facilities should be able to do it, I know the ones in the US do. It can also show any abnormalities in your bone structure. It's a good thing to have done every few years.
  • pamp1emousse
    pamp1emousse Posts: 282 Member
    The average muscle mass is 36%?! I have the omron body composition scales with the handle bar and it measures "skeletal muscle" - is that the same as muscle mass? Because mine is only 31% but at the gym their toning leaflet said the average is 28% so Ithought I was ok? Lol if I should be at 36% then I have lots of work to do! :huh:
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    The average muscle mass is 36%?! I have the omron body composition scales with the handle bar and it measures "skeletal muscle" - is that the same as muscle mass? Because mine is only 31% but at the gym their toning leaflet said the average is 28% so Ithought I was ok? Lol if I should be at 36% then I have lots of work to do! :huh:


    The more the better (to a point). different sources will have different amounts as the average. My sources list skeletal muscle mass averages for adult females as 36% (as a % of total mass), but depending on what yours takes as it's study group, it could be different. Maybe they go by a certain age group, or a certain demographic...etc. This can seriously alter the results. I'd say anyone with between 30 and 45% muscle mass (female) is probably doing ok. Men should be around 40 to 50% by the way. I have a nutrition college text at home that has the percentages, I can look that up when I get home from work. I don't remember off the top of my head, but that book is one of the "bibles" of human anatomy currently, so I generally trust it's facts. I'll post what I find later today.

    FYI the numbers I got are from "Human Anatomy and Physiology" (7th edition) ISBN #: 0805353879
  • starscollidexo
    starscollidexo Posts: 4
    healthy % body fat for adult female doing fitness: 21-24%
    healthy % muscle mass for adult female doing fitness: varies greatly; dependent upon whether or not your body fat is in check
  • MissMaggie3
    MissMaggie3 Posts: 2,464 Member
    Can I jump here, as I've just got new scales too and am confused about the same thing. At first I thought it was giving me the muscle mass percentage (42.4), but I think that was the weight of my muscle mass in kilos; my total weight is 54.2 kilos. Is it really possible that so much of me is muscle??? I know I've been doing a lot of heavy lifting, but really!

    Other interesting readings are 17.6% body fat (Eeek! Do I have to gain fat?) and visceral fat = 3 (1 - 12 is healthy).
  • Mercenary1914
    Mercenary1914 Posts: 1,087 Member
    Ideal Weight and Muscle Mass for Height
    Comments May 26, 2011 | By Dana George Dana George has been a freelance writer since 2005, penning numerous articles, Web content and marketing collateral for both print and online. His articles have appeared in "Healthy Knowledge" magazine, "Minneapolis Metro Mix" and "Meefers." George holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin.
    Your ideal body weight can be roughly estimated based on your height and body frame size. Muscle mass, on the other hand, isn't as easily determined, especially when referring to an ideal. Muscle mass isn't a good indicator of health, so it's better to look at your body fat percentage or waist circumference to determine your risk of certain health complications.

    Body Weight
    The National Institutes of Health provides a rough estimate of desirable body weight for height. Women should weigh approximately 100 lbs. at 5 feet and then another 5 lbs. for each inch over this height. Men should weigh a bit more, coming in at 106 lbs. at 5 feet and then an extra 6 lbs. for each inch over this height. This means at a height of 5 feet 10 inches tall, a female should weigh around 150 lbs., whereas a male should weigh 166 lbs.

    Body Frame
    This calculation, however, doesn't account for differences in body frame size. Small frames deduct 10 percent from this desirable weight, while 10 percent is added for large frames. Females have a small frame with a wrist of less than 5 ½ inches at a height of under 5-foot-2, less than 6 inches at a height between 5-foot-2 and 5-foot-5 and less that 6 ¼ at a height over 5-foot-5. Women have a large frame when wrist size is greater than 5 ¾ at a height of under 5-foot-2, greater than 6 ¼ inches at a height between 5-foot-2 and 5-foot-5 and less that 6 ½ at a height over 5-foot-5. A small frame for men is usually a wrist size of less than 6 ½ inches and a large frame is a measurement over 7 ½.

    Muscle Mass
    Unlike weight, muscle mass doesn't have a so-called ideal based on your height or even body frame size. In fact, muscle mass varies greatly from person to person, based largely on physical activity. Instead of focusing on muscle itself, most medical professionals defer to body fat to determine if your muscle mass is at an ideal percentage for your height. Women should have a body fat percentage somewhere between 20 and 21 percent. Men should have far less, coming in at 13 to 17 percent. Talk to a doctor or physiologist to determine this percentage.

    Fat Distribution
    Besides body weight and body fat percentage, it's also important to look at your distribution of body fat, explains the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. It's especially problematic for people to carry excess fat around their midsection. When women have a waist circumference over 35 inches, it places them at a greater risk of developing high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, heart disease and type 2 diabetes. For men, these risks increase with a waistline of over 40 inches


    Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/405268-ideal-weight-and-muscle-mass-for-height/#ixzz1vjXeGlmS
  • MissMaggie3
    MissMaggie3 Posts: 2,464 Member
    Thanks, Mercenary!
  • Katwillis1990
    Katwillis1990 Posts: 11 Member
    my fat percentage is higher than my muscle. I am just wondering what types of excersize i could do in the house to help me. The gym is too expensive
  • margieg93
    margieg93 Posts: 5
    This is so weird. My visceral fat is 2, and my muscle mass is 42.3, yet my body fat is 30.4%. So I guess the first two values are good, but I really need to lose some body fat! We're all built differently I guess.
  • hannahsolomons
    hannahsolomons Posts: 1 Member
    My muscle is 60.2% and fat 36.6%, water 45.4%, bone 3.2%....According to the Boditrax machine Obviously I need to lose a lot of weight :-( but is this muscle % normal?
  • amberflippo613
    amberflippo613 Posts: 1 Member
    hannahsolomons wrote: »
    My muscle is 60.2% and fat 36.6%, water 45.4%, bone 3.2%....According to the Boditrax machine Obviously I need to lose a lot of weight :-( but is this muscle % normal?

    I'm getting numbers extremely close to that myself (all the way across the board they are almost identical) and was thinking the same thing. I just don't know if that is a normal number on muscle mass? I'm definitely no body builder or anything so why is my muscle mass so high?
  • clairewade946
    clairewade946 Posts: 2 Member
    I know this is an old thread but can anyone help with boditrax. My muscle percentage comes out at 80% and my fat at just over 15%. I weigh 8 stone 10 and I am a woman of five foot six. I still have wobbly fat on my thighs. This goes if I get down to about 14% body fat according to the boditrax. I am in blue for fat for everywhere in my body except my legs which is in green. My muscle percentage in my legs is 67% and it is 80%, nearly 90% the rest of my body when looking at the composition part of the results. This is true from what I see in the mirror, my upper body is very scrawny and my legs are a bit chubby. My question is this, should I just give up trying to lose this fat and have it sucked out given how low my body fat percentage needs to be to make any impression upon it?
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    @clairewade946

    You want to build more muscle, more weight loss is not going to help in your case.

    I don't know how accurate that bodyfat scale is but 15% is fairly low for a female. If you are truly that lean I would consider running bulk cycles to gain weight to build muscle especially in your legs so when you lean out they are more defined with time.

    If you are not comfortable gaining you can look into recomp to work on your body composition. See this thread for more information

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1

  • Redordeadhead
    Redordeadhead Posts: 1,188 Member
    hannahsolomons wrote: »
    My muscle is 60.2% and fat 36.6%, water 45.4%, bone 3.2%....According to the Boditrax machine Obviously I need to lose a lot of weight :-( but is this muscle % normal?

    That adds up to 145.4%. Something can't be right.
  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,255 Member
    Kate_UK wrote: »
    Thank you for your reply, my body fat is 25% which I believe is ijust inside the normal range for a woman of my age, although I'm working to reduce it a little. What is involved in a bone density test? I'm in the UK so I doubt its something I'd be able to have done on the NHS.

    Here in the US most insurance won’t pay for a DEXA scan until you are 65-70 years old, which is stupid because by that time you have probably lost irretrievable bone density.
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