Have I reached my genetic potential?

[ArchAngel777]

Not bad Ackmed. Pretty jacked! I'd say you are the exception, though. Here is my reasoning. First, I hate BMI. I will get that out of the way. It wasn't intended for use on individuals, but on population of a society. That said, even though I hate BMI, I can demonstrate that being incredibly fit and muscly doesn't mean you have to be above 25 BMI.

We can take a look at Olympic Sprinters to know this. Most have jacked legs and a decent upper body. We can use Justin Gatlin as an example of perhaps one of the most perfect physiques a sprinter can have.

Justin Gatlin is 6'1' and 175. Some sites peg him at 180. We will use 180, even though I doubt he is 180 while training. Still, let's use 180.

What is his BMI? 23.7.

Now, I can see some objections to this. We are talking about an Elite Sprinter and a relatively l BF. Still, the guy is jacked, looks great and doesn't register as overweight on the BMI scale.

However, if you are a body builder not in competition, I could see someone being in the high 20's, but I think it is pretty rare for someone to be above 30 BMI naturally, with a low BF (sub 10%). Throw in some PEDs, great genetics, etc and it is possible, but no the norm.

The truth is, most people are fatter than they think, and so their BMI is higher because not only do they have more LBM, but they are carrying a bit more fat than they think.

Also, the only other sprinter I know if that is larger (more muscular than Justin Gatlin) would be Yohan Blake. But that guy doped even more than Justin Gatlin. I'll exclude Usain Bolt from this because his Body Type is odd and deviates from the normal sprinter body type.

 

[Ackmed]

Thanks, I realize I am the exception. 43 years old, eat pretty shitty most of the time, drink often, and still in decent shape. Genetics do play a huge role, despite some people on here thinking otherwise. I have always been like this, just naturally thin, with decent muscle. With the ability to gain muscle very easily, and eat anything I want and not get fat. I don't take anything illegal, never have. Not just for working out, but any illegal drug, not even weed. Have been in the military for well over a decade, and my current job take random piss tests for drugs, and breathalyzer tests for alcohol. Guaranteed at least one per quarter, they test both at the same time. Could be when you get to work, or when you get off work. So I can't even if I wanted to. So while I am in the low 30's BMI, sub 10% body fat, I do not use anything out of the normal to get there. Not that I take the testing methods of each too seriously.

We follow track, wife and I both ran it in highschool. We especially follow Gatlin as he went to UT, where we live. Christian Coleman is especially amazing, also from UT. Young star on the rise. I can see your point though. I just dislike BMI very much, it is often times wrong. Seems like when it is, it is for athletes of gym people. It is also often times right. We are a fat country, and its disgusting to be honest. Getting worse and worse all the time.

 

[ArchAngel777]

We follow track, wife and I both ran it in highschool. We especially follow Gatlin as he went to UT, where we live. Christian Coleman is especially amazing, also from UT. Young star on the rise. I can see your point though. I just dislike BMI very much, it is often times wrong. Seems like when it is, it is for athletes of gym people. It is also often times right. We are a fat country, and its disgusting to be honest. Getting worse and worse all the time.

He is definitely one of my favorite track guys. I am pretty cynical towards most people who get popped for PEDs but in this case I am more apt to believe Gatlin's claim. The first infraction was due to medication for ADD or something like that, which makes sense, he just wasn't aware. The second one surprises me as something he may not have known about it. Of course, it all conjecture, but the truth is, his coach probably slipped him something without his full knowledge. I can't see someone risking their track track career after they already had a close call with being disqualified. Seems like a good person too. Definitely fan.

That said, it also wouldn't surprise me if he did take it. At that level, I think it is generally assumed almost everyone dopes it is just that not everyone get's caught. I can maybe buy that... I don't think Bolt was necessarily clean either. A huge eye opener for the world, I think, is when Lance Armstrong was caught. He never got popped for it and it was all circumstantial/witness testimony but sure enough he confessed to it finally, when they likely would have found out anyway. For 7 years straight he beat the system..

 

[Davidpaul007]

Shew, you guys all blow me out of the water. My FFMI is 20-21 depending on my BF, but I used 149lbs @ 10%. My BMI 24.something. (I'm almost 66")

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[ArchAngel777]

Shew, you guys all blow me out of the water. My FFMI is 20-21 depending on my BF, but I used 149lbs @ 10%. My BMI 24.something. (I'm almost 66")

FFM is hard to quantify... People assume FFM = Muscle... Well, no, it is anything that is NOT fat, which is a lot. Maybe someone has a bigger heart, liver, heavier skeleton. Perhaps is using their glycogen super-compensated weight and weighing after dinner, versus someone being relatively depleted and weighing in the morning. There are so many things that can skew the results on even an individual basis.

Based on skin folds, I have been 184 @ 8% BF when weighing in the evening after a carb load. But that number is greatly inflated, because I almost never use evening weight. If I stop taking creatine, deplete myself, I can be 166 @ 8% using my morning weight. According to that the BB calc (that one, is wrong, however) I can be anywhere from high 22's to lower 25's while being virtually the same person! Now add other variables into the equation (BF% Not being entirely accurate unless DEXA, heavier body organs, more water in system, heavier skeletal system) and it isn't hard to see how this FFMI is, at best, a 'guesstimate'.