On another thread we were playing with BF% calculators. Say for the sake of argument that I do actually have 95 lbs of lean body mass. What can I do with that? I know it's extremely hard for women to build muscle. Do I just need to get my fat % down or is there a reasonable expectation that I could bring my LBM up some? how much?
I'd have to do math (yuck) but I think ... if I had 20 % BF on 95 lbs of LBM I'd only weight ... um .... 114 lbs?

Meg answered this last week on another thread...let me see if I can find it.

That calculator is not very accurate. None of the ones based on circumference are accurate.

Mel

Thanks so much, Mel. I can look for it tomorrow.

SusanB,
How strong are you? Most people can make very nice gains in LBM as their basic strength levels go up, providing they are eating enough, although the gains will level off as you approach your full potential.

Stuart McRoberts (Author of "Brawn") advocates a goal of an unequipped ClassII powerlifting total as an initial strength goal to both "build a base" and capitalize on the LBM gains from getting stronger.

ClassII total for a 123# woman would be 568# (1 rep max of Squat+Bench+Deadlift) and 535# for a 114#'er. The equivalent men's totals are 838# and 777#.

An "Elite" total for a 123# woman is 782#. (From What is Elite?)

Susan, I posed the similar question here, so you can search on my name as well. I have found that I've been able to increase my lean body mass by increasing the weights I lift, or at least, so it appears. Meg made a good pt to me however that you can also expect tl lose some lbm bc you need less water and tissue to support a smaller body. Luckily you are near the end and aren't making drastic weight changes, so you may not see much more loss now. I think you could probably build another 5-10 pounds of muscle though. My lbm calculated at about 135, but alot of that is water, etc needed to keep a 200+ lb person alive.

ClassII total for a 123# woman would be 568# (1 rep max of Squat+Bench+Deadlift) and 535# for a 114#'er. The equivalent men's totals are 838# and 777#.

I beg your pardon? Can you make that English please? Whew!

Seriously Robert thanks for the input. I'm going to go hunting for answers today.

Oh we were posting at the same time. Thanks Fran!

If you could bench press 100# once, Squat 200# and deadlift 225#, that would give you a total of 525#. If you did all of that at 123# BWT, you would be very close to a ClassII PL total for a 123# (568#).

In theory a Class II total would make you strong enough for bodybuilding purposes, and then you should focus more on building bigger muscles through volume and increaesed "time under tension"(TUT).

Of course very few lifters stick with there training long enough to hit a Class II total. I need to drop bodyweight and bring my Squat and Deadlift WAY up to reach this goal. (1367# for a 242# Man; 1472# for a heavyweight).

Thanks Robert.

As for reasonable expectations for LBM gains ... so far I've found this ....

Increase lean body mass (MUSCLE) which will boost metabolism, and improve appearance. Do not be afraid to lift weights!!!! Unless you’re using anabolic steroids, you simply will not blow up into some huge man-thing!!! For reference, I gained two pounds of muscle in 1999, and that’s with very intense heavy lifting, and a strict diet regimen all year as I competed in three pro contests!!


Even two pounds sounds like a lot of work. Reasonable ???

I think I found the posts Mel was talking about. I guess we get to thinking and forget that 'lean' means anything that isn't fat. Quite frankly the idea of losing LBM was scaring me but with that in mind ... I'm a bit smarter about it.
It just had not occured to me that at this point I might still lose LBM.

Yes. LBM is not just muscle and bone. I would probably weigh something like 210# if I was lean as a bodybuilder on the day of a competition.