This email is going to lose me some subscribers.
We begin:
The Body Mass Index (BMI for short) takes flack from all quarters.
On the one hand, you have people with high BMIs who eat terribly and do no exercise whatsoever making delusional claims about how they aren’t actually “that fat” (usually because when they hear the word “obese” they picture a wheezing, bedbound figure who cannot cleanse his private parts independently).
And on the other hand you have people with high BMIs who eat well and train hard who believe theirs is deranged “because of muscle”.
I think we can all agree the former group is beyond help.
But the latter?
There is a chance they just might see the light.
So shine it I shall via a pair of awkward facts:
1) It is impossible to have a significantly overweight let alone an obese BMI purely “because of muscle” unless you abuse anabolic steroids.
The men and women who claim otherwise can invariably stand to lose a little fat. They may not want to do so because they are happy with how they look and that’s fine. Regardless, their preference bears no relation to immutable biological reality.
2) It is possible to have a slightly overweight BMI (25.1 – 27-ish) due to muscle gained through training without being overly fat.
However.
This takes a very long time (we are talking many years of training with discipline and intent) and most people never get there or if they do get there don’t hold onto this condition for very long.
For example, I managed it in early 2017 (some 8 years after I started training) but by the end of the year I was back in the “looks good but could be leaner” category for a plethora of reasons that are beyond the scope of this email.
Another example is a guy I know who has been training for over 20 years without once touching a steroid or PED. He is easily the leanest and most muscular chap at my gym (steroid abusers notwithstanding), yet his BMI hovers around 25.5.
So you can see why I struggle to take seriously John when he tells me his BMI of 29 is solely and exclusively bEcAuSe Of MuScLe given that he has been training just two years, nor Claire who claims she is rocking a BMI firmly in the “obese” range due to her powerlifting-style regime.
Bottom Line:
* The BMI is just one of a number of tools you can use to assess how in shape you are.
* Used alongside the “mirror test” it’s a quick and easy way to determine if you are fat or not.
* That it provokes so much outrage (to the point that many people are arguing that the ranges should be adjusted or even that it should be scrapped altogether) suggests it’s accurate enough.
* Exceptions always exist, but the thing about exceptions is that you are probably not one of them.
That will do for today.
If you are curious to learn more about how I can help you get strong and in shape, you are welcome to book a call in my diary.
For the avoidance of doubt, ours will be a sales call with the sole objective of discovering if my methods and approach are suitable for your needs and aspirations.
If that is acceptable to you, book below:
https://philtyreman.co.uk/consult/
Thank you,
Phil Tyreman