13/4/24, 16:34 FFMI Calculator: Calculate your genetic muscular potential

The calculator will also tell you the relative development of your body parts for men, but for
women sufficient data are only available for whole-body estimates. You’ll need a
measurement tape to use the calculator. Menu

What do you want to do?

I want to estimate my natural muscular potential

I want to estimate if someone's physique can be achieved naturally

Which measurement system would you like to use?

Imperial (inches, pounds)

Metric (cm, kg)

Are you male or female?

Male

Female

What is your current body fat percentage? (%)

13

What is your desired body fat percentage? (%)

What is your height? (cm)

175

What is your weight? (kg)

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63
Menu

What is your wrist circumference? (cm)

Measured just below the hand, above the protruding bone on the outside of
your wrist.

17,4

What is your ankle circumference? (cm)

Measured about an inch above the bony protrusions on the outsides of your
ankle joint, at the smallest point of your lower leg.

21

What is your torso circumference? (cm)

Measured with the tape just under your armpits with your arms relaxed at your
sides.

98

What is your upper arm circumference? (cm)

Measured while flexing your biceps, at the largest point without a pump.

34

What is your forearm circumference? (cm)

Measured at its largest point, with clenched fists, hands out straight ahead.

29

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What is your neck circumference? (cm)

Menu
Measured below the Adam's apple at the smallest point.

34

What is your thigh circumference? (cm)

Measured while standing in relaxed position with the tape midway on the thigh.

55

What is your calf circumference? (cm)

Measured while standing in relaxed position at the largest point.

34

Results

Lean body mass left to gain (kg)

19.3

Fat mass left to lose (kg)

0.9

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13/4/24, 16:34 FFMI Calculator: Calculate your genetic muscular potential

Neck: 3% Menu
underdeveloped

Torso: perfect!

Upper arms: 6%
underdeveloped

Forearm: 1%
overdeveloped
Thigh: 7%
overdeveloped

Calf: perfect!

Current: 98cm Max: 112.8cm

Torso Achieved: 87%

87%

Current: 34cm Max: 41.4cm

Upper arm Achieved: 82%

82%

Current: 29cm Max: 33.1cm

Forearm Achieved: 88%

88%

Current: 34cm Max: 40.3cm

Neck Achieved: 84%

84%

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13/4/24, 16:34 FFMI Calculator: Calculate your genetic muscular potential

Current: 55cm Max: 58.9cm

Thigh Achieved: 93%

93% Menu

Current: 34cm Max: 38.9cm

Calf Achieved: 87%

87%

Maximum natural bodyweight (kg)

81.4

Normalized FFMI

18.2

How does your FFMI compare?

28.0 Largest natural trainee ever scientifically documented

25.4 World class natural pro bodybuilder

24.9 Upper limit for most people's genetics

24.8 Average steroid user

22.6 Internationally competitive bodybuilder

21.8 Competitive power athlete

18.9 Average Caucasian

Need help with measurement conversions?

Methodology

The calculation of men’s maximum muscular potential is based on Casey Butt’s extensive
research published in his book Your Muscular
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notice this calculator gives different, generally lower, estimates than the other calculators you
can find online, including on Casey Butt’s own website. That’s because they’re based only on
his first research that’s available online for free. Those older formulas were based on a Menu
smaller sample size of individuals with almost exclusively top tier genetics.

Moreover, the formulas were probably overfitted to the data, as the calculation for maximum
arm size included not just wrist size but also ankle size, for example, which of course doesn’t
make much sense.

The 4th edition of his work published a larger sample size with better-generalized formulas.
These formulas are likely to be more accurate for the average person.

Although the formulas correct for body fat percentage, since fat-free mass scales
considerably with body fat percentage, these estimates are only accurate for men in the body
fat range of 4-12%. Fatter individuals may be able to achieve greater levels of muscularity.

To calculate the probability of achieving a certain physique naturally, we reviewed all

publications on high level bodybuilders and the fat-free mass index to find individuals that
were A) likely natural because they were drug tested during the study period and B) likely
near their genetic maximum muscular potential based on extensive training experience and
high-level placings at physique sports. In other words, we looked for natural bodybuilders at
their natty max. The best publications were Kouri et al. (1995), Mäestu et al.
(2010) and Chappell et al. (2018).

From these data sets, we calculate the weighted average fat-free mass index (FFMI) and its
standard deviation to estimate the population’s normal distribution for maximum
muscularity. The FFMI values were height-adjusted based on Kouri et al. (1995) to account
for the fact human mass scales in 3 dimensions with height. To estimate the true standard
deviation, we corrected for the measurement errors from body composition measurements in
bodybuilders measured by Lichtenbelt et al. (2004) using the bias correction method
of Trafimow (2014).

This allows us to limit the range of what’s naturally achievable to that of genetic variation and
not measurement error.

With the estimates of the population’s mean, normalized, natural, maximum fat-free mass
index and its true standard deviation, we can calculate the percentage of the population that
can achieve a certain level of muscularity naturally.

For the ladies, only Chappell et al. (2018) provided good data to estimate the maximum
muscular potential of women. They estimated that the maximum fat-free mass index of
women was likely 20, 80% of that of men. This estimate is surprisingly plausible. In one of the
most popular articles, I showed that men and women
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rate. Based on a large data set by Schutz et al. (2002) in Nature, untrained women have an
average FFMI of 15.4 compared to 18.9 for men, a ratio of 0.81.
Menu
This ratio remains relatively constant in various strength sports (Santos et al. 2014, Healy et
al. 2014). On average in all data sets with the untrained individuals, the physique athletes,
gymnasts, athletics and top tier athletes of all sports combined, the ratio is again 0.81. With
this estimate, I calculated a gender-normalized FFMI, which allows us to estimate the
percentage probability a woman’s physique can be attained naturally based on the same
standards as that of men.

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About the author

Menno Henselmans
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Formerly a business consultant, I've traded my company car to follow my passion in

strength training. I'm now an online physique coach, scientist and international
public speaker with the mission to help serious trainees master their physique. Menu

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