Body Measurements

[NewHere]

Hi Everyone,

I am relatively new to physical training and all.

As a 180 cm man, with 11.5 inch arms - I am wondering if this would classify as being on the smaller side or average? I would think that 14 inch arms are appropriate but I am also aware that it is not just size but also strength.

Can someone shed light on this matter.

 

[angelariz]

Hi Everyone,

I am relatively new to physical training and all.

As a 180 cm man, with 11.5 inch arms - I am wondering if this would classify as being on the smaller side or average? I would think that 14 inch arms are appropriate but I am also aware that it is not just size but also strength.

Can someone shed light on this matter.

Biceps, calves and neck should be the same measurement.
If you have small bones, and a poor appetite 11 inch arms tell you all you need to know. Eat more food. Do chin ups, push ups, and other calisthenics until you start putting on weight. Ectomorphs need high calories. Boost carbs

 

[dvcochran]

Hi Everyone,

I am relatively new to physical training and all.

As a 180 cm man, with 11.5 inch arms - I am wondering if this would classify as being on the smaller side or average? I would think that 14 inch arms are appropriate but I am also aware that it is not just size but also strength.

Can someone shed light on this matter.

Really an impossible question to answer. Body types and shapes are just so very different from person to person for a great many reasons.
I have .seen 5'9" guys who weighed 400 pounds carry themselves very well. Conversely, I have had marathon runners who could not finish their first several classes.
We have an old saying in the south; "run what you bring, leave with something better". I think that is a good question to your answer.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

These words, they mystify me. You measure your arms?

 

[MetalBoar]

These words, they mystify me. You measure your arms?

Unfortunately, having owned a gym focused exclusively on strength training, I know that this is a pretty common concern. There can be utility in taking measurements if you're looking for objective metrics to evaluate your training program and verify that you're progressing. It's definitely more useful than just looking at weight or calculating your BMI, though it's not as accurate or useful as some think. The problem (as I see it) comes in when questions like, "Are my arms big enough?", or, "What should my measurements be?", are the focus. Unless you're a competitive bodybuilder comparing your measurements to someone else's is useless at best and often self destructive (even if you are a competitive bodybuilder). Everyone progresses differently and has different proportions so focusing on some general one size fits all number isn't helpful.

If you are looking for some way to measure progress towards improved body composition (and you don't want to do hydrostatic testing or get a DEXA scan with regularity or deal with the hassles of using skinfold calipers) you can definitely get some quick and dirty info by recording measurements and journaling them over time. Things that are useful: Are your biceps bigger when flexed or when relaxed and how is that relationship changing over time? If they're 11.5 inches relaxed and 11.25 inched flexed right now and 3 months from now they're 11 inches relaxed and 11.5 inches flexed you can be pretty confident that you've lost fat and put on muscle. Probably more relevant considering the "(over)eat to build" message that a lot of people get; if you go from 11.5 inches flexed and 11.25 inches relaxed to 13 inches flexed and 14 inches relaxed you should know that the vast majority of your gains have been in fat, not muscle. Similarly, if your waist is shrinking and your shoulders (or biceps or thighs, etc.) are getting bigger or even staying the same then you're losing fat and gaining muscle and vice versa. If you're making consistent and continuous progress over months and years you're winning.

Things that aren't useful: Worrying about how your size compares to others' or to some arbitrary "appropriate" number. Worrying about proportions (unless you're in a profession where it's a necessity) as a marker for success. Sure, there are some general rules of thumb (such as the neck, biceps, calves recipe above) but that's highly individual. For example, I've got much longer than average muscle bellies in my arms and shorter than average muscle bellies in my calves. If I do proper, full body, training my calves will always be bigger around than my biceps and it would be detrimental to my training to try to maintain some sort of balance there. For years my wife (who's also an avid strength trainer) had a larger flexed bicep measurement than me, even though I had a lot more muscle on my arms and was a lot stronger than her, because she has much shorter muscle bellies in her arms than I do and so they peaked really high very quickly. That's my genetics and it can't be changed so there's no point in getting down about it. I also think that the neck is one of the most neglected parts of the body and I work all it's muscles regularly. My neck is ~ 3" bigger around than my biceps and would still be 1-2" bigger than my biceps even if they were more usually proportioned and I think that would be more or less true for most people if they trained their neck with as much dedication as they did their arms.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Isn't the question what you can do rather than how you look? I'll admit I never thought of stopping an attack by flexing my pecs.

 

[Gyakuto]

Hi Everyone,

I am relatively new to physical training and all.

As a 180 cm man, with 11.5 inch arms - I am wondering if this would classify as being on the smaller side or average? I would think that 14 inch arms are appropriate but I am also aware that it is not just size but also strength.

Can someone shed light on this matter.

Even 14 inch arms are quite short, but you easily work within your disability perhaps with a little help from your teacher.

 

[nigebj]

Hi Everyone,

I am relatively new to physical training and all.

As a 180 cm man, with 11.5 inch arms - I am wondering if this would classify as being on the smaller side or average? I would think that 14 inch arms are appropriate but I am also aware that it is not just size but also strength.

Can someone shed light on this matter.

Strange question ... I'm going to assume this is bicep measurement, as otherwise you might be a T-rex.

I know apparently overweight people who are incredibly flexible and powerful (can kick you in the head from a standing jump at close range), and really skinny people who are really, really strong. Size/shape is not a strong indicator of martial arts capability IME.

In almost all arts speed and power are key, and building muscle can definitely slow you down. As others have said, focus on what you can do and forget measurements ... as far as MA is concerned. Now if you are worried about how you look at the gym, that's another issue.

 

[Gyakuto]

My sports physiology text books tell me that muscular strength is directly proportional to cross-sectional diameter. Muscle volume is proportional to cross-section area and length, and so a bigger muscle by volume or mass (density being uniform) can perform more work (force times displacement).

 

[MetalBoar]

Strange question ... I'm going to assume this is bicep measurement, as otherwise you might be a T-rex.

I know apparently overweight people who are incredibly flexible and powerful (can kick you in the head from a standing jump at close range), and really skinny people who are really, really strong. Size/shape is not a strong indicator of martial arts capability IME.

In almost all arts speed and power are key, and building muscle can definitely slow you down. As others have said, focus on what you can do and forget measurements ... as far as MA is concerned. Now if you are worried about how you look at the gym, that's another issue.

If you're building healthy muscle and not over training more muscle will only make you faster and more resistant to injury, barring unusual genetic expressions like muscle bellies that are so long that they wrap around the joints, etc. The only exception might be if you are an endurance athlete trying to compete at the top level in something like marathons, then muscle might slow you down because the extra weight and energy requirements don't benefit the sport. Still, if you want to be a healthy and functional marathoner long term I'd still recommend doing some resistance training off season. I guess also, if you're on the edge of going up a weight class more muscle might be detrimental for your competitive performance even while it is beneficial for your martial arts ability in general.

Again, all this is in regards to most people without unusual genetics and training for strength in a rational manner. If you're juicing and training to be the next Mr. Olympia that might be a different story. If you're "eating to build" and your body composition goes from 12% body fat to 20% body fat that's definitely a different story. If your strength training results in over training, that's a different story. If you have to sacrifice significant time that you would have spent working on developing your MA skills then that might be a different story. But in general, most people are only going to benefit from increased muscle mass.

 

[Gyakuto]

Isn't the question what you can do rather than how you look? I'll admit I never thought of stopping an attack by flexing my pecs.

That would be very impressive though! I bet there’s someone on Youtube demonstrating this

 

[Buka]

Welcome to Martial Talk, Nigesbj.

Here's a chart that might help. All in fun, of course.

Measurements for the Martial Artist. A Checklist.

Do your feet reach the ground?

Yes

No

Are your arms an appropriate length for your hands to reach your mouth, your backside and to put on your gi? (Spanking der manky optional)

Yes

No

Have you an ample supply of excuses to miss workouts?

Yes

No

WHAT is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

Get working, bro, have fun, it will all work out if you do.

 

[NewHere]

Biceps, calves and neck should be the same measurement.
If you have small bones, and a poor appetite 11 inch arms tell you all you need to know. Eat more food. Do chin ups, push ups, and other calisthenics until you start putting on weight. Ectomorphs need high calories. Boost carbs

Thanks mate. I am making it a point to eat more. My steady diet consits of:

1) 2 Cups of Red Rice + 2 Cups of Lentils.
2) 500mL of Milk a day.
3) 2 Eggs a day.

I plan to add the following:

1) Tempeh
2) Hemp Seeds
3) Brown Pasta
4) Oats (?)

 

[NewHere]

These words, they mystify me. You measure your arms?

Yes, I took measurements of my arms (un-flexed). Much like here:

https://www.ecosia.org/images?q=Measuring%20bicep%20size#id=17B3D826C7DFB862AB0A7C73E5524D664049AA44

 

[NewHere]

Isn't the question what you can do rather than how you look? I'll admit I never thought of stopping an attack by flexing my pecs.

Yes but for me looks are somewhat important as well.

 

[Alan0354]

Thanks mate. I am making it a point to eat more. My steady diet consits of:

1) 2 Cups of Red Rice + 2 Cups of Lentils.
2) 500mL of Milk a day.
3) 2 Eggs a day.

I plan to add the following:

1) Tempeh
2) Hemp Seeds
3) Brown Pasta
4) Oats (?)

You are way under in protein intake. 2 eggs is only about 16gm of protein, one cup of milk is 9gm of protein. Rice doesn't have much. Lentils are 9gm/100gm of protein. You need minimum of 50gm of protein to survive before the body start eating into your muscle.

You need to do weight training, then drink some protein power if meat is not your option.

No offense, 11" arm is very small for almost 6ft tall. There's no other way to put it. If you are vegetarian, you REALLY need to watch your protein intake PARTICULAR if you want to start doing exercise. If you want to insist on not meat, you can go with SOIL Protein. You got to up your protein.

If you start doing weight training, you need to take more than 50gm/day. I am going for a little over 100gm on the day I do weight training. People take more if they do heavy workout. You REALLY REALLY need to watch out. Or else, you might get smaller after you start working out because you break down the muscle during working, if you don't have protein to replenish, it will take it from the rest of your body.

 

[Alan0354]

Yes but for me looks are somewhat important as well.

Not offense again, 5'10" with 11" arm.................. I am worrying about you being malnutrition.

 

[NewHere]

Not offense again, 5'10" with 11" arm.................. I am worrying about you being malnutrition.

Thanks for your concern mate. I must say that I have done a fair few blood tests and it all seems to be OK.I think I have my diet all figured out now:

1) 4 Eggs a day - Around 22 grams of Protein
2) 1L of Milk - 35 Grams of Protein
3) 100 grams of Hemp Seeds - 30 Grams of Protein

So totally - 87 grams of COMPLETE protein.

Combine this with 2 cups of red rice and lentils per day and soon some Temeph, I think there is easily 100 grams of Protein there per day.

I did some calorie calculation and came to the following conclusion:


Eggs – Rich in Protein but quite high in fat as well. Moderate in carbs. [4 Eggs is 256 Calories]

Milk – Mainly rich in carbohydrates and protein but much milder in fat. [1L of Milk is 660 Calories]

Banana – Seem low in protein but very high in carbohydrates [4 Banana is 400 Calories]

Oats – Quite high in carbohydrates [200 Grams of Oats is 778 Calories]

So totally: 2094 calories. With hemp seeds, red rice and lentils and Tempeh I think this is getting close to 3000 calories per day.

 

[Bobbycat]

Hi NewHere,
If you want to gain some muscles and strength without speed decrease try to use self resistance exercises. I did them for many years and got good muscles comparable with weight lifting. They also increase body awareness, flexibility, and brain-muscle connection. If you are interesting or want the proof, you can open my page Bob50's self-resistance exercises | Sierraexercise
I described there some self resistance exercises with sticks and belts. Good luck.

 

[Alan0354]

Thanks for your concern mate. I must say that I have done a fair few blood tests and it all seems to be OK.I think I have my diet all figured out now:

1) 4 Eggs a day - Around 22 grams of Protein
2) 1L of Milk - 35 Grams of Protein
3) 100 grams of Hemp Seeds - 30 Grams of Protein

So totally - 87 grams of COMPLETE protein.

Combine this with 2 cups of red rice and lentils per day and soon some Temeph, I think there is easily 100 grams of Protein there per day.

I did some calorie calculation and came to the following conclusion:


Eggs – Rich in Protein but quite high in fat as well. Moderate in carbs. [4 Eggs is 256 Calories]

Milk – Mainly rich in carbohydrates and protein but much milder in fat. [1L of Milk is 660 Calories]

Banana – Seem low in protein but very high in carbohydrates [4 Banana is 400 Calories]

Oats – Quite high in carbohydrates [200 Grams of Oats is 778 Calories]

So totally: 2094 calories. With hemp seeds, red rice and lentils and Tempeh I think this is getting close to 3000 calories per day.

Look into soil protein power, you don't need so much carbohydrates and milk( now make sure you have at least 1000mg of calcium a day, cheap antacid like TUMS will do it).

I deal with weight problem my whole life, don't eat too much carbo, cut the eggs to two max ( you have to worry about cholesterol also). It is tricky to be vegetarian and do heavy workout like weight training. One glass of protein shake, you don't have to do all the counting.

I drink protein shake, I don't eat much of high carb stuffs like you listed. I save my carb for ice cream and apply pie!!!

Good luck