How Much Should You Actually Weigh for Martial Success?

Today is the kind of post that I know can get me into a lot of trouble with the internet. The rise of the whole body positivity movement, and “healthy at any size” puts a huge red target on the back of anyone who dares speak against the orthodoxy. Luckily, those movements never really seemed to apply to men, so I get a little bit of leeway.

This post needs to happen because I think a lot of guys get the wrong idea of what things are supposed to look like. We’re literally inundated with marketing that makes us think about this topic one way, when reality is almost entirely different. I’ll get to that in a second.

Now for the disclaimer part. As always, I am not a doctor nor a qualified fitness professional. Everything I say in this post is my opinion based on my own research. The information here is just me publicly sharing my personal fitness goals and extrapolating them to others using the same formulas I’ve put together. Use this article as a general guideline at most, and entertainment at its worst.

Now let’s get on with it.

The Extremes Problem

Internet fitness culture has a problem. Like most things from politics to any hobby, the extremes dominate the conversation. With fitness, that usually goes one of three ways:

• Powerlifters who pursue maximum strength in squat/bench/deadlift above all else
• Bodybuilders who prioritize hypertrophy and aesthetics
• Endurance athletes who place race times in their chosen events as the top billet

Realize that this content that’s all over social media and video platforms like YouTube has one primary purpose: get attention. Sure, a lot of it is trying to be helpful, but these content creators who are making a living out of it need ever more complicated ways to get attention. So what gets attention? Being extreme. Nuance is boring. Giving the same “boring” advice on how to approach a program doesn’t get clicks. And the stakes get higher every year.

People who consume this content fall deeper into the rabbit hole of being extreme on that one thing. As an example, imagine your average gym goer looking to get stronger on a few key lifts, so they start following powerlifting channels. Soon they start getting concerned chasing higher and higher totals. They only consume powerlifting content, and talk with other powerlifting enthusiasts. This ends in a self-reinforcing cycle of only doing “powerlifter things” at the expense of other areas of fitness.

The same thing happens to men consuming a steady diet of bodybuilding content. They get overly focused on size and appearance while forgetting about actually putting their abilities to use in other ways.

Even worse, many trainees begin looking at the routines and programs done by elite athletes in their chosen sports and try to emulate that training style. This is a huge mistake, especially for novices, as it completely ignores two things.

First is that it completely skips why the elite train in some of the convoluted ways they do: they’ve exhausted the gains they can make from other avenues or they are carefully manipulating their program to control for fatigue. Novices do not have that problem, and if they aren’t looking to become professionals then they will probably never exhaust their potential or generate enough fatigue to worry about it.

Secondly, we tend to forget that the elite have a huge genetic component (and/or drugs). That means they may be successful despite having a sub-par training program. It’s better to aim for not being the exception to the rule and train smart with the proven basics over time.

The unrealistic expectations fostered by these extremely marketable “specialists” leaves a lot of men with the wrong idea of what “fit” actually looks like.

Kinda Strong, Kinda Fast, Very Capable

To reiterate a point I’ve been harping on over several articles, the goal is not to be extremely good in one specific area. Rather, the Martial Marksman seeks becoming better-than-average to good in multiple areas at once. They can lift a respectable amount of weight, but aren’t going to win a powerlifting contest. They can run a respectable 5k time, but aren’t going to beat the dedicated endurance athletes. This kind of generalist “medium” approach is anathema to seasoned coaches and athletes in specific sports.

They don’t advocate for it because it doesn’t win trophies and medals in their sports.

That is unless you start looking at the sports where such combinations are actually the point. It’s timely that I’m writing this as the 2024 Summer Olympics are going on, and I’ve been taking note of all the different types of physiques for athletes. I wrote the meat of this post before the games began, and since watching I’ve noticed that the all-around athletes like those that compete in the decathlon or rugby are much closer to what I’m talking about compared to what social media has you think is “strong and fit.”

This generalist approach is exactly this kind of approach that’s suited to the everyday human looking to live a long and capable life. Specializing too deep in any one area comes with costs that normal people are better off not paying unless they earn money out of it.

So what does this have to do with body composition and weight?

Ideal Martial Performance Body Weight

When I dig into this, it’s actually less about body weight and more about your lean body mass. Specifically, it’s about your muscle mass. Since we don’t have a good way to measure muscle mass independently from bone, water, and other non-fatty tissue without dissecting you on an operating table (which is less than ideal, to be honest), we use a generic lean body mass measurement. We then add this lean body mass to your fat mass to end up at total body weight.

I’ve mentioned before that a man’s ideal body fat percentage is between 10% and 15%. To split the difference, the numbers I present below use a 12% body fat as a baseline. You could go +/- 5 lb at each end of the zone to figure the 10% to 15% range. I’ve built a tool to help you do this more specifically, and I’ll release it later on.

The goal is to have enough lean body mass (aka muscle mass) that you are strong, powerful, resilient, and capable of handling Martial Marksman tasks. At the same time, you don’t want to dedicate so much of your time to muscle mass that you neglect endurance, agility, mobility, and other desirable traits. At a certain point, being larger than necessary just ends up complicating life- especially if your daily life involves combat and fitting in tight spaces.

So here’s the chart, then we’ll break it down.

Reading the Chart

This chart derives from the work of three places. I first got the idea from Rob Shaul at the Mountain Tactical Institute. He did a very similar one, and my starting numbers are very similar to his. He used his own intuition based on training many athletes as well as medical guidelines around medication dosage. Coach Nate Morrison also did a series of articles at Spotter Up on the topic for men training to join special operations.

These two coaches provided me the base for getting started. Nate Morrison bases his numbers on the body mass index and figuring out a “maximum muscle potential.” He then takes a percentage of that amount and defines it as the “ideal.”

For this chart, the middle column follows Nate’s methodology. I then adjusted percentages for “light” and “heavy” to also approximate Rob Shaul’s method. Keep in mind that this chart uses BMI as the initial estimate. It’s not perfect, but it’s usable. In my actual calculator, I use the work of Dr. Casey Butt to determine maximum muscular potential another way. The numbers come close, though. I couldn’t use it here because there are too many individual variables for once nice easy chart.

What does light, medium, and heavy mean in this context?

Everyone has different genetic potential, anatomical structures, and preferences. Some men are naturally lighter and leaner. Others tend towards heavier. Then there’s a question of sport and performance.

Men involved in climbing sports, high level endurance events, and other activities where strength to weight ratio matters a lot will aim for the lighter end of the scale. I’ll ad that light does not mean weak. There’s still a respectable amount of muscle mass here.

Men deeply involved in contact sports like rugby, or who have a regular need to go “hands on” to control an opponent (i.e. law enforcement) with less of a hardcore endurance component trend towards the heavy side of the chart. The extra muscle mass here serves as both a protective layer for bones and organs as well as strength and size (for intimidation).

Most men should pursue the middle track. This provides leeway on either side to size up or down over time and as preferences evolve.

As an aside, after watching the Olympics this year, I looked up the stats on the average height and weight of Olympic decathlon competitors and found that they average between 6’0 and 6’3, and weigh between 170 and 200 lbs at an average 10% to 12% body fat. That’s right in line with what I’m saying in this article (allowing for different heights, of course).

As they say, success leaves clues.

Don’t Delude Yourself

One of the great risks of putting this chart here is that many men look at it and think they’re “fine.” You have to keep in mind that all of these numbers are at 12% body fat. That’s lean enough that you should be showing at least some visible abs (though not necessarily being “peeled”), have little to no “love handles,” and most of the world views you as very athletic looking.

In a world where 75% of the population is overweight or obese, the probability is that the average reader on this site does not meet that standard. So just because you might be within the 20 lb window for your height doesn’t mean you actually have the requisite amount of lean body mass. I am 73″ tall and weigh 182 lbs as of this writing. I also figure I’m at about 17% body fat and my lean body mass estimate of 151 lbs puts me in the “light” territory with extra fat.

In reality, I need to gain another 8 lbs or so of muscle mass and also cut another 7 lbs of body fat to hit my “medium” target.

BMI and Why it’s Not Terrible

For years, I ascribed to the dogma that BMI was a terrible tool and we would all be better off if we just stopped using it. In hindsight, knowing what I know now and having done the work to actually get leaner than I used to be, I believe I was wrong. You see, among the points of contention is that BMI is purely a calculation based on height and weight. That means that it does not distinguish between two people of the same height but have very different body compositions.

This discrepancy leads to the natural assumption that the measure is invalid, since a very muscular man with a lot of lean body mass would be “obese” by BMI standards. I bought wholeheartedly into this for a long time.

Here’s the rub: such a case is an extreme outlier. In reality, it’s almost impossible for a normal (non steroid using) man to have that much muscle mass while also keeping a low body fat percentage. Even by my chart here, having a very high amount of lean muscle mass for the “heavy” category and a low body fat percentage puts a man in the “mildly overweight” category. For the medium and light body weights, the BMI is squarely in the healthy bracket.

BMI, when combined with a good body composition estimate, is a valid tool. So, again, don’t delude yourself like I did.

What to Do With This Information

OK, so now what? You’ve looked at this chart, figured out about where you need to be, and you’ve made the decision to go for it.

Awesome.

Inevitably, the first question you’re going to face is whether you should cut fat or try to gain muscle first. There are a few ways to answer this, depending on the scenario you’re in. Pick the one that seems closest to your situation.

The first thing I need you to do is get a tape measure and figure out the circumference of your waist at the height of your belly button. I’ve talked about this measurement before, and it’s a fantastic tool for monitoring your health. Take that waist circumference and divide it by your height to get a waist:height ratio.

Example: a waist is 35″ and height is 72″, so 35 divided by 72 equals 0.48.

Scenario 1: More than 25 lb over the heavy limit, or waist:height ratio greater than 0.49

In this case, you should immediately go to a fat loss phase. You can, and should, follow a strength training program while you do it- but the priority is fat loss. Waist:Height ratios of 0.5 or greater come with a ton of health risks including diabetes, heart disease, cancer, erectile dysfunction, and more. This gets worse and worse, especially as the ratio goes past 0.6. Don’t be here.

If you’ve got a waist:height ratio that’s less than 0.49, but you’re body weight is more than 25 lbs over the “heavy” category, then you’re simply carrying around too much mass. Sure, that could be muscle- but that’s unlikely. The probability is that you’ve got a healthy amount of muscle, but also a bunch of extra fat stored on your body. The suggestion here is the same: begin a fat loss phase.

Scenario 2: Skinny fat and weak

“Skinny Fat” is someone who is not technically overweight, but also isn’t all that strong or muscular. This person has a waist:height ratio less than 0.5, though probably on the higher end (i.e. around 0.48 or 0.49). Though it’s not impossible that they have one down around 0.45, either. They’re typically somewhere within the 20 lb window for their height specified in the table. From the outside, they appear “normal” but not all that athletic.

When they take their shirt off, they look “soft.”

This person should focus on gaining muscle. That means a solid strength and hypertrophy training programs performed consistently for months on end. Cutting fat is not needed here since they don’t need to. Gaining muscle at a faster rate than they gain fat might actually improve their body composition along the way.

Sure, they could cut down to a lower body fat percentage, but without sufficient lean body mass to “reveal” they will end up looking sickly. So I suggest eating at about maintenance calories, or even a slight surplus of 100-200 calories per day. This will support the muscle and strength gains. Just don’t let the nutrition run away and result in a waist:height ratio greater than 0.48 to 0.49.

As for strength goals, the starting place should be the Level 1 strength targets. As a refresher, here’s what they look like:

• Front Squat: 1.25 x bodyweight for 1 rep
• Back Squat: 1.75 x bodyweight for 1 rep
• Barbell Deadlift: 2 x bodyweight for 1 rep
• Barbell Bench Press: 1.25 x bodyweight for 1 rep
• Barbell Incline Press: 0.95 x bodyweight for 1 rep
• Barbell Overhead Press: 0.8 x bodyweight for 1 rep
• Weighted Pull-Up (or Chin Up): Bodyweight + 40% for 1 rep
• Farmer’s carry 0.5 x bodyweight per hand continuously for 25 yards
• Standing broad jump 1.3 x your height

Scenario 3: Strong but soft

This individual has achieved a fair amount of muscle mass and strength, but is also carrying around more fat than necessary. Many “skinny fats” from the second scenario end up here after a while of eating a consistent surplus and letting it run away from them. Alternatively, you might end up here after a longer mass gain period to move up from “light” to “heavy” in the chart.

I expect a man in this scenario to have body fat percentage somewhere in between 16% and 20%, which is still a healthy zone, but they won’t necessarily look athletic with their shirt off. Their fat could also be slowing them down on endurance and conditioning activities. I would not consider anyone to be at this level until they are at least capable of performing most of the Level 1 strength standards at their current body weight.

If a guy hits most of those targets and still thinks they look soft, I suggest doing a hard 3-4 month fat loss phase to drive the body fat percentage into the low teens (i.e. 11% to 14%). This reveals muscle built up and primes the body to do even more. For clarity, hitting these Level 1 numbers does not necessarily mean that an individual will have a lot of muscle mass. It just means they aren’t “weak.” It’s entirely possible to hit these numbers and not look “big,” especially if you’re on the taller side.

There’s always more room for progress.

Situation 4: Healthy but light

In this category, an individual has a good body composition, but they’re not as big and strong as they’d like to be. I’d expect people who’ve been into endurance training for a long time to fit into this category. Men who are just all around smaller in size could be here or in “skinny fat” depending on their actual level of muscle.

You could also end up in this situation if you’re already lean and reasonably strong, but you want to get even stronger. It’s like someone who is already in the light or medium category of the chart deciding they want to move up to the heavy category. This would mean pursuing the Level 2 strength standards and beyond.

What are the Level 2 standards, you ask? I don’t think I’ve ever published them before, so here they are:

• Front Squat: 1.5 x bodyweight for 1 rep
• Back Squat: 2 x bodyweight for 1 rep
• Barbell Deadlift: 2.5 x bodyweight for 1 rep
• Barbell Bench Press: 1.5 x bodyweight for 1 rep
• Barbell Incline Press: 1.15 x bodyweight for 1 rep
• Barbell Overhead Press: 1 x bodyweight for 1 rep
• Weighted Pull-Up (or Chin Up): Bodyweight + 60% for 1 rep
• Farmer’s carry 1 x bodyweight per hand continuously for 25 yards
• Standing broad jump 1.6 x your height

Again, these aren’t powerlifting champion numbers, but they are certainly well beyond “average.” In all cases, the answer is focus on hypertrophy and strength with intentional programming and caloric surplus. Continue on this path until you’ve decided you’re in the “strong but soft” category and then lean back down.

Situation 5: Lean and mean

If you’re here, then it means you’re satisfied with both your level of strength as well as your body composition. You could be anywhere within the window for your height, and you’re at an ideal body composition. Congratulations! You have arrived. You can sustain a general all around strength and conditioning program here and enjoy life.

Of course, it’s probably only a matter of time before you decide that there’ something you want to improve upon. I bet most men end up bouncing around between here, healthy but light, and strong but soft- depending on the time of year.

My Cautionary Example

If you’re like me, then the numbers do two things. At first, they may seem comforting because you’ll see them and think, “Oh, nice, I’m not that far off.” In my case, I was about 15 lbs over the “heavy” category for my height in the chart. Knowing I wasn’t actually carrying around 174 lbs of lean mass (0.88 x 198, assuming a 12% body fat), I thought I could do a cut and get down to the medium category and be good to go.

So I started a fat loss phase. Over the course of 2023, I came down from 215 to 185 lbs. After a short bulk phase, I used spring 2024 to go from 190 to 180.

I was ecstatic to hit that goal, but looking in the mirror made me realize I still have a lot of work to do. The harsh truth is that I was carrying around far more fat than I originally thought, and had far less muscle than I expected. Searching around, this is almost always the case for men who finally commit to getting lean. If you’ve never done it before, then there’s no time like now to get started.

For now, I’m putting myself in the “skinny fat” category. My current waist:height ratio is 0.452 (33″ waist), which is down from 0.53 when I started this path with 39″ waist. I could keep trying to cut more fat down, but the reality is that I simply need more muscle mass. So that’s the goal for the next 6-9 months. Oh, and I was also hitting most of the Level 1 strength standards, to boot.

Use this as a cautionary tale that you may not actually be where you think you are from the numbers alone. You’ll never know until you actually try and make it happen.

Wrapping Up

This one went on a lot longer than I expected it would. Hopefully you found it useful. As always, fitness is a huge component of what we do here, and I don’t want to shy away from difficult subjects The hard truth is that most men need help here, even if we don’t admit it. The first step is acknowledging that you’re not where you want to be, and that it’s within your control to do something about it. The next step is taking decisive action to correct it, and for that you need a target to aim for.

If you didn’t already have one, let this one be your first go.