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How To KNOW If You're Building Muscle

4 science-backed methods.

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1: DEXA Scan

What is it?

Bone densitometry, also called dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, DEXA or DXA, uses a very small dose of ionizing radiation to produce pictures of the inside of the body (usually the lower (or lumbar) spine and hips) to measure bone loss. It is commonly used to diagnose osteoporosis

From Radiologyinfo

DEXA scans also measure body fat and lean tissue (muscle mass). DEXA scans have become the gold standard in research for measuring muscle growth since they only have a margin of error of about 4%. DEXA is also relatively cheap to go and get done. I used to have one done for about $20.

2: Hydrostatic Weighing

What is it?

Hydrostatic weighing, also referred to as "underwater weighing", "hydrostatic body composition analysis", and "hydrodensitometry" is a technique for measuring the mass per unit volume of a living person's body. It is a direct application of Archimedes' principle, that an object displaces its own volume of water.

3: Bod Pod

What is it?

An Air Displacement Plethysmograph (ADP) that uses whole body densitometry to determine body composition (fat vs. lean). Similar in principle to underwater weighing, the BOD POD measures body mass (weight) using a very precise scale, and volume by sitting inside the BOD POD.

4: Strength Gain.

If you don’t or can’t have access to any of the above methods, the best thing you can do is keep up with your strength numbers.

Strength and muscle do not have a cause and effect relationship, but they do have a strong correlation. Typically, when strength gains occur, so do muscle gains.

What’s the secret to staying ahead of the curve in the world of AI? Information. Luckily, you can join early adopters reading The Rundown– the free newsletter that makes you smarter on AI with just a 5-minute read per day.