What is BMI or Body Mass Index?

When you start diving into the world of fitness, chances are that you’ll stumble with some unfamiliar terms.  One of them is the BMI.

BMI stands for Body Mass Index and is a measure of the amount of fat you have in your body determined by your weight and height (it also depends on your sex). Knowing your BMI is essential if you are planning to do some serious stomach exercises.

The BMI was invented a long time ago, between 1830 and 1850 by a belgian polymath, Adolphe Quetelet. It is calculated dividing the body weight by the square of your height.  However you can lower your calculators, thanks to the Internet we have plenty of online BMI calculators that work great.

One of them is the BMI Calculator of the NHLB (National Heart Lung and Blood) Site.  It is pretty simple, you just put your weight and height and just calculate.  It also has an option to put your data using the metrics system (very convenient for people like me!).  The resulting number will determine how good are you:

• Underweight = <18.5
• Normal weight = 18.5-24.9
• Overweight = 25-29.9
• Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

As you work on your cardio and abs exercises you should see your BMI lowering, that is a great indicator you are doing some progress.  If you find yourself in the obesity or near the obesity numbers, don’t be sad.  Instead start working today on a great fat reducing workout.

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