This is a not-too-serious thread, but is there a better way to estimate this other than "you know it when you see it"? Is it more about strength/size/numbers (stats or LBM to height, or big 3 total vs. bodyweight), or, is it more about the right shoulder-to-waist ratio?

Good question. I think it´s important to separate size from strength. There are some guys who are really strong, but you barely see it and they even look like "DYEL". Those guys don´t care too much about looks and only train for strength. On the other had, there are also some guys who are quite weak in comparison, but have a lower body fat % and are leaner and also have a more "jacked" look.

There is also the difference between a "beach body" guy with quite low body fat and guys who don´t have much definition, but look big in a shirt or clothes in general. The ripped "beach body" guy would look like an average/thin/DYEL guy in comparison, when you put him in clothes.

I think this formula is good: in meters from your height say 180 minus 100=80+10 and if BF same time is lower than 12% and if you do all big compound exercises squats deadlifts chinups dips bench press etc then you should be definitely considered jacked. It can be less but with these stats I think anyone consider you jacked.

There's something called the adonis index that measures idea proportions and stuff.

I've talked to guys who have used it, never done it myself.

http://www.adonisindex.com/

Subjective. Depends who you ask (general population in countries with less gym culture vs general population with prominent gym culture vs bodybuilding.com).

Widespread steroid use raised the bar significantly.

Yeah, agree with subjective. I've had times where people told me I looked "jacked" whereas by the standards of a lot of guys in this forum - and definitely by the standards of a bodybuilding site - I was probably anything but. You can impress the general population pretty easily with a bit of muscle, I've found, especially if you're still pumped from the last gym session. Probably also depends on where you live.

I think when you're noticeably bigger than everyone else you're by default considered jacked by the people that are around you.

I also think it has to do with where you live, if you live in a city known for fitness freaks and healthy addicts then being jacked will take a lot more effort.

Quote: (12-09-2015 10:52 AM)RexImperator Wrote:  

This is a not-too-serious thread, but is there a better way to estimate this other than "you know it when you see it"? Is it more about strength/size/numbers (stats or LBM to height, or big 3 total vs. bodyweight), or, is it more about the right shoulder-to-waist ratio?

Not necessarily about size IMO, more about definition and muscle shape. MMA fighters are jacked yet many are not big. You can have a thick waist and still be jacked, think Terry Crews.

It's always going to be arbitrary. Variation in height means that weight won't be a consistent factor, as does bone structure variation.

As others have said, jacked is also going to vary depending on the company you're in.

It's also a factor of what lifts you prioritise, and how you lift. Someone who does very little leg and midsection training but who trains arms, shoulders, and chest 2x or more per week might look a lot more 'jacked' in jeans and a tshirt than someone who is heavier and a more rounded lifter. How you lift and what you train for will also have an impact. MMA athletes look pretty jacked in the octagon, but for the most part they'd disappear in clothes (not the heavyweights obviously). Everyone looks a lot bigger under good lighting, and being on camera makes people look bigger than they actually are. If you train for performance, you likely have a much blockier mid-section, that again will reduce the illusion of size you get from a narrow waist and wide shoulders.

And again, as has been said, normalisation of steroid use has raised the bar a bit on what is considered big. If you look at the old time physical culturists and strong men, it is rare to see a one who is lean over about 210lbs. Someone like Arthur Saxon or Thomas Inch looks extremely ripped and powerful, but it would be much more common to see that kind of physique today, thought the accompanying strength is unlikely to be anything like so common.

I agree with it being mostly subjective/environment specific. If you're of average height or taller (5ft 10 +) as long as you're in the top 5% physique of guys for your height you'll start to be considered "jacked" (and get laid as a direct result of it) by most people you meet, in my experience.

That top 5% varies wildly though. In an upscale club in Sydney or Miami and you're gonna need to be on steroids, or have done the guts of 10 years of serious training. In somewhere there's no lifting culture like most of Asia you might need to have only lifted properly for a year.

I like Rikardo's definition based on height and bodyfat.
At 180cm and 12% bodyfat:
-50 kg: Auschwitz survivor
-60 kg: very skinny
-70 kg: fit
-80 kg: athletic
-90 kg: jacked
-100 kg: ridiculously jacked
-110 kg: IFBB pro
-120 kg: Mr. Olympia

As H1N1 mentioned, normalisation of steroids has seriously raised the bar as to what is considered big. And so has the obesity epidemic.

I would say that you are jacked if you look like you lift with a sweatshirt on but don't look like a fat ass in a t-shirt either.

If you use this metric it weeds out the fat lifters who look huge in a hoodie and the skinny dudes who only look like they lift in tight t-shirts.

In my opinion being jacked is not necessarily evidence of being strong. Jacked is a combination of muscle size and low body fat.

You're jacked when:

People annoyingly call you "boss" no matter where you go.
Bouncers avoid eye contact when checking your ID
You have to search for flight availability based on which flight has an aisle seat available.
Kids stare at you while walking down the street simultaneously running into things likes poles and parked cars.
Men feel the need to ask you if you're a boxer or fight in MMA.
Doctors and nurses laugh or become very uncomfortable when explaining to you how you scored in the obese section on BMI chart.
Injecting test in your left ass cheek is almost impossible if you're right handed.
When you walk through the club people usually move out of your way and say "Sorry".

But people need to focus on building mass and then cutting down to 8-10%. If you're cut to shreds but no knows it unless you take off your clothes, then that's a waste. If you got mass and you're jacked, people know. You can't hide that.

It's going to depend on body fat and measurements. Not so much actual strength; I have decent strength but no one would consider me to be jacked because of my size.

Quote: (12-11-2015 03:32 PM)Kaebs Wrote:  

It's more relative to seeing bulbousness of muscles versus body type.

I.e. Endo, Meso, or Ectomorph. You can be a large man and not be jacked. You can also be a smaller man and be jacked. Let's face it, shorter mesomorphs blow the fuck up easy, like 1-2 months easy.

Any competing body builder, or regular gym rat will tell you that ectomorphs have to literally put in 2x the effort as guys who are already naturally large by genetic standards.

However, as an ectomorph myself, I can tell you as a fact there are many guys larger than me who I'm substantially stronger than. There's a good handful of guys in the gyms I lift who aren't that far from Arnold's physique who are high-rep low weight mesomorphs who just blow the hell up so easy it's silly. Not to say they aren't strong as well, but it comes much easier to the endo-mesomorphs once they have a muscular base.

I mean dudes who hardly break a sweat. Common is the huge-arms / shoulders guys... they just seem to stack on weight in those areas much easier, thus the auto jacked look. Plus, most guys rock the gym aesthetic clothing, cut off arms, cut off sides tops that make them look like walking billboards of width, with big arms. So many of those fuckers aren't that tough, or strong.. I just laugh at the whole parade.

Quote: (12-10-2015 12:53 PM)General Mayhem Wrote:  

I would say that you are jacked if you look like you lift with a sweatshirt on but don't look like a fat ass in a t-shirt either.

If you use this metric it weeds out the fat lifters who look huge in a hoodie and the skinny dudes who only look like they lift in tight t-shirts.

In my opinion being jacked is not necessarily evidence of being strong. Jacked is a combination of muscle size and low body fat.

I think this is the best way mentioned here of defining it. Not easily measurable but still.

Quote: (12-11-2015 03:32 PM)Kaebs Wrote:  

The only metric to know if you're jacked or not

If you hold out and look straight down your arm you should see that your biceps stick definitely more out than your hand/thumb

Shorts should always be tight on the thighs and easy on the waist

Six pack

And the subjective nature of wherever you live. If you live in Venice Beach, you need to do a shitton more than if you lived in Portland

Quote: (12-18-2015 09:41 AM)Sonoma Wrote:  

Shorts should always be tight on the thighs and easy on the waist

I start to feel this with shorts, but biggest problem is with jeans it's almost impossible to buy any jeans now because always in thighs they are too tight...
My waist size is 34.

Quote: (12-10-2015 01:21 PM)LINUX Wrote:  

You're jacked when:

People annoyingly call you "boss" no matter where you go.
Bouncers avoid eye contact when checking your ID
You have to search for flight availability based on which flight has an aisle seat available.
Kids stare at you while walking down the street simultaneously running into things likes poles and parked cars.
Men feel the need to ask you if you're a boxer or fight in MMA.
Doctors and nurses laugh or become very uncomfortable when explaining to you how you scored in the obese section on BMI chart.
Injecting test in your left ass cheek is almost impossible if you're right handed.
When you walk through the club people usually move out of your way and say "Sorry".

But people need to focus on building mass and then cutting down to 8-10%. If you're cut to shreds but no knows it unless you take off your clothes, then that's a waste. If you got mass and you're jacked, people know. You can't hide that.

Linux how much are you weighing in at? I know you wrote the TRT datasheet and in your old profile pic your back looked huge

In terms of numbers, I think if you are about six feet tall you need to have a bench press at least close to 300 lbs. and not be too fat.

Minimum strength goals should roughly be:

Bench 300
Squat 400
Deadlift 500

Quote: (04-03-2016 10:41 AM)RexImperator Wrote:  

In terms of numbers, I think if you are about six feet tall you need to have a bench press at least close to 300 lbs. and not be too fat.

Minimum strength goals should roughly be:

Bench 300
Squat 400
Deadlift 500

I don't actually think these are good targets for everyone, or even most people. These are powerlifting standards that are appropriate for people who want to look and perform like powerlifters.

I've had my squat and deadlift up to the standard you describe, and I don't look especially jacked. My legs are looking far more impressive from pistols, BSS, one leg deads, timed wall sits etc than they ever did from doing the powerlifts. I actually think, as someone focused on performance and some aesthetics, that the best thing most people could do for getting themselves jacked is to throw out the idea of powerlifting standards. I certainly wish I'd done it and am sure I would look far more jacked if I hadn't been suckered in for such a long time by the internet decree that you have to back squat and deadlift to build a powerful and effective body.

As a consequence of chasing the goals you suggest, I am probably a lot stronger than I look, but I don't look all that jacked. And I would probably be stronger had I done some bodybuilding and built more muscle.

The only numbers that matter are height, weight and body fat %.

We are talking about a visual thing here.