A method and system of predicting a muscle characteristic using ultrasound. The characteristic may include a tenderness characteristic and/or a strength characteristic. An analysis of muscle structure is performed for a sample using ultrasound data of the sample. The analysis may include determining a relative number of bundles, fascicles, sarcomeres, fibers, and/or sheath thickness from the ultrasound data. Thereafter, the muscle characteristic is predicted for the sample based on the analysis.