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The Degree #GetMoving Challenge Week 2 — MAX OUT Your Body With Explosive Lunges, Push Ups, & Squats*This article originally appeared in Men's Health and was adapted for Lean It UP. [A]aaaaaaaaaaaand we're off. After a relatively simple week one—walk 12,500 steps/day—the Degree... -
[WOTM, 07/2015] SHRED UP Your Body Outdoors With The Bodyweight Hyperburner Workout Circuit[G]ET OUTSIDE. We adore the gym and love crushing weights just as much as anyone. It's basically a second home. But let's get serious for a second — it's July and it's GORGEOUS outside.... -
Washington Nationals' OF Bryce Harper Is Straight SHREDDED In ESPN's 2015 Body IssueImage: ESPN “You’re growing up and you go, ‘I want to be on the front of a Wheaties box, I want to be on the front of a Topps card, you want to be on the Body Issue” —... -
The Workout Music Friday Five-Pack, V28 — Flo Rida, Drake, Afrojack, & Dillon Francis[G]et amped. Every Friday we're dropping a five-pack of heart-thumping, blood-pumping workout songs to build out your playlist, hardwire a little energy into your workouts, and kickstart the... -
Shape Up This Summer With Chris Powell & The 6-Week Degree #GetMoving Challenge[G]et moving. We're PUMPED to announce that we've partnered with Degree, Men's Health, and Women's Health on a summer rendezvous to CRUSH a series of fitness challenges hosted by all-world... -
How Can I Get A Six Pack? 5 BIG Reasons Why Your Abs Aren't Growing[A]fter 1000's of crunches and seven brutally intense ab workouts per week, you'd think that it would all add up to that one coveted, magic number — 6. It's sad and discouraging when someone... -
ATTENTION: 14 Brands Of Bottled Water Recalled Due To E. Coli Contamination [NEWS][C]heck yourself before you wreck yourself. In this case, it relates to the bottled water you're more-than-likely buying from major retailers nationwide. This week Niagara Bottling issued a... -
Tweak The Way You Train — 5 Weight-Lifting Set Variations To Crank Up Fat Burn & Stimulate New Muscle Growth[C]hances are that standard sets are the de facto, predominant way you lift weights. That is, let's say, doing 3 sets of 12 reps with 60s rest in between each exercise, into oblivion. They're... -
The 16 Best Shoulder Exercises To Destroy Your Delts And Carve Out Major Definition[S]alivating over a pair of defined, striated, cannonball shoulders? Stay hungry. We've got an arsenal of powerful tools to destroy your delts and carve out stunning definition — a whopping... -
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[WOTM, 06/2015] Dominate Fat And Slap On Muscle Mass With The 4-Day Juggernaut Workout Program[W]elcome to the JUGGERNAUT. Focus, fuel up, and hit the gym with a killer instinct, June's WOTM is an absolute MONSTER. You'll need as much energy, motivation, and drive as you can whip up... -
6 No Sweat Grooming Essentials For The Modern Workout Warrior, Jetsetter, And Urban Gentleman*This article was originally published in Men's Health. It was adapted for Lean It UP. [G]et you sh*t together. Whether you're rifling back to work after a killer lunchtime workout,...
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Step Off The Scale — Use Smarter Data To Better Track Fat Loss, Muscle Gain And Body Composition
Most of the time people go on diets to lose weight. There are two problems with that sentence:
- Firstly, the word “diet” implies that any changes are temporary. That’s a setup for yo-yo dieting (i.e. up-and-down inconsistent dieting) and zero long-term progress.
- Second, losing “weight” looks at the approach all wrong. The measurement of body weight, although easy to track on a scale, doesn’t say much of anything about body composition — the relative ratio of fat mass to muscle mass. The two guys above (theoretically) weigh the same, yet have drastically different fat-to-muscle ratios.
I’ve helped many people work towards goals of body recomposition, and normally when I ask what their goal is, the response I get is “lose X pounds”. Usually after some discussion, I come to find out that their goal is actually to look good naked. Yes, I recognize that this is a subjective goal, but the emphasis is on how you look — not the number on the scale.
To that point, it is not uncommon for body weight to fluctuate by as much as 3-4 pounds over the course of a few days. Does this weight change reflect actual muscle or fat changes?
No — short-term weight change almost always reflects a shift in body water (i.e. water weight). For example: increased salt (sodium) intake will cause water retention, which will show up on the scale as “weight” gain. That’s not permanent fat gain; it’s simply the product of increased water weight.
Scale numbers can be deceiving. Here are a few ways to track your progress in a smarter way.
Step Off The Scale — Here’s How You SHOULD Gauge Your Progress
If you’re embarking on a lifestyle change that involves fitness and/or nutritional changes, what should you be measuring?
The most useful — and smartest — metrics are body fat percentage (BF%) and body part-specific measurements (aka muscle circumference). You can easily track your body fat at home with a caliper, available online for under $10. Although using a body fat caliper to measure skin folds may not be the most accurate method to measure body fat, the fact that you will be measuring the same way every time means that any personal change you see will be real. Similarly, for beginner’s — although it’s less accurate than calipers — an electronic fat loss monitor (we like Omron) is a dead-simple way to get a ballpark reading on body fat; minus some of the human error caused by calipers.
Remember: the goal is not a specific body fat %. It’s your personal change in body fat over time. That’s progress.
Measuring the circumference of specific body parts (e.g. biceps, waist, thighs) is also quite simple with the help of flexible tape. Again, consistency is key — measure in the same place every time and under the same conditions. Obviously you’ll get different measurements in your arm if you measure once before a biceps workout and again directly after; the additional blood flow from the workout will exaggerate the size of your arm, skewing the measurement.
Finally, make sure to have a place where you can compare the data. An old school notebook, spreadsheet, an app — it doesn’t matter as long as you have a place where you can look at all the numbers. The numbers from one week are meaningless without the other weeks for comparison.
On a more basic level, it’s also useful to take progress photos. Because you see yourself everyday it can be hard to notice small changes. However, if you can look at a picture from last month, 3 months ago, or even the year before, it is much easier to see the impact of small changes. Having a visual representation of your progress to supplement the quantitative variables can be a source of continued motivation.
For progress photos, try to take them wearing the same thing (probably underwear), in the same lighting, and under the same conditions (ie. first thing in the morning before eating).
Wrapping It All Up
So, how often should you measure all of this stuff? Not all that often.
Fortunately, it’s not beneficial to take measurements too frequently. Body recomposition doesn’t happen overnight — measuring body fat percentage, body part circumference, and taking progress photos bi-weekly should be sufficient to see tangible change.
Use positive changes to motivate you, and if you’re not happy with your progress, use it as a push to change your routine (or diet). Good luck!
Joshua Nackenson
His primary athletic focus is powerlifting, where he competes in the 165lb and 181lb weight classes. In between powerlifting training and competitions, he stays fit by competing in local 5ks and Tough Mudder events.
Latest posts by Joshua Nackenson (see all)
- Resolution Better — 5 Tips For Making Successful New Year’s Resolutions In 2015 - January 5, 2015
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- Not Growing? Stop Killing Your Training With These 5 Beginner’s Lifting Mistakes - September 25, 2014
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