Bodyweight: Should you be tracking it?

Whilst it is the most common metric to track (because it’s the easiest to measure and has been the main measurement people have always tracked historically), tracking body weight can be a double-edged sword.

Most people associate weight with fat, but in reality, fat is only a small part of what you’re weighing on the scales - muscle, fluids, bone, organs, even your dinner are also going to affect your “weight”.

What most people who want to lose weight actually want is fat loss, not weight loss (the two don’t necessarily have to come together).

The confusion around bodyweight can cause as much of a hinderance as a help.

Would I recommend tracking weight if your goal is fat loss?

It depends...

If you’re fully aware of what weight really means, and can check it, then forget it, then yes, it would be helpful to track it and keep an eye on your progress to see if what you’re doing is working or not.

But if you’re the type of person to get hung up on it, and stress about it if it’s not doing what you want (even through that my not mean what you think it means), then definitely no.

Also, daily weight changes can be huge (a couple of kilos up or down are quite normal), and you need to be aware that you simply can’t gain or lose weight from fat or muscle that quickly! Use some common sense.

Unless you’re swimming the channel or doing something of equal challenge, you’re unlikely to lose a measurable amount of weight from either fat or muscle in a day. Likewise, unless you gorge on 20,000 calories, you’re unlikely to gain much either. So, your pound or two weight fluctuation from one day to the next is almost certainly going to be down to, predominantly, hydration levels.

If you are tracking your weight, my advice would be to measure it daily, at the same time, under the same conditions (upon waking, after using the toilet will be the most consistent).

[If you don’t believe how important this simple tip is, weigh yourself first thing in the morning, as soon as you get up, then weigh yourself again that same evening and see how different the measurement is!]

Then take an average at the end of each week (add up all the weights then divide by 7). This will be a far more accurate way to track your weight that will even out the ups and downs from hydration levels etc. You can then compare your weight week to week to see if you’re making progress or not.

Women should also be aware (and I know you all are) that weight can vary dramatically over the course of the month. This is again due to hormones and fluids, NOT a sudden 5lb fat gain overnight!

You’ll have to compare each week/phase with the same week/phase next month to get a more accurate measure of progress. This may seem like too much, but your goal should be long-term, so you have the time to do this, and if you’ve chosen to use bodyweight as your main measurement, this is worth doing to get a real idea of your progress.

Week to week would not be a fair comparison for these reasons.

So, whilst it can be useful, it’s up to you whether you choose to use weight as a measure of progress. Just remember, if you LOOK better, FEEL better, and are STRONGER and FITTER - does weight really matter?

Obviously, the more metrics you can use to monitor your progress, the better idea you’ll have of whether what you’re doing is working or not. Personally (and with my clients), I track bodyweight (as described here), measurements (neck, chest, waist, hips, thighs as standard, possibly also shoulders, arms and calves), bodyfat % (as accurately as possible, usually using the naval method as well as bioelectrical impedance readings), and progress photos.

These, along with training records (have weights increased? Fitness levels increased? Recovery times improved?) give me a very clear understanding of how the program is working.

Track as many variables as you reasonably can and use these to monitor your progress, and don’t panic over a pound or two here and there unless it’s consistently going in the wrong direction!

Get in touch if you need more help :)

www.MarkOneFitness.co.uk

Barefoot Running

I've just come across this great video.

It shows the basics of barefoot running without too much detail, but a few pointers of how you can get started making the transition.



Give a few of the drills a try and see how you get on.

If you can master these basics, you should begin to find your running more efficient, less effort, smoother, and you'll get less injuries.

But do as he says - ease yourself into it! The muscles in your feet are likely weak and won't be used to working so hard, so build them up slowly.

(As a side note - I personally prefer the Vibram FiveFingers shoes, but the Terra Plana are also great)

:-)

Crunches Cause Back Pain

I remember back at school we often did “fitness tests”. Even studying Sports Science at uni we went through these so-called fitness tests, and again on my Personal Training course.

The bleep test
Sit and Reach test (for flexibility)
The sit-up test etc.

These are all tests that have been used for years – but how effective are they?

The bleep test works. It’s a great way to test your general fitness level, and the key is in re-testing, NOT in the level you reach when you do it. (There are other considerations to bear in mind, but if all things remain unchanged, the re-test will show fairly accurately any gains or losses in fitness levels).

Sit and reach is pretty useless. It doesn’t show where your flexibility/inflexibility is coming from, since it is a whole body test.

And as for the sit-up/crunch test, that’s the reason for this post.

The rectus abdominus (the “abs” or 6-pack muscle) is a superficial muscle. Meaning, while it looks very nice, it doesn’t do much to support your body functionally. It won’t go far in helping with your stability, strength, or anything else... it will however help give you awful posture and back pain if overtrained.

Due to the attachments of the muscle in the body, if you do 100’s of sit-ups/crunches, it will pull your chest downwards towards your stomach, rounding your back and producing awful, and unattractive, postural distortions. As well as rounded shoulders and tight hip flexors (which are a problem many people face these days anyway, without these awful exercises reinforcing the posture!).

Obviously, as well as looking awful, this poor posture can cause all sorts of problems, predominantly in the shoulders, neck and back. Joints out of alignment will cause pain, stiffen up/lose mobility, and cause muscle imbalances which can lead to injury.

With back pain being as common as it now is, and all the hype about “core” training, more and more people are turning to these exercises in order to work their core. As well as the belief that thousands of sit-ups will help lose the belly (which obviously we know it won’t).

Well it’s not working. As I said earlier – the rectus abdominus is a superficial muscle, meaning it doesn’t work to stabilise and support the spine. In fact, it works to flex the spine. That means it’s actually going to make things WORSE, by exacerbating the problem. Plus, all the time you spend working your abs, you’re NOT spending doing the exercises that WILL help!

In order to reduce back pain, and pain in any other areas, you need to work on balancing the muscles across your body and re-aligning the joints.

If you want to work your “core”, you need to focus on exercises that will strengthen the deeper muscles of your trunk, such as the Transverse Abdominus and Obliques.

Planks, side planks, and side raises are good exercises for this, but sticking to large, full-body movements will make sure you’re activating your core in a functional way, instead of isolating the movements.

In short, you don’t need to specifically work on your core. If you’re using good exercise selection, your core will be working the whole time. (And as for losing the belly, it’s these large movements that are going to burn the calories, not small, isolated movements like crunches or bicep curls.)

Crunches will lead to imbalances, poor posture, back pain, and potential injury. You might have a nice looking 6-pack, but it won’t look good on a hunch-back who looks like they’re in pain!

For more ideas on exercises you can do that will work your “core” without causing back problems and muscle imbalance, check out my youtube channel www.youtube.com/markonefitness

Mark