Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Streamlining ..and daily ramble

Bodyfat readings when done by skinfold calipers can be inaccurate due to factors such as measurement technique, start bodyfat, hydration levels etc. Not a good tool as a stand alone measurement.

Inaccuracies in measurement skew "results" ie how much muscle you can TRULY gain in a certain amount of time. I feel this has led to all sorts of misconceptions about expectations of muscle growth.

Take home message is that using a combination of different measurement methods yields the best picture of whether you are making changes or not. Don't forget the best piece of equipment - your camera - photographs never lie.

Got up early and went for a walk this morning - every time I go for a walk I'm reminded of my time in Woop Woop where I'd get up in the freezing cold and dark and go for a walk every single morning - there were never any people around and only lots of miners finishing off the night shift whizzing by. I found going for a walk rather therapeutic as it allowed me to just think or listen to music and basically just retreat into my own world for an hour. Every location that I walk in is different and holds different memories for me.

Time to get ready for the day ahead - I'm meeting Shelley and we're doing a little bit of training together - should be fun!

3 comments:

Flea said...

Gotcha this time better. Maybe I read it to late or fast. So only one more question, if I feel like I lost body fat but the scales still say the same, some days even 1kg more, does that mean I am retaining water (maybe close to PMS time) rather than lost 2kg in fat and gained 2kg in muscle. Do I undertand correct that muscle gain, in esp women, can only be in terms of grams rather then kilos?
And .. does muscle gain also rather mean increasing density rather than bulk?

THANKS Liz, I appreciate the learning.

Tracey said...

That's exactly the reason I love going walking Liz, great time to just either think about things or think about nothing and just enjoy the feeling of the earth and my feet.

xxTracey

Krista Schaus - Lean Eating Coach said...

Agree 100% Liz! I call it the Tinkerbell Assessment tool. She was always checking herself out in the mirror. The mirror does not lie nor does photos.

I just got my hands on a ultrasound skinfold measuring device, so accuracy has improved with this method BUT there comes a time in a physique athletes contest preps where the numbers don't matter... no one comes up and does a skinfold on your suprailliac when you are on stage. Thanks for this important reminder!

K