Your Personal Profile-BODY FAT

Its important to know your personal profile before embarking on an exercise programme of any kind. This allows you to compare what you were like before you started and when you finished. From data collected at the beginning this then allows you to see if you have progressed or if no changes have occured.

Part of my own own goal is to lose excess body fat. Relating to this i have chosen to use the following three methods:

1. Body Mass Index (BMI)
2. Weighing Scales
3. Fat Calipers

1. BMI  is a measure of body fat based on your height and weight. It uses a simple formula:
weight/height2. So you take your height in meters then times it by itself then take your weight in kilograms and divide that by the figure you got for your height. A useful website that can do the calculations for you is shown below.
http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/bmi-m.htm
Once you get the figure you compare it to the table and walla you have an estimate to how obese or underweight you are. Be aware though that this method can sometimes give you a false reading. For example if you are very lean and have much muscle mass by doing this method it can show you are obese, this is down to muscle weighing more than body fat.

2.Weighing Scales are great for a quick analysis of your weight. Just remember that its total weight you are measuring with no distinctinon between body fat and muscle. This means that if i was to weigh myself now and say i weigh 12 stone then after 6 weeks of weight training i weigh myself again and im 12 stone 4lb then i have either put on muscle mass or iv put on fat mass, the problem with weighing scales is that it doesnt distinguish between the two. Just looking at yourself in the mirror can tell you how you have improved or not so dont be scared to get naked and scrutinize yourself to see how your body is changing.

3. Fat Calipers are a way to find out just how much fat your body has by measuring the subcutaneus adipose tissue (fat underneath your skin), this is done by skinfold measurements around certain spots of the body then applying the relevant calculation to see what percentage is given. A good method of finding out fat percentage just as long as you measure the same places everytime you do it. A good website showing what i have just descibed is http://www.muscleandstrength.com/tools/how-to-measure-bodyfat-using-calipers.html.

My statistics:
ok i have just done all three and this is how i look

1. My BMI is 21.9 which shows me as Normal.
2. My weight is 75.9kg
3. My fat personage using the skinfold sum of 4 parts as shown on the website is 17.5% which is normal for my age and height (although looking in the mirror i feel i can afford to get that much lower).

I know from experience that my ideal fat percentage for my age should be around the 14% figure so this is what i shall aim for. I shall measure myself again in 6 weeks time to see if there is any improvement or not ( a tough order since dominoes has an offer on at the moment ;) )

I shall speak more about how i plan to lose fat in a later post.

So anyhow give the BMI a try and see what that shows, have a look in the mirror and ask yourself if you are happy with what you see. If you are happy then thats great but if not then either take a picture (perhaps not fully naked depending who will see it) or make a mental note then check yourself again in 6 weeks after you have done your exercises, hopefully we both will see some changes in ourselves. Dont worry if you dont have the calipers, i recommend them as a good investment but the other methods described will do for now and give you something to work to.

If you are a member of a gym then their personal trainers will be able to take these measurements for you aswell as using other methods to find out muscle mass and visceral (fat around the organs).This will give you a more in depth picture of where you are at right now.