If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
- Weight–207.4(-13.6)
- BF%–27 (-4%)
I met with my personal trainer again on Tuesday. We’re planning on meeting every two weeks until my 6 sessions are up. I’ll keep doing the workout that we do together between meetings and then he’ll throw my body for another loop at the next meeting. This workout was much different than the last one. It was very difficult again, but difficult in a different way. Here’s what we did:
WARMUP: All of these were down and back across the gym floor.
- Buttkickers
- High knees
- Shuffle steps
- High knee skips
- Gorilla Walks
- Karaokes
- Toy Soldiers
WORKOUT: Each of these exercises consisted of 3 sets of 10-12, depending on how many I could do. Again, each set was a strength building exercise followed immediately by a somewhat quicker, more cardiovascular exercise. After each set I was allowed 60 seconds of rest. The exercises we did today were what I would consider more of a “traditional” weight lifting workout. We did a lot more lifting with actual weights; my muscles were worked to failure in most cases. I often needed a spot from my trainer during the last set to help me finish the reps. Here’s what we did.
1a) Squat press (While holding 10 lb. dumbbells, perform squats and military press simultaneously)
1b) Drop squats with each leg (With hands behind your head, put one leg behind and across your body while squatting with your other leg).
2a) Band kicks in push up position (Attach one leg to an anchored resistance band and pull it up to your abdomen while in the push up position, then switch the band and repeat
2b) Lunge & twist in place.
3a)Inverted rows (While hanging from a weight bar, pull yourself up to it keeping your back straight and abs tight)
3b)Weight assisted dips.
4a) Close grip weight assisted pull ups
4b) Chest press on the Hammer Strength machine.
5a) Narrow grip olympic curls
5b) Wide grip olympic curls
5c) Reverse grip hammer curls.
6) 3 sets of 20–Ab machine.
My weight loss has definitely slowed down the last couple of weeks. But I’m totally fine with my progress. I understand that weight loss is only once component of my fitness goals and I feel like I’m making progress (slowly) on all of them.
I’ve also spent a little bit of time doing some work on determining body fat %. There are several methods to accomplish this. For more information then you ever wanted to know about body fat measuring check out new-fitness.com. I have been measured 3 different ways in the last 24 hours, and unfortunately, all 3 measurements varied significantly. My Taylor bathroom scale measured me by electrical impedance at 27%. Then, I had my wife take some measurements of my body and we plugged them in here, and it came out with 22.6%. Finally, my trainer measured me yesterday with skin fold calipers and came up with 25.6%. I’m inclined to believe the trainer, and he’ll keep measuring me every two weeks. But for reporting sake, I’ll be sticking with the numbers on my scale, since that is what I started with.
J.D.
8 responses so far ↓
1 Chad // Feb 6, 2008 at 9:22 am
In my quest to get fit and because I like quantifying things the body fat test has always annoyed me. I hit 24hr fitness and one of the trainers there does the calipers test on me. I try to get the same one to do it every time. (I don’t have training with him, I just explained what I was hoping to do and he has helped me with the weigh ins / calipers) If I don’t get the same guy the results vary greatly. I usually do this once a month. My goal is to exercise and eat right. The quantifying just gives me an extra incentive to do it.
I was pretty impressed when I saw your posts and your body fat percentage was in your weigh ins. I was like wow he is busting out the calipers every week. I think unless you are using one of those submersion tests it is all pretty hocus pocus.
I have taken to just measuring bits. Get your arms and your stomach around the belly button. I haven’t done thigh but it would probably be a good metric as well. Keeping track of that going up on arms and down on belly is nice and good incentive.
2 Anne Keckler // Feb 6, 2008 at 10:31 am
Bioelectical imedance is not always accurate, of course, but it is more so if you always do it at the same time of day, in the same state of hydration, etc. If you are weighing (and checking bodyfat with your scale) first thing in the morning, in the nude, then it should be accurate enough.
Still, I’d rely on the trainer’s numbers more than a bathroom scale, if the trainer really knows what he’s doing and if you always use the same one.
By the way, I don’t think the difference between the 27% from your scale and the 25.6% from your trainer is significant at all. This is well within the normal range of variation.
3 James Lemoine II // Feb 6, 2008 at 12:14 pm
I agree with Anne, the results from the trainer using the caliper are going to be much more accurate, especially if measurements from multiple skinfolds are used.
The bathroom scales are heavily dependant on hydration, are not very accurate, and tend not to go down with weight as you would expect.
Use the caliper for your measuring. If you skinfolds get smaller every week (1/2 mm or something), that means you are losing fat. So it does not matter if the overall percentage is correct, just as long as the fold gets smaller.
4 SJean // Feb 6, 2008 at 4:40 pm
How convenient . I’m a regular reader of GRS and had a question about how you have been measuring body fat. I’m thinking of starting up a fitness program, but I really don’t have any weight to lose, so body fat would be a nice metric to use. I decided to ask over at get fit slowly, and the very top post addressed my question!! I found that I can “get dunked” for about $5o, but I’ll probably just buy a scale… And try to be consistant about time of day, etc. It my not be accurate, but hopefully be precise (I’m a science geek, and theres a subtle difference between the two words)
5 James Lemoine II // Feb 6, 2008 at 7:10 pm
SJean, why are you concerned with body fat if you don’t have any weight to lose? Body fat has weight too..
In my humble opinion, scales are neither accurate or precise. By a cheap caliper instead. Many people I know use this one: http://www.accumeasurefitness.com/products/fitness3000.html and it only costs $20 and is effective enough for most applications. It takes a little practice to get used to it.
6 Brigid // Feb 7, 2008 at 7:50 am
I’ve never worry too much about the number. I use a bodyfat scale and as long as the BF% progresses downward, I’m good.
7 greenman2001 // Feb 9, 2008 at 9:20 am
Geez, if you can spend $50 and find out exactly what your body fat %, I’d do that in a heartbeat. Then do it in a year and see how you’ve progressed.
I’ve always been under the impression that the fastest and most direct way to reduce body fat is through cardio. Can the trainers here comment on that?
8 Preparing for the Coming of Spring // Feb 14, 2008 at 9:57 am
[…] my diet, I haven’t done as well at getting my ass out of the easy chair. I read about Mac’s achievements in the gym, and I’m jealous. I read that Matt has been biking all winter, and I’m jealous. But […]
Leave a Comment