It’s Not Just About the Scale: 3 Critical Fitness Benchmarks

The 3 Most Important Fitness Benchmarks You Should Be Monitoring

In the world of fitness, as we mentioned before, data is critical. If we cannot quantify progress, results and goals will not be achieved. For FE clients, our 8-10 week reassessments are key to our process. It tracks progress, but is also a great way to evaluate clients, coaches, and training programs.

Not just the number of the scale

Gone are the days of just jumping on the scale to monitor fitness goals and progress. There are too many factors that go into tracking fitness than just weight. Many of our clients’ goals are aligned with quality of life and longevity. So, our 3 pillars of training: strength, stability, and mobility are key factors of program development.

If we are talking about biometric data, our InBody Scans give us far more insight than just looking at body weight. Here are my Top 3 Biometric Benchmarks that you should be looking at:

Skeletal Muscle Mass

We hear it all the time. Clients say, “I want to get leaner.” When clients say this, what they really mean is I want to build skeletal muscle mass. There is a big difference between lean mass and skeletal muscle mass. When the term “lean mass” is used, it is referring to fat free mass. Lean body mass is composed of organs, skin, bones, total body water, and muscle. Because lean body mass comprises so many things, any change in weight of these areas can be recorded as changes in lean body mass. Keep in mind, the weight of your organs will not change much. Bone density is important, especially with individuals with osteopenia or osteoporosis, but over time, it will not significantly affect lean body mass. So, the two major focus points of lean body mass is water and muscle.

When people say I want to be leaner, it probably doesn’t mean I want to gain water weight. So, the big factor in getting leaner is increasing skeletal muscle mass. Of the 3 major muscle types – cardiac, smooth, and skeletal, skeletal muscle mass is the only type of muscle that you can actively grow and develop through proper exercise and nutrition.

Fat Mass

There can be another factor in getting leaner other than increasing skeletal muscle mass. That is decreasing fat mass. Fat mass refers to the total amount of body fat, including both essential and storage fat. Essential fat is necessary for bodily functions like protecting organs and regulating body temperature. It is found in areas like the brain, heart, and bone marrow. Storage fat is accumulated in adipose tissue and provides stored energy. Excessive storage fat, though, can contribute to obesity, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and other diseases and health issues. Therefore, maintaining a healthy balance of fat mas through proper training and nutrition is crucial.

Visceral Fat

Not all fat is equal. As we mentioned there are 2 main kinds of fat (essential and storage). An excess of storage fat can lead to some major health problems. This excess storage fat can lead to an increase in visceral fat. Visceral fat is the excess fat that develops over time around the center of the body. Abdominal obesity surrounds your liver, intestines, stomach, and other internal organs.

Thus, it can affect the function of these important organs and greatly affect your overall health. And again, proper training and nutrition are the key to avoiding excess visceral fat.

We have come along way in the fitness industry. Gone are the days of monitoring your progress by stepping on that bathroom scale and seeing where the needle lands. There is a greater access to devices that monitor your overall body composition. Here at FE, we are fortunate to have the InBody 570 to properly track our biometrics. Our clients’ success is more than just tracking weight loss or weight gain. The kind of weight loss or gain is what counts for overall quality and longevity of life.

Need help with knowing your key biometric numbers? We are here to help.

And remember…GIVE YOUR BODY WHAT IT NEEDS WHEN IT NEEDS IT.

Tony Muyco III, CSCS, PPSC, PPSC*KB, CFSC

Functional Elements Training and Nutrition
TRAIN FOR LIFE
(c) 314.518.4875

functionalelements@gmail.com
www.functionalelements.net

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