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Fitness Testing Newsletter: 26 May 2006
WELCOME to another fitness testing newsletter.
In this newsletter:
- Changes to the fitness testing site
- Article: Monitoring Your Fitness Progress
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CHANGES TO THE SITE
As always the Fitness testing website is evolving. Latest additions
are Fitness Testing Equipment Page, Balance Stork Test and
Coordination test.
https://www.topendsports.com/testing/
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Feature Article
Monitoring Your Fitness Progress: Don't Guess- Measure!
by: Anthony Ellis
Mass Gaining program is incomplete without the timely measurements
to monitor Your Progress. The only way to know if your mass or fat
loss program is successful is by monitoring your measurements,
weight and body fat levels.
'One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions.' -
Admiral Grace Hopper, U.S. Navy
Depending on the program, I recommend that everyone take their body
fat levels every 1-2 weeks.
There's a lot that these readings reveal to a trained eye! For
example, I was recently on a fat loss diet, and I did not lose any
weight for three weeks. At first I thought that I needed to drop my
calories further because the current levels were not working for me.
I did not want to do this because as a hard-gainer, dropping my
calories too low can result in too much muscle loss. So, before I
committed to a more drastic diet, I checked my body fat records.
Was I in for a shock! According to my body fat calculations I was
actually getting leaner. Even though my weight did not change during
that three-week period, my body fat levels went down 3%! Since I did
not lose any weight during that time, the fat must have been
replaced by muscle (an added benefit, but this does not happen most
of the time). I would have never known this by simply looking in the
mirror.
Another example is last year when I was on a mass cycle. I was
eating a tremendous amount of calories and gaining weight like
crazy. I stopped the diet once I began to notice that my fat gains
were larger than my muscle gains. I would never have noticed this if
I had not closely monitored my body fat levels.
I expect to gain some fat on a mass diet, but I always want to gain
more muscle than fat. If I had not kept track of my body fat levels,
I would have gained too much fat.
TRACKING RESULTS
There are many methods of measuring your body fat and some are quite
expensive. While many consider underwater weighing to be the most
accurate, no method is 100% precise -- they all have some margin of
error. It's not important to know the exact number -- what's
important is to use the same method each time you take your
measurements so you can have a consistent record of your progress. I
just use an inexpensive skinfold caliper. They cost anywhere from
$29-$80 and are simple to use.
A good caliper is essential. Without it, you won't know how exactly
your body is responding to your diet and training routine. You may
also want to consider using a tracking software like The Composition
Tracker at http://www.comptracker.com ... It will help you analyze
your data and tell you if you are actually building more muscle and
losing more fat!
Just looking in the mirror and guessing is not acceptable!
If you want to start getting great results, you must develop the
habit of accurately tracking your progress. If you don't, you will
continue to go in circles. This may seem like a 'hassle', but
nothing worth having is ever easy to attain.
About The Author
Former "skinny guy" Anthony Ellis is the author of Gaining Mass! The
most widely used weight gain program in the world. This unique
program designed to help people gain weight and build muscle, is
currently being used in over 90 countries.
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Thank you for your support of my site.
Rob Wood
Rob's Home of Fitness Testing
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