Last week we launched a full-scale assault on a certain instrument of measurement many hold so dear. They can be found on bathroom floors everywhere, and each morning represent the source of anguish and despair for countless people around the world. We’re talking about the dreaded weighing scales and those terrifying numbers they throw back at us when we stand on them.
If you are unhappy with your hips, butt or thighs, measure these areas when you start your exercise regimen, and repeat every two weeks- Matthew Muscat Inglott
So why the assault? The problem with overall weight readings is that they fail to give us the full picture. Your body is made of various physical elements including muscles, internal organs, bones and fluid that all contribute towards overall weight. If fat is the only physical element we really want to lose, then once we are within a healthy weight range according to National guidelines, overall weight simply isn’t the best indicator of progress.
Body composition becomes the key concept here, or specifically, muscle-to-fat ratio. The basic recipe for success is this: more muscle, less fat.
Another problem with weight is that it can fluctuate up to a couple of kilos on a daily basis for no reason other than hydration levels. If you haven’t drunk much over the last couple of days you will be dehydrated, and this will reflect in your weight reading despite the fact there has been no permanent change in fat levels or indeed any other type of body tissue.
Once you’re in that healthy weight range, it’s time to explore alternative methods of gauging progress that take into account body composition and are not dramatically affected by hydration. Last week I suggested the inch tape, but we only briefly touched on this method. Based on feedback from a valued reader, it would seem the case is not quite closed on the validity of the inch tape.
How can the inch tape measure up where the weighing scales fail? Since fat is stored predominantly beneath the skin, it will affect the girth of various parts of our body and can therefore be an excellent indicator of losses or gains in fat storage.
I mentioned the waist last week, because if we could only measure one part of the body, this area would probably tell us the most. Barring any medical conditions, the waist will not grow for any reason other than an increase in fat. Conversely, it will not shrink for any reason other than fat loss. If our goal is to lose fat, measuring the waist therefore is an excellent measure of our progress.
To measure your waist, stand directly in front of a mirror and identify the narrowest part of your lower torso. This point will normally occur around navel height. To avoid inconsistent readings, pay extra care to measure exactly the same point each time.
If your overall weight is staying the same or even increasing despite your continuing best efforts in the gym to shift fat, chances are you are getting quite frustrated. This is understandable, but don’t write yourself off too soon.
You might actually be making good progress without even knowing it. This situation is actually far more common than you might think. A shrinking waist in this case is a surefire indication you are indeed losing fat and in fact making excellent progress.
Muscle is heavier than fat, so if your training is resulting in an increase in muscle mass and a decrease in fat, your overall weight won’t tell us, but your waist measurement will. We need not stop at the waist however, let’s go a step further. There are other highly revealing parts of the body that can help us estimate progress.
If you are a male wishing to gain muscle in your upper body, then the circumferences of your chest and upper arm can prove invaluable. If your waist measurement remains the same, then we know you haven’t put on fat, so if your arms are getting bigger, it is a fair assumption the increase in size is new muscle. The upper torso circumference surrounding the chest and back also indicates increases and decreases in muscle mass when combined with your waist measurement.
If you are a female hoping to tackle certain problem areas in your figure then measuring these areas specifically will also in turn be far more valuable than overall weight readings. If you are unhappy with your hips, butt or thighs, measure these areas when you start your exercise regimen, and repeat every two weeks. For as long as they are getting smaller, then you know you are on the right track, whatever the scales might say.
To measure your hips, pick the widest horizontal point of the hip area as seen from the front. If this occurs at a point below the buttocks, then pick a point slightly higher so that the tape surrounds the buttocks too, and ensure you stick to the same point each and every time.
When taking any measurement, hold the tape snug against your skin, but don’t pull it. It will be impossible to replicate the exact same pressure you applied on the tape each time you take a reading. When measuring an arm or leg, always take your reading on the same side of the body.
It is entirely normal for the circumference measurements of limbs on opposing sides of your body to be slightly different. If you take a reading two weeks apart only to find some strange discrepancy that makes no sense, then you might actually be measuring the wrong side.
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