Pinch An Inch!! Or A Millimeter?

After work today, I had my consultation and first personal training session with J.D. from the Coleman Blvd. ESAC. The consultation portion consisted of a discussion about my current diet and fitness regimen along with a body fat analysis. I have been working out pretty hard for over a year and a half now, so I wasn’t too worried. I was curious though, so I welcomed the pinching!

J.D. used the calipers to pinch an inch…ok not really, just some millimeters. He pinched my triceps, suprailiac, and thighs. In case you were wondering, your suprailiac is your GUT (or 1 My least favorite part. Dave, another trainer, entered my measurements into a 3 site skinfold calculator found here. Here are my results:



At home, I used an online body mass index calculator for a third analysis:

Here are the differences between body mass index, body fat (%), and body density.

Body Mass Index : To calculate this, you divide your weight by height squared. This is not a good assessment because it does not take into account body fat vs. lean tissue. Ever heard of a “skinny fat” person? A person can be thin but have little muscle which can be an indicator of overall health.

Body fat (%): This can be measured using the skinfold testing (what I did) or many other options. This measures the difference between body fat and lean mass.

Here are the ranges:

I’m normal! Yay! I also understand that calipers, although one of the most accurate, are not 100%.  

The most important test in my opinion is not based on a # – it is how you feel! These are just guidelines to give an estimate on where you are and can be used to assess improvement. Don’t
get too stressed over a number – it is not worth it!!!

Now for the workout:
Superset 1: Bulgarian split squats (1st set no weights. 2nd and 3rd with 20 lb. barbell with plank cable rows.
Superset 2: Plate raise squats (10 lbs.) coupled with renegade rows (15lb barbells)
I then did 20 minutes of HIIT (high intensity interval training). This was a quick workout, as most of the time was spent on the consultation/body analysis.

What type of assessment do YOU use to measure your overall health? There are so many essential tests that we women should get tested for: cholesterol levels, thyroid levels, blood pressure, mammograms, pap smears! God bless all my friends currently in medical school…

On a much lighter note, tomorrow a bunch of us girls are going to see The Help! Amanda and I are sooooo excited and have been counting down the days for this movie’s release! We really enjoyed the book – check it out.