FITNESS

Calculating Body Fat Percentages

There are so any ways for you to determine your health level. While BMI (Body Mass Index) is the new way of determining if you are at a healthy weight, it doesn’t account for what percentage of that weight that is made up of fat or muscle. A body fat percentage test can tell you almost exactly how much of your body is made up of fat, making it easier to determine your health level but also to track your progress in a fitness or training routine. By tracking your body fat percentage you can ensure that the weight you are losing is fat and not muscle, as well as reassure yourself that progress is being made on the weeks where the scale doesn’t budge.
 
There are several ways of analyzing your body fat percentage. There are online tools that use measurements and weight to estimate your body fat, like this one from University Healthcare. More reliable, however, are body fat calipers that perform what is known as a “pinch test” to evaluate your body fat percentage. Of course, if you want to get pinpoint accuracy, you can go to a weight loss clinic and have your body submersed in water for an extremely accurate reading.

Analyzing your body fat percentage is a very good way of determining your physical fitness. Obviously 200 pounds on a man with 30% body fat will look very different than 200 pounds on a man with only 11% body fat.

 

So, what is considered healthy body fat percentage?
Although the answer to that differs slightly depending on where you look, this simple chart will give you a good indication of if your body fat percentage falls within a healthy range:

Women
Essential: 10-12%
Althletic: 14-20%
Fit: 21-24%
Acceptable: 25-31%:
Obese: More than 32%

Men
Essential: 2-4%
Althletic: 6-13%
Fit: 14-17%
Acceptable: 18-25%
Obese: More than 25%

 

The human body needs fat to function. Too little fat and your organs will not work properly. This “essential” amount of fat is the minimum your body needs to work. The female body needs slightly higher body fat percentage than the male due to the reproductive organs. While you may strive to get within the “athletic” range, know that as long as you are consistently improving your fitness level and your health, that your body will follow suit.

Check out this accurate body fat caliper for at-home body fat testing and a good progress management tool.

 

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BMI Calculators: Worth all the Hype?

How to measure health has always been an issue. From height and weight charts to body fat percentages, the world has evolved through several methods of determining the obesity levels of its occupants. Body Mass Index first came on the scene in the 1980s and gained popularity in the late 1990′s when the government gained attention by lowering what was considered a “healthy” BMI.BMI calculators apply a mathematical formula to a person’s weight and height to determine their body composition. BMI calculators like this one from the National Institute of Health will take your height and weight to compute your BMI.
 
So, what is a healthy BMI?

• Underweight = <18.5
• Normal weight = 18.5-24.9
• Overweight = 25-29.9
• Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

While it is said that BMI calculators are more reliable that old height and weight charts, BMI still doesn’t account for what percentage of the body is made up of muscle or fat. Because the BMI calculators only take height and weight into consideration, a sedentary man with a body fat percentage of 25% who is 6 feet tall and weighs 225 pounds will have the same BMI as an athletic man who weighs the same amount.

Because of the shortcomings of the BMI calculators, it is suggested that you and your doctor use BMI as only one indicator of your health and fitness levels. Things like body fat percentage and waist to hip ratios are other good indicators of your level of fitness and health risks.

 

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Core Training

A fitness buzz term, core training has become the latest must- do addition in everyone’s workout. Unlike other trends, however, core training should not be considered a fad or fleeting phase. Training your core can increase muscle growth, improve posture, increase athletic performance, prevent injury, and even help reduce back pain. Benefits of core training are far reaching and well known.
 
What is your Core?
 
The muscles that make up the core are those that hold you upright. They are all of the muscles around your torso that are responsible for your stability. While some experts include different muscles in what they believe make up your core, it can consist of everything from your abdominal muscles, to your back, hips, and even your gluteus maximus (rear end). These muscles make up the strength powerhouse of your midsection.
 
Your core muscles do more than hold you upright, they also protect your important organs and bones. Muscles in your core cushion your spine and provide a strong base of support for the rest on your body. Core training then, not only protects your body but also strengthens your poise and gives you a greater power base for using your extremities.

Although new to the mainstream fitness world, athletes have been using core training to improve performance for years. Having a strong core can make you stronger in all-brute sports like football, and can greatly improve your balance and stability on your feet for sports like gymnastics and even basketball. Track stars use their core on their strong push offs, and for the balance and cushioning that strong core muscles provide.

 

How do I incorporate core training into my fitness routine?

Many good core training exercises are probably already a part of your exercise routine. Things like push-ups that require full body stability, and sit ups that work individual core muscles, are good examples of core exercises you are probably already using.

However, for a greater core workout, there are alternatives that allow you to complete an entire fitness routine for the core, greatly increasing core strength and bringing all the benefits that go with that. For instance, Core Synergistics, included as part of the P90X series dedicates a whole workout to strengthening the core through a combination of cardio, resistance, and stretching moves.

 

Core training is an indispensible piece to a high quality fitness program. Core training is definitely worth the buzz it has been getting and is a vital addition to your workout. By working your core you are benefiting your body in a multitude of ways that simply cannot be duplicated.

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How to Choose the Right Kid Workout Video

Childhood obesity is at an all-time high. Kids are accustomed to sitting in front of the television, computer, or video games and taking little time to stay fit. Kids don’t think about exercising and it is rare for parents to consider a kids workout video. But for today’s children, sometimes it is the perfect high tech childhood fitness solution.
 
Shaun T’s Fit Kids Club provides the kind of fitness that children will enjoy. They will enjoy it because it is fun! Simple dance moves set to rousing music will get children moving and sweating without making them feel like they are doing dull repetitious exercises. Kid workout videos must be created for kids, not simply repackaged and re-titled.
 
When choosing a kid workout videos, you want to be sure your child will feel good, not ashamed of what they are doing. Complicated movements or following along with an adult program will leave your child feeling that they are doing a chore and they will not feel confident in their ability. Simple funky moves set to popular dance music will increase your child’s confidence and leave them feeling good about what they have accomplished.

Shaun T is a professional dancer and choreographer. Tell your kids that he has danced with stars like Mariah Carey and Aaron and Nick Carter and they will no doubt be impressed. Shaun has a way of motivating children in his kid workout videos. He is able to teach dance moves to kids of all abilities, taking them through a workout that is more dance party than exercise routine.

Just as you wouldn’t send your child to an adult dance class or aerobics class, why would you want them working out with a video full of adults? Chances are your child would not be interested in a kid workout video that included no kids. It is very important for youth to feel like they fit in. Anything that makes a child feel different has the potential to discourage their self esteem. By providing them with a kid workout video featuring other “cool” kids and a role model like Shaun T, they will feel motivated and more confident.

Children are as turned off by the word “exercise” as they are by the word “vegetable”. If it sounds remotely healthy, they typically don’t want anything to do with it. However, kids love sports and love to play. If you can find kid workout videos, like Shaun T’s Fit Kids Club, that seem more like fun and less like work, you are more likely to have a fitness system that your child will enjoy.

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The Benefits of a Stretching Routine

Even since elementary gym class we have been taught to stretch before exercising. Much of the time, as adults, we are so enthused about actually moving our body we skip the stretches. It seems as if when we exercise for weight loss we see stretching as a waste of time, particularly if we are only able to dedicate a limited amount of time to our exercise routine.
 
The benefits of a stretching routine, however, are far reaching and worth the time spent. The subtle stretching movements prepare your cold muscles for exercise by slowly and gently warming them up. If you jump right into a high energy routine without stretching or warming up, your muscles are more prone to injury and soreness. Stretching after exercise has its benefits too, cooling the muscles down and helping to minimize soreness.
 
Stretching both before and after exercise provides a perfect warm -up and cool-down, allowing you to prevent injury while gradually easing you in and out of more intense exercises. Making the extra 5 minutes available for stretching can keep your muscles healthy and make your fitness routine a more pleasurable experience overall.

Aside from using stretching as a warm-up or cool-down, stretching can also be used as a more significant component in your larger fitness plan. The benefits of a stretching routine are multiplied when the time spent stretching is increased. In addition to preventing injuries, stretching can provide many benefits not commonly thought of.

In a study from the American College of Sports Medicine, stretching was found to have a similar effect on muscles as weight training. Although the effects were not as dramatic as weight training, the study showed the benefits of a stretching routine can include a surprising increase in the overall strength of the muscles used.

There is no doubt that stretching improves flexibility. Many of us have experienced firsthand the stiffness that comes with age and inactivity. Stretching can combat that aching and inflexibility. Flexibility and mobility have also been shown to have anti-aging effects, keeping your body moving in a more youthful way.

So, while short periods of stretching provide short term benefits, longer periods of stretching provide improvements that can add to your weight loss goals and overall health. Finding a fitness routine that recognizes the benefits of a stretching routine is important in incorporating these benefits into your life.

Some home work-out systems neglect the importance of stretching all together while others simply touch on it as a warm-up and cool-down method. Trainer Tony Horton recognizes the long reaching benefits of stretching and added a complete stretching workout to his P90X system. A 57 minute stretching DVD is sure to maximize the benefits of stretching and do so in a way that feels good.

Another way to get in your stretching is through workout methods that are based in flexibility training and stretching. Some types of Yoga are excellent for this. With the Yoga Flex routine included in the 10 Minute Trainer system, you can add a complete stretching program into any busy schedule.

Whether you use a DVD totally dedicated to stretching, as in the P90X system, or get your stretching through Yoga, you are reaping the benefits of having a long, lean, flexible body. The benefits of a stretching routine will be evident after consistent application of this activity that not only helps in your health and fitness goals, but also feels great after a long day.

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Muscle Confusion and Weight Loss

When beginning an exercise routine you are typically indoctrinated into the plan by learning several new (often made up) terms and catch phrases. However, some at home exercise routines are truly based in science and use the knowledge of their creators to educate you about terms and concepts that are well known in the fitness community. Muscle confusion is one of those terms.
 
Often used in the body building world, muscle confusion is a concept that is not new. It simply refers to using different exercises and movements to keep your muscles “on their toes”. Anyone who has ever tried to lose weight knows about “plateaus”. If you hit a plateau in your weight loss journey, you have come to a place where your body has adjusted to the exercise routine you have been doing, and refuses to progress further.

Once your body and your muscles become accustomed to being used in a certain way, they stop responding so eagerly. This means that as time goes on your weight loss will slow dramatically or even come to a screeching halt.

By confusing your muscles or by constantly changing the routine, your muscles have no time to get accustomed to repetition. Utilizing muscle confusion in your weight loss goals allows you to consistently reach goals and blast through any potential plateaus.

Celebrity trainer Tony Horton embraces the power of muscle confusion and uses it as a focal point of the P90X system. By incorporating 12 very different workouts, he has developed a superior system that will keep your muscles guessing from day to day.

With P90X you will move through a great variety of fat blasting workouts every week. You may start out with Kenpo followed by Shoulders and Arms or Back and Biceps. The next week you may go through Core Synergistics, Plyometrics, and the ever-powerful Ab Ripper X.

Not only does the variety of workouts in P90X keep your muscled confused, it keeps you interested. Workouts get old and it is easy to get bored with doing the same thing every week. The P90X system works for the benefit of your muscles as well as in the interest of you maintaining the program.

Understanding how your body responds to exercise is an important tool in the battle of weight loss. It’s true that knowledge is power and when you really understand the science behind the movements and workouts, you are more likely to want to stick it out. Based in real science and tested by bodybuilders and fitness fanatics, muscle confusion is the real deal and not some weight loss gimmick.

 

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