Invasion of the Muscle Snatchers?
While getting ready for the Get Fit-Get Paid program, we have been performing several body composition analysis on both our new and existing clients.
Alarmingly, we discovered several of our clients had actually LOST muscle and gained fat over the holiday season! We were at a quandary, wondering what the heck was happening to our clients. Was it invasion of the muscle snatchers?All joking aside, this was a huge concern not only for our clients, but for us as well.
The Culprit
While in a discussion with one particular client, she mentioned that she had been consuming more alcohol than usual over the weekend, due to the holidays. Cha-Ching! The light bulb went on. Of course! A good majority of our clients were probably dehydrated during their assessments. Why, you may ask? Does it matter? Can it affect my readings that much? In a word…Yes! An accurate body composition reading requires you to be well hydrated and to not do any exercise before your reading. Read below for a brief explanation:
Your body fat is pretty water dense, so dense in fact that body fat is comprised of about 10% water. That means that your changing level of hydration can have a significant effect on the body fat reading that you get.
This is especially significant after completing a vigorous workout routine. If you measure your fat mass after sweating profusely you will inevitably have a lower percentage of body fat. The actual amount of fat you have is the same after your workout; it’s just that you have less water now.
Having a body composition analysis performed will give you the best insight into your present state of health. Being in the know about how water can affect the results of these reading can give you a clear understanding of why this method of assessment works, and when to have it performed so that it can be most accurate. Knowing the composition of your body can help you structure your workout and diets according to your actual health needs.
Get a 50% off coupon on our Body & Composition Fitness Analysis by hitting the “Like” button on our Facebook fan page!