Having purchased one of them before they are even released in Australia, I have been very impressed with how simple it is to take measures and how accurate they appear to be.  Not only this but clients get a visual image of their body shape and what it will look like if they were to lose body fat.  Very motivating for some.

The software also estimates Basal Metabolic Rate and Calorie requirements based on measures and activity levels.  Again this is useful information for people trying to optimise performance and/or lose weight.

The Bodymetrix will be officially launched in Australia next month but if you would like to be among the first in Perth to have a Bodymetrix assessment with this new technology please call me on 0419907432 or email me at david@lifelongfitness.info.

I predict this will become the most used method for assessing body fat available due to its simplicity, accuracy and comfort.  No more uncomfortable skinfold pinches!!

As he points out, weighing yourself doesn’t tell you if you’ve lost fat or muscle and skin fold measures can be very unreliable depending on the assessor.

The new Bodymetrix ultrasound device makes the measure much more reliable. It also allows you to measure both fat and muscle so if you lose weight, you can determine if it was fat you lost or muscle.

Chances are, if you have lost weight by dieting alone, you will have lost muscle, which is not a good thing. Using a device such as the Bodymetrix helps you to track whether you are making real improvements in your health or just losing important lean tissue.

The Bodymetrix software also calculates your calorie needs and health risk based on your BMI, body fat and waist-to-hip ratio.  You can also track your progress over time to see if your strategy is working effectively.

If you’d like a Bodymetrix assessment in Perth, please contact me at david@lifelongfitness.info or 0419907432.  Assessments are only $95.

It’s not that they aren’t trying.  Often they are not doing the right exercise in the right way to get the result they want.  I think life is too short and your time is too precious to not get the results you deserve.

So, here is the first three of a collection of tips to get more from your exercise.

Cut out long slow endurance exercise (cardio)

Unless you’re a marathon runner in the making or training to swim to Rottnest, there’s no reason to do long sessions of low-intensity cardio.

Many fitness trainers will still tell you that low-intensity exercise is the best way to stay in the fat-burning zone, but all the evidence is showing that you get limited fitness and fat loss results from this type of exercise session.

Although you may burn fat during the 40 or 60 or 90 minutes you work out, your metabolism hasn’t been affected in any lasting way. Furthermore, your body adapts after about 6 weeks and then starts to store extra body fat as a means of being prepared for the predicted upcoming sessions.

Introduce (true) interval training

If you’ve been getting Stay Sharp newsletters for a while you’re familiar with interval training – alternating periods of high intensity with periods of lower intensity or recovery.

Interval training allows you to work much harder in a shorter period of time, burning off twice or more as much energy as you would with endurance cardio, and possibly even elevating your metabolism beyond the workout (if the resistance is high enough).

Most people don’t know how to push themselves. Ideally interval training should last no longer than 20-30 minutes, and the high intensity part should be hard enough that you feel like you’re can’t go any faster or longer as the interval draws to its end.

Your recovery should be true recovery – either a complete standstill, or very slow and relaxed. If you’re able to keep up a ‘decent’ pace then you probably didn’t work hard enough. Also, it’s important to make sure you vary your approach. If you usually alternate minute to minute, try 30 second changes. Or 45 hard, 30 recovery. Variety is crucial if you want to achieve lasting results.

NOTE – if you haven’t done any exercise in a while don’t start out with ‘hard’ intervals. Build up to it by working at 70% of your maximum, then 80%, then 90%. Don’t go ‘flat out’ first time you do intervals!

Try some sprints

Have you ever compared the body of a sprinter to a marathon runner?

They certainly look stronger and healthier.

We typically think of sprints as being running-based, but you can definitely do sprints riding, swimming or even walking.

While interval training can allow for increases in speed OR resistance (or both), sprint training is purely speed-based. And typically performed either over a set distance or for a given period of time, before being followed by a complete rest. The rest period should be around twice as long as the work period in order to continually perform at your best. Aim to include sprint training at least once a fortnight for variety and a try to do it for the different activities you do; it’s the muscles you are training to get faster as well as your heart and lungs.

Note – Numerous studies have shown that it is better to be fit and carry a few extra kilos than unfit and normal weight.

Focus on fitness, not fatness.

The idea that body fat is THE measure of fitness is some of the reason why there is an obesity epidemic in the Western world.

The article discusses how the American Army has set certain percentage body fat levels as the measure of fitness that everyone must comply with or get kicked out of the Army.  In some ways this is not a bad thing.  Especially if it helps prevent the gradual increase in body fat that happens to most people as the years go by.

But… the thought that body fat is used as the measure of fitness is just wrong. There are a lot of people in the world who have low body fat levels and aren’t fit.  Take a lot of the stick-thin models on the catwalks who starve themselves to stay ‘skinny’ and never do any strength training for fear they will get “too” big.  They might be thin and look good in certain clothes but they aren’t fit and many aren’t healthy.

On the other extreme there are a lot of people who exercise regularly and are quite fit but carry extra body fat.  Under the US Army system, these people would get kicked out while the thin person who never does any exercise would  not.

Ideally the slightly overweight fit person would drop some body fat  and as a result be even fitter, but all the research tells us that it healthier to be fit and fat than unfit and thin.

The idea that we use body fat as a measure of fitness just perpetuates the diet mentality, and does nothing to help correct the underlying health issues that accompany having too much body fat.  The way to fix those is to get fit, just losing a few kilos of fat isn’t going to help in the long term.

I think the US Army should focus on how fit people are.  That might include body fat levels but to use just body fat as a measure of fitness is flawed and sends the wrong message.

For the rest of us, we should focus on fitness not fatness.  If you get fit, body fat will take care of itself.

A  large population study followed middle-aged adult participants from the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer (EPIC)-Norfolk cohort. In total, 11,936 were followed for between 3 – 7 years and had their BMI assessed. Physical activity was measured using a validated self administered questionnaire.

In this study, the researchers calculated a genetic predisposition to obesity score (by adding up the BMI increasing alleles on the chromosomes).  Researchers used cross sectional and longitudinal analysis to look at the interactions between the genetic predisposition score, physical activity and BMI.

The results from this study showed that each additional BMI-increasing allele was associated with an increase in BMI equivalent to 445g of body weight for a person 1.70m tall, and that the size of this effect was greater in inactive people than active people. Also, each additional obesity susceptibility allele increased the risk of obesity by 1.116-fold, but for physically active people this risk was 40% lower.

This study indicates that people with a “genetic predisposition to obesity” can lower their risk of obesity by 40% if they are physically active.

While physical activity is associated with a lower BMI in the overall population, the study indicates that those with a genetic predisposition to obesity benefit more from increased physical activity than those who are genetically at lower risk.

So if you think you inherited genes that make it easier for you to put on weight, don’t just sit there blaming your parents.  Get moving.

Some people are more predisposed to fat gain than others. However you have more control than you think, or maybe than you want to admit.

Studies have shown that multiple areas on a person’s DNA (genetic loci) identified by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) increase the susceptibility to obesity in a cumulative manner. That means the more obesity-related factors on your DNA, the more likely you are to accumulate body fat. However, it wasn’t known whether, and to what extent, this genetic susceptibility may be influenced by a physically active lifestyle.

A recent study in Europe examined over 20000 people over a 3.6-year period showed that living a physically active lifestyle is associated with a 40% reduction in the genetic predisposition to obesity.

In this study, the researchers examined the DNA areas that increase obesity-susceptibility in a sample of 20,430 individuals (aged 39-79 y) from the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer (EPIC)-Norfolk cohort with an average follow-up period of 3.6 y.

A genetic predisposition score was calculated for each individual by adding the body mass index (BMI)-increasing areas. Physical activity was assessed using a self-administered questionnaire. Statistical analysis was used to examine the effects of the genetic predisposition score and its interaction with physical activity on BMI/obesity risk and BMI change over time.

Each additional BMI-increasing area increased the risk of obesity 1.116-fold in the whole population, but significantly more in inactive individuals than in active individuals.

What does this mean?

Some people inherit a predisposition to accumulating body fat than others. Others use genetics as a reason for their excess fat. What this study shows is that even if you are predisposed to getting fatter, if you have an active lifestyle, and exercise regularly and consistently, your chance of getting fat is significantly less.

Add to this the risk-reducing effects of exercise, regardless of body fat, and it makes sense to make exercise a part of your day; every day.

Reference: Li S, Zhao JH, Luan J, Ekelund U, Luben RN, et al. (2010) Physical Activity Attenuates the Genetic Predisposition to Obesity in 20,000 Men and Women from EPIC-Norfolk Prospective Population Study. PLoS Med 7(8): e1000332. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000332

The best time of the day to exercise is the time that is most convenient for you and you are most likely to do. There is no point trying to exercise at a time that just doesn’t suit your routine.

When I was competing in triathlons I used to exercise after work, however once my second son arrived getting out in the afternoon became too hard. (With just one I could take him with me in a running stroller but two didn’t fit.)

I tend to exercise mostly in the morning and I often recommend people give early morning exercise a try.

Here are some reasons morning is the best time to exercise.

1. Many people believe that early morning exercise before breakfast burns more body fat than after eating later in the day.  Although there is still some debate, the evidence is growing that doing aerobic or cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach is good for fat loss. The argument is that after an overnight 8-12 hour fast, your body’s stores of glycogen are reduced and you burn more fat when glycogen levels are low.
Eating breakfast causes a release of insulin which interferes with the mobilization of body fat. Less insulin is present in the morning; so more body fat is burned when exercise is done in the morning.
There is less carbohydrate (glucose) in the bloodstream when you wake up after an overnight fast. With less glucose available, you are likely to burn more fat.

2. If you eat breakfast immediately before exercising, you have to burn off what you have just eaten first before tapping into stored body fat (and insulin is elevated after a meal.)

3. When you exercise in the morning, it raises your metabolism from it’s lowest and it stays elevated for a period of time after the workout is over. If you exercise in the evening, you burn calories during the session, but you don’t get the same advantage of the “afterburn” effect because your metabolic rate drops dramatically as soon as you go to sleep.

4. Morning exercise gives you a feeling of accomplishment and makes you more productive the rest of the day.
Morning exercise “energizes” you and “wakes you up” by turning off melatonin (the sleep hormone) and turning on serotonin (the feel good hormone).

5. There is some evidence that morning exercise may help regulate your appetite for the rest of the day. You’re also more likely to make better eating choices if you have already done your exercise for the day.

6. Your body’s circadian rhythm adjusts to morning routine, making it easier to wake up at the same time every day.
You’re less likely to skip your workout when it’s out of the way early. After work there are more demands likely to get in the way, like working back late or you just feel too tired or someone invites you for a drink!

7. You can always “make time” for exercise by setting your alarm a bit earlier in the morning.

Getting into the habit of morning exercise takes a while, and even then some mornings can be a bit of a struggle to get out of bed (especially when it is cold).  For all the reasons above, however, I recommend you give it a try.

For fat loss, fitness, lifestyle and mental health, early morning exercise is a good habit to develop.

Or do you find it hard to eat a healthy breakfast?

Here’s another good reason to do at least one and preferably both.

Starting your day with something healthy and good for yourself, makes you feel good about taking healthy action and, importantly, it makes it less likely that you’ll fall off the wagon and make less healthy choices later in the day.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that once you’ve started the day with a healthy choice you are less likely to undo the hard work by making a poor choice later in the day.

Whether it is exercising first thing, meditating or eating breakfast doesn’t matter. The key is to make the first choice of the day a healthy one. Such a choice gives you self-discipline that lasts well into the day.

While this is only a small thing, all the little things add up to making a life of healthy habits. And its the collection of all the little things that make the most difference in the long term.

So next time you are going out that for a meal at night, make sure you do some exercise early in the day. It might just give you the strength to hold back on that extra serve or last drink.

And why not make sure you do some exercise early on Christmas morning (if you haven’t got young children), just to give you that added will-power when you confront Christmas dinner!

Wishing you a merry Christmas.

So, if you have some reservations about weight training or are still confused about what the benefits here are some facts about weight training.

Weight Training done correctly helps reduce reduce fat and improves health risk

Both weight training and aerobic exercise, if done correctly and at a high enough intensity, release fatty acids into the blood stream and improve insulin resistance. Weight training has the advantage in that it increases lean body mass which helps improve insulin resistance even more and increases metabolism even when you are not exercising.  The research evidence to date does not demonstrate the effectiveness of resistance training for weight loss.  It does however increase the loss of fat and increase fat-free mass which in the long term is advantageous to managing body fat.  Even without any change in weight or body fat, health risk is improved with resistance training. 

Strength training can be done in a short amount of time

Many people think you need to spend hours ‘pumping iron’ to get benefits from weight training. If you work efficiently and focus on the major muscle groups, you can complete a whole body workout in a short period of time. There are some fitness professionals who say you only need to spend about 10 minutes. I’ve done workouts of about this length and if you work hard and fast it can be done.

You don’t need to go to a gym or buy expensive equipment

Not having the ‘right’ equipment is a common excuse for not doing strength training. You can get a good strength session using just your own body weight. If you want to add more resistance, a pair of adjustable dumbbells is certainly enough to get stronger and maintain your muscle tissue.

Strength training is a good weapon against osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a major health risk for many adults. Strength training puts stresses on the bones and it is this stress that encourages the bones to get stronger and denser. Unlike aerobic exercise, which tends to be the same movement repeated over and over, strength training puts a lot of different stresses on different bones. This helps to improve the density of a range of bones in the body.

You won’t get ‘big and bulky’ like a body builder

Many people, especially women are fearful of looking like a body builder if they do weight training. Unless you are doing hours and hours of training, eating a very high protein, high energy diet, and probably taking anabolic steroids, you won’t get a physique like a body builder. If you do two or three strength training sessions a week you will probably see some increase in muscle size and you will look more ‘toned’. Females especially won’t ‘bulk up’ as they have less testosterone than men.

Strength training is the most efficient choice of exercise and I strongly recommend you add some to your exercise routine. A couple of short sessions each week is all it takes to maintain your strength and muscle mass.