It's really important to get a true professional assessment for body composition, rather than using an online calculator that references your body weight and your circumference measurements.

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The only metric that is the same on every single report is body fat percentage.

Episode Summary:

Curious about where you are on your journey to becoming more muscle and less fat? Wondering about your bone health? In this episode of Ask Holly, I answer three of your questions that could really unlock the next level of strength and wellness for you. If changing your body composition was easy, then we would all have no problems doing it! That’s why I love hearing your biggest struggles so we can get the variables that really matter into alignment and get you the body, vitality, and health that you crave. 

Show Notes:

The first question is about how to calculate your body composition. The first thing to understand is that body composition is the totality of your current body weight according to gravity on Mother Earth. Your body composition is the total body weight of your body fat, lean muscle mass, and bone mass.

It's so important to get a professional assessment over an online calculator because they have the highest percentage of error. I focus on muscle mass over body fat percentage for a more accurate picture of health. To calculate it, I take the body fat percentage that's given to you from your DEXA assessment. I take that number and subtract it from 100%. So if your body fat percentage is 30%, then your adjusted lean muscle mass would be 70%.

This however does not take into account bone mass. These scans are so important for getting the clearest picture. Body composition assessments divide an individual's total body mass, that's your body weight according to a scale, into the relative proportions of fat mass and fat free mass. 

The next question is about the best ways to strength train after receiving an osteoporosis diagnosis. Unfortunately the advice for how to handle this diagnosis is often not handled well. If you search “bone,” I have a lot of very specific episodes on this topic but for now let me say that walking is a great place to start if you’re out of the exercise habit. From there you can begin strength training. Start slow, twice a week with moderate weights and increase the volume over time.

The last question is about how to strength train if you have an injury. Let me first say that your next workout is only as good as your recovery from your last workout. Assess how well you recover. I’d also recommend concentrating on very gradual progression in your workouts. Each week should really only be a tiny bit more than the previous week. If this all feels a little too calculated, another thing I often tell my clients is to leave every workout wanting more and let the goal be to leave your workout feeling great. Don't push. Don't overdo it. 

You may be tempted to think that improving your body composition is an impossible task, but the truth is, it's pretty formulaic and all about finding the right programming that works for your body!

I hope you enjoyed this episode!

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Topics Covered:

• (05:09) Q: What is the best body composition calculation method?
• (11:50) You control your body composition!
• (15:50) Q: What’s the best way to strength train after an osteoporosis diagnosis?
• (24:21) Impact exercises aren’t the best place to begin if you have osteoporosis
• (26:11) Q: How to strength train if you have an injury?
  
  
  

Resources Mentioned:

• Research on body composition assessments in nutrition and clinical practice
• Research on managing osteoporosis
• Research on the fundamentals of resistance training 
• Reminder: JOIN US FOR THE UPCOMING LAB! 
• Transcripts can be found on the official blog page for this episode at hollyperkins.com/blog

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Disclaimer: Content and information as part of The Holly Perkins Health Podcast is for general interest, education, and entertainment purposes only. The use of information on this podcast or materials or products linked from this podcast or website is at the user’s own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.