Last night I had my fat analysis at the gym. To say I was nervous was an understatement. A lot of people assume that just because I'm petite means that I'm in shape and that isn't the case. You can be very thin but still be carrying around a lot of extra fat on your body and not even realize it. Stomach fat is the worst, according to my trainer this is the most important area to slim down because it can lead to all sorts of health problems. Needless to say, I was anxious to see my numbers.
If you've never had a professional fat analysis done (not the one they do in high school gym class), here's the low down. First you get weighed, then the person giving you the test pinches and pulls at your fat on three areas of your body - your tricep, your thigh and your abdomen. You are supposed to have this test done before you work out so it gives accurate results. Then the machine uses some calculation to put these numbers together and come up with your overall body fat percentage.
My trainer had no qualms about telling me that she was going to hurt me! She said that she has made clients yelp in the past because she is tough. She makes sure that the numbers she gives are as accurate as possible, but as they say "no pain no gain" right?
As I stood there with her in the training room, she started telling me that over the last 3 years she has maintained the same body weight, by losing fat and gaining muscle mass. She said this is our goal for me. She explained also that most of her clients have a body fat percentage of 24% and higher.
She didn't let me see my results until the end. Here is what they were:
- Weight: 126
- Tricep: 15% body fat
- Thigh: 24% body fat
- Abdomen: 7% body fat
- TOTAL: 17.7% body fat
According to my trainer these numbers are actually very good. She said my over all number is amazing and that if we continue to work hard it will be easy to get me down to 12-15% overall! Exactly where I want to be.
As for the individual numbers, we both know from previous years training together that my upper body tones much faster than my lower body so we are not even remotely concerned about my tricep percentage. My abdomen is "fantastic" (in her words) - but she'd like to see that number come down 2-3% as well. And just as I suspected (since I know my body pretty well) my legs do in fact need the most work. She said that during our sessions together we will spend the majority of our time focusing on my legs and I can be responsible on my own to do upper body & abs (although she'll tell me what to do). She is going to mix it up each week to see what will work best but we are both determined to get me there.
I'm really glad we took the time to do this analysis because now we have a true starting point, and these numbers combined with my measurements will make it much easier for me to visually see my progress!
Stay Strong!
xoxox Raich
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