MY BUBBLE HAS BEEN BURST!

[Q.]

I was going to hold out until my 49th birthday in about three weeks but I got an opportunity to do my bopy comp assessment FREE the woman who runs our Human Performance Lab here at the university where I work.

Bad news.... 16.7% body fat! However, my hip/waist ratio was pretty good. BMI still was a hair over 25 but who pays any attention to that! She's a PhD kinesiologist so she probably knows what she's doing although she took only three skin folds in different places than before. I had students taking my BF before in our Student Rec Center and I was supposedly at 10% just last Sept! Sure there was the holidays and all but I suspected that was too good to be true. So, I'm airing my dirty laundry and sharing the TRUTH with you. REALITY is such a harsh master!

The GOOD NEWS is that I'm back to benching my body weight! I dropped 40 lbs in two mos between Sept - Dec 2001 before I knew anything about diet and working out and lost a lot of lean body mass along with the fat. My strength dropped considerably. About a year and half later, that aspect is back to where it was but the rest of me is in much better shape. I'm going in next week for my annual blood work and expect good news!

[Jean-Paul]

Don't beat yourself up too bad Q. First of all, don't trust that stupid BMI! It is a load of horse crap because it does NOT apply to anyone who trains with weights. I am obese according that, which makes me the first guy with a 6-pack to be obese, I'm sure! I am surprised that a PhD kinesiologist even uses that method. You would think she knows better. I don't know if I would believe a student telling you that you are 10%. 16% is not nearly as bad as you think, especially at 49. If your hip/waist ratio is good then you are doing well.

Second, don't put too much weight into your bench performance (no pun intended). In my mind there are MANY other measures of ones strength. I look at total body strength, and ability to perform in sports. Strength of one bodypart in one lift has no bearing on your total success in fitness. I know more than a few fat guys who can bench press and NOTHING else. All I ever got out of trying to be a big bencher was the right to say that I used to bench 315, and 4 shoulder surgeries!

[Q.]

I know more than a few fat guys who can bench press and NOTHING else.[/QB]

Yeah, that be me! That's about all I did back then and my health was the pits! Still, I think body weight is a good level to be at and still protect the shoulders, don't you!?! I'm not doing that at the exclusion of everything else now, anyway.

Yeah, the BF is in the "optimal range" according to the chart but I'd rather be in the "look good nekkid" range. What I didn't understand was the placement of the calipers. It was in totally different places than the last times but I guess I trust her credentials (= knowledge and skills) over a student trainer...?