Tuesday, October 11, 2011

BIGGEST LOSER "14" -- WEEK THREE

This week our Biggest Losers did a kickboxing workout. After partnering up, I taught them a kickboxing movement. Then they practiced the combination for a two minute round while their partner held the targets. They switched roles every two minutes.

30 minutes later, one partner hit the heavy bag while the other did pushups for a minute before switching. The next time they did a different combination on the bag while their partner did body squats before switching. Finally, they did a third combination while their partner did sit-ups.

Last week I wrote about weight, body fat%, muscle mass and bone mass. This week we’re going to look at Body Water%, Physique Rating, Metabolic Age, and Visceral Fat.

Body Water% should range from 45-60% in women. In men, it should range from 50-65%. We all hear we should be drinking more water, but now we have a tool to measure it. Many of the contestants were under-hydrated, so now we can help them stay on top of it better.

If you had a significant weight loss during the week, but Body Water% shows up below normal, you can be sure that some of your weight loss was probably water. That means you’ll probably just put it back on when you become rehydrated.

Physique Rating is measured on a scale between 1 and 9. For the person who is obese, you’ll receive a rating from 1 to 3 based on your percent fat and muscle mass. This is risky category, because your chance for heart disease and diabetes goes way up.

For the average person, a rating between 4 and 6 shows improvement, and for the “under-fat” (if there is such a thing), a rating between 7 and 9 tells you if you need to put on some muscle. For the participants, their goal is to try and improve their physique rating number during the twelve weeks.

Metabolic Age shows up as a range between age 12 and 50. This is like the “inner age” measure they use on the Biggest Loser TV show. Most of the participants showed up as 50 (or older), although few of them were actually 50.

If you’re 30 years old but have a metabolic age of 50, then you’re carrying the body of a 50 year old. That’s an extra 20 years, which wouldn’t bode well for your future. But if you’re 30, but have a metabolic age of 20, then it’s like you’re carrying the body of someone 10 years younger! The participants should see a marked drop in their metabolic age during the program.

Visceral Fat measures how much fat you’re carrying around your vital organs, which markedly increases your risk of heart disease and diabetes. A visceral fat rating from 1-12 would be healthy, while a rating of 13-59 is unhealthy. This should also drop during the 12 weeks.

Our Week Three winner was Stacy Luth, who lost 2.6% of her body weight and 4.4 lbs. Michelle Clark placed second, losing 2.0% of her body weight and 3.2 lbs. Sande Sherer and Vince Porter tied for third, both losing 1.6% of their body weight and 3.0 lbs and 3.8 lbs respectively.

Next week we’ll look at how to use the last parameter (BMR) to ensure you’re not just eating right, but eating the right amount of food. Don’t forget, if you have any questions about fitness or working out, please feel free to contact me at Tom’s Fitness on Facebook.

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