Apparently I'm a whopping 26% fat. Wow. I feel like a stick of low cal margarine (it's still fat!) and I can't imagine how I'll ever get to 20%. Actually I don't really care what the number says, I just want to be able to see my abs when I flex them. I figure that'd be around 17% body fat but perhaps my assumptions are wrong. How low do I have to go to see something interesting?
The trainers explain to me that if you're dehydrated your body fat readings can be off, and conversely, if you're "over-hydrated" as well. Well, hell, how does one know for sure then without submitting to the immersion test (where docs measure the volume of water you displace after submerging you completely in a tanker of water after you've expelled ALL the air out of your lungs). Egads! I read online about a new x-ray machine test that costs $300 to determine body fat accurately as well. I guess I'm not THAT interested.
I've read about how doing a few quick measurements of one's hips, waist, wrist and forearms and body weight can be plugged into a Dave Draper equation at LiveStrong.com. But what if you don't fall into normal body measurement parameters? I have child-size wrists (bracelets fall right off) and forearms, and I'm one of those "not very interesting" body types -- that is to say, there's not a huge difference between my waist and my hips. I don't have big hips, and I don't have a tiny waist. But I dutifully plug in the numbers and voilà, it's 26.7%.
Really?! I've dropped over 22 lbs and put on muscle in my back, chest, arms and stomach, and it's 26%?! Over a quarter of my weight is fat? Today I'm either 105 or 103 lbs depending on which scale you believe (the gym scale reads heavier but that's right after my work out and 1. 5 liters of water). And I feel defiant! I'm not going any lighter -- I'd need to have all my clothes tailored!
Of course, if you search hard and long enough you can find anything, and I've discovered another web site with a body fat calculator where you punch in other measurements: age, weight, hips, thigh, calf. And the magic number is Ta-Da: 22.5%. I can deal with this. This number is OK. Go to http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/home-body-fat-test-2774-143.html to check it out.
Today's a Leg Day and after a good stretch and some faux side kicks, I do 4 sets on the seated leg curl. I get 15 reps at 75 lbs. Unfortunately, the Romanian dead lifts with a pair of 10 lb plates on the Smith machine still don't feel like much. Contracting my glutes as I straighten up helps me feel the movement better but I'm not convinced that it's a very effective hamstring exercise.
I do a set of pistol squats and after 6 reps I decide I'd rather do something else. Anything else. Boredom kicks in and I decided, what the hell, I'll do squats on the Smith machine, starting light with just the bar (45 lbs) and then adding a pair of 10s. I do 5 sets for 15 reps, going slow and steady. I wrap my towel (I always carry a hand towel with me to put between me and whatever bench I'm using) around the neck/shoulder pad before I squat. I can feel the lower quads over my knees, and a bit of my glutes. Here's my work out schedule:
Tomorrow I'll know by what's stiff and painful whether squats are something I'm adding to my routine. I'm bored again so back to the seated leg curl for another 3 sets. In between, when stations open up, I do sets on the side rotation machine, and twisting situps, and lower ab kick outs. Those always guarantee a nice slightly breathless warmth and I'm giddy with moisture. Honestly, if I work a body part and I'm not sweating, maybe I'm just phoning it in. I'd like to ban Sleep Exercising. I'd also like to ban Station Chatting. If you're on a station for more than 5 minutes and the only thing that's moving is your mouth, get off the machine and let someone else use it.
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