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Charting Conditioning Progress, Part 1: Body Fat by Mark Hatmaker

 


A Roman Maxim

“Cura ut valeas!” [“Take care that you be Strong!”]

Combat athletes want to be strong.

Everyone wants to be lean.

The proof of an effective conditioning regimen of any stripe, be it CrossFit, Zumba or our own Unleaded Conditioning needs to be answered in an objective manner that skips the subjective.

That is, do we stick with a method simply because changing horses in the middle of a stream feels wrong, or do we stand pat because of some other allegiance along the lines of, “Well, it worked for Herschell Walker, and it will work for me!”

Subjective “measures” are not measures at all, they are internal states, biases, preferences.

Zero Quibble with internal states biases and prejudices…as long as they objectively serve your needs.

If a regimen “feels” right but is providing diminishing or plateau returns, well, …

The Old Timers were scrupulous with the questions of “Does this work or is it bunk?”

To determine that answer there were a variety of Tests or Standard Measures that could be applied to Test and Re-Test a staggering myriad of attributes.

We will present a fistful of these tests for your own use in a loose series over the coming months.

First…

What Test NOT to Use.

The bathroom scales.

Skip the morning or daily or weekly weigh-in.

Weigh-in measures are of value for the combat athlete cutting to a weight-class [more on Old School disdain for this practice at a later date.]

Weigh-ins are also of value for those currently sitting past the bubble of the bell curve for average weight vs. height.

That is, if you tangibly know that you are carrying 20 pounds or more than seems wise, well, the weigh-in can tell you, “Yeah, some is coming off” or it ain’t but it measures not much more than that.

The human already within the ballpark of a self-acceptable wight will find more noise than value in the signal of daily or weekly scale readings.

There are wiser and more useful metrics than this one-stop “live or die” by the scale reading.



The Time Frame

In this series of Old School metrics, the daily and weekly re-test is skipped.

Optimally, 10 weeks out from the original test date is ideal for the Re-Test.

8 Weeks can tell us something, but if the regimen is a complete overhaul, say going from pure calisthenics to Olympic lifting, or from CrossFit to Unleaded, the 10-Week timescale really allows us to determine whether there is or is not an objective value in what you are doing.

There is no harm in sneaking in a re-test every 4 weeks just to “see what’s what” but 10 weeks really will seat the proof in your mind of “This new thing works like a charm!” or, “Well, it’s time to stop wasting time with this noise.”

Old School Test #1: Body-Fat Percentage

Changes in percentage of bodyfat tell us far more about progress than any scale number ever could.

Afterall, in some cases the scale number may tick up—which is a warning sign for most, but if the bodyfat percentage sneaks down then that scale number will mean nothing but good news—your better device in the bathroom is the mirror, the scale is merely there to trick you.

The mirror, well, she don’t lie.

Also, we may be 10 weeks into a program and weight hasn’t budged but the bodyfat percentage has sneaked up, objectively something less than ideal has occurred.

Even if the scale sneaks down, if the bodyfat percentage stays high we’re still seeing a regimen that is a bit off-base.



To Measure Bodyfat Percentage Like an Old-Schooler

Calipers can be used in lieu of what is offered here, but for those who prefer Old School, give this a go.

·        Grab a plastic flexible tape-measure [plastic being our only concession to modernity as cloth measures have stretch to them.]

·        Label this tape measure and use it for all Tests and Re-Tests, there can be minor discrepancies between tapes, you don’t want to impress yourself or disappoint yourself with false measures on re-test days.

·        BEFORE a training session [be it weights, CrossFit, running, yoga, it doesn’t matter, as long as it is before] do the following.

·        Measure first from shoulder to elbow to have the length of the humerus.

·        Then pick the midway point between shoulder and elbow and wrap the tape around the arm and take a circumference measurement with the arm held loose at the side and relaxed.

·        Record this number.

·        Now raise the humerus parallel to the floor, flex the arm HARD and measure the circumference at the peak of the biceps [male and female and whether or not you think you have a peak or not—you do.]

·        Record that number.

·        Chart the date of the test, the relaxed arm measurement, and the flexed arm measurement.

·        Record the difference between flexed arm and relaxed arm measurement.

·        This differential is the key.


10-Week Re-Test

·        Repeat the relaxed arm and flexed arm measures.

·        Record the difference between the two.

·        Look at the original Test differential.

·        If the differential number has increased, you are getting leaner.

·        If it the differential decreased, you are storing more bodyfat.

·        If it remained the same, no progress has been made in this sphere.

The madness behind the method…

·        Muscle contains contractile tissue.

·        Fat does not—you can’t flex fat.

·        We store fat somewhat evenly over the body with greater visibility in the hips and thighs.

·        The single differential Test on the Upper Arm will tell the tale for the entire body.

The tests are not mere aesthetic trivia, they are meant to provide objective feedback regarding whatever conditioning method we are using.

Only so many training hours in the day—choose wisely.

Me? I’ve chosen Old School.

For information on the Unleaded Conditioning Program.

For a podcast on some diet and nutritional myths.

For a podcast on perhaps the most overlooked aspect of conditioning progress.

For information on the Black Box Subscription Service which receives the Unleaded Program free.

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