Diet Fundamentals: Energy (Part 2)

Continued from Diet Fundamentals: Energy (Part 1)...

At the end of last week's blog, I was talking about Lean Body Mass (LBM) - how to calculate it, it's importance to your training and why you should keep track of it to determine the progress of your exercise regime. One thing that I haven't yet mentioned is how to determine your body fat composition. As this is the crucial element to your LBM calculation, it's worth spending a little time on. Most people now understand that to have a healthier body is to have a leaner body, regardless of muscle-gain and fat-loss objectives.

There are a surprising number of methods to Body Composition Analysis (BCA). Many are entirely impractical for you or I to utilise on a day-to-day basis. However, below are two ways to help determine body fat percentage that are accessible to the average joe, and not Universal Soldiers:

Calipers (Anthropometry - Skinfold Measurements).

Using hand-held calipers that exert a standard pressure, the skinfold thickness is measured at various body locations (3-7 test sites are common). Then a calculation is used to derive a body fat percentage based on the sum of the measurements. The caliper method is based upon the assumption that the thickness of the subcutaneous fat (found just under the skin) reflects a constant proportion of the total body fat (contained in the body cavities, and that the sites selected for measurement represent the average thickness of the subcutaneous fat. Skinfold measurements are made by grasping the skin and underlying tissue, shaking it to exclude any muscle and pinching it between the jaws of the caliper. Duplicate readings are often made at each site to improve the accuracy and reproducibility of the measurements.

Generally speaking, skinfold measurements are easy to do, inexpensive and the method is portable. Overall, results can be very subjective as precision ultimately depends on the skill of the technician and the site measured. The quality of the calipers is also a factor; a constant specified pressure is required. Models available for home use have a tendency to be inaccurate compared to professional versions, and obese subjects prove a challenge, as it is difficult to pinch the skinfold correctly. Bottom line: easily accessible, more of an estimate than a measurement.

BIA (Bioelectrical Impedance)

The only method that is based on measuring something, not estimating anything, is Bio Impedance measuring. BIA is a way of measuring electrical signals as they pass through fat, lean mass, and water in the body. Through laboratory research, we know the actual impedance or conductivity of various tissues in the body, and we know that by measuring current between two electrodes and applying this information to complex proven scientific formulas, accurate body composition can be determined. The fact that the measurement is based on a reading of lean mass and not an estimate of fat mass, lends to a much more comprehensive testing method and results. The good news? BIA scales are becoming increasingly common in gyms and health clubs, although due to the repetitive wear on the equipment, the values should still be used as a guide line. (The last time I tried to measure my body fat percentage, I was at 16% yet I had visible veins in my abs!). Still, regardless if the value is true or not, the consistency in the measurement should still allow you to keep a fairly accurate track of your gains and losses.

Eating And Training

Many young bodybuilders ask for advice about what and when they should eat in relation to their training program. The muscles require an ample supply of blood during training, since a lot of the pump you experience is from blood swelling up your muscles. But if the digestive system is also using excess amount of blood to digest a big meal, there won't be enough to go around and your muscles will suffer for it. When you eat too heavily before training, you are setting up a conflict in the body, a demand for excess blood in too many places at once. This is why your parents were always righ when they told you not to go swimming soon after eating; a lack of adequate blood supply to the muscles used in swimming can lead to problems like severe cramps. Training with a full stomach can be a very unpleasnt experience. You feel bloated, sluggish, and slow, and a really hard setcan make you feel nauseated.

The body metabolises food at different rates. It takes from 2 to 6 hours for the stomach to empty its contents. Foods rich in carbohydrates digest frst, followed by protein foods; fatty foods are the last to leave. When you wake up in the morning and haven't eaten anything for 8 to 12 hours, your body is depleted of carbohydrates. Since carbs are needed to produce the glycogen the muscles need for intense contraction, it makes sense to eat a high-carbohydrate breakfast before going to the gym to train in the morning.

A light meal of fruit, fruit juice, or toast can be eaten before you train and will give you energy without slowing you down. Howver, a breakfast that includes eggs, meat or cheese - all high in protein and fats - will take longer to digest, so you would do better not to eat foods like these before you train.

It is not a good idea to eat a big meal immeadiately after a workout either. You put your body under great stress when you train and you need to give your system time to return to normal, for the blood to leave the muscles and the stress reaction to dimminish. A protein or protein/carb supplement drink after a workout supplies needed nutrition to satisfy the demands created by training in a form that is easy on your digestive system. Check out Explosive Nutrition's range of post-workout products. By the time you shower, get dressed and leave the gym your system will return to a more normal state and you can sit down to a nutritious balanced meal of 'real food'.

To be continued...