Measuring Body Fat

As I mentioned a few months ago, I have been trying to track my body fat percentage as part of my ongoing metrics of health. I originally tried to do this by taking measurements and plugging them into an online formula, but I had trouble measuring with consistency (is this the same place on my arm that I measured last time?).


As I researched the topic, I discovered that there are basic machines that can help determine your body fat percentage. For about $35, I purchased a hand-held body fat monitor. Doctors and other professionals probably have more exact ways to measure, but for my needs, this little machine seems to work great.

You hold the machine by both hands at an arms' length away from your body and push the start button. In 5-10 seconds, your current body fat percentage displays. Quick and simple!


For what it's worth, my initial measurement calculations of 24-26% body fat actually proved to be fairly accurate. I'm in the "normal" range for a woman in her 30s, though I would like to move more into the "lean/fit" category (closer to 20-22%). It's handy to be able to track both my weight and my body fat percentage as I see how my body changes and responds to diet and exercise. The adventure continues....

Countdown

It would appear that I've been practicing my disappearing ninja skills around here lately. I'm getting pretty good at it, huh?


Anyways, the countdown has begun for my back-to-back 5K weekends. Run the 'Quay is two weeks from tomorrow, and the Ninja Challenge is the weekend after that. Yikes!


To train for Run the 'Quay, I've been doing one of the Couch to 5K apps on my phone. It's actually pretty cool -- the program leads you through a series of progressively harder walk/run workouts until you're ready to run the full 5K. I've been doing some other workouts along the way, so I haven't progressed quite as far as I would have liked, but it's a helpful tool to judge how I'm doing. I'm running the race with my brother, so I'm also motivated by the fact that I don't want to slow him down too much!


As for the Ninja Challenge, I'm not sure that I'll ever be as prepared as I want to be. When I first signed up, it seemed like I had so much more time! It's also hard to know what to expect, but I guess we'll figure it out as we go. In addition to running, I've been working on basic strength exercises (push ups, core strengthening, etc.). I hope it will be enough!


Two weeks and counting...

This pretty much sums it up...