bad day

ruthnor

I've been on a self-improvement journey for about a year now, but sometimes I feel like I've done practically nothing (yes, despite the 40 pounds lost in my ticker.) I have a college phys. ed class this year, and my performance is pathetic. I can't run like all the other people can; I always end up far behind limping along after the first lap or so. We do weight training and I can barely manage the 15/20 pound dumbbells, or the lightest settings on most of the machines in the gym. Today we had the choice of getting our body fat measured with calipers, and my number wasn't even ON the chart the coach had out to compare out totals with.

I feel like everyone in that class must look at me and think I'm a fat lazy slob who's never set foot in a gym in her life or something, when that's all I've been doing for the last year. And i know, i know, screw other people and whatever they may or may not think, but that's how I'm starting to feel right now, too.

Genkaku

You could be working out in the gym and doing fantastic, but not working on what they had you doing in the class. There was a time I could play racquetball for 2 hours straight before being tired, but I couldn't run distances for 10 minutes without wanting to die.

If I recall, calipers are the least accurate measurement for body fat percentage. If you were heavier (even 40 pounds heavier), much of the weight still rests in the mid region of your body, so it gives a skewed perception.

I think if you've lost 40 you're on the right track, anyone can lose 10 or 20 then relapse, 40 shows dedication. If you want to run better, that's a veryyyyyy slow course. takes a few months before you're ready even a few mile run sometimes. Same with weightlifting, just gotta make sure you intake enough protein, and push yourself to the limit. You'll get there, these really are small hiccups in the grand scheme of what you've done!

ruthnor

Thank you! Yeah, I think that's probably it. Really, though, about the calipers? I've always heard they were one of the most reliable ways. Although they were putting me at a higher percentage than both measuring tape measurements AND the notoriously unreliable BMI ...

Genkaku

I've always heard that the most reliable method is that electric shock thing they do (You don't really feel a shock, but it puts one through your body). Measuring tape is meh, and don't even look at the BMI, that thing is so off it's ridiculous haha. You have to account for almost zero muscle mass when using the BMI.

ruthnor

LOL now if I could just find somewhere to get one of those done ...

BrianSharpe

One of the greatest mistakes we make is comparing ourselves to others and then feeling dissatisfied when we feel we come up short.

Look at where you are now as {b]your[/b] baseline and again closer to the end of the semester - all that matters is that you have put in the effort and your performance has improved compared to your baseline.

If I compared my race times to those of elite runners I would have quit before I started but I'm not competing with them.........I'm competing with myself.

bokodasu

I think a big problem in this country is that we have this idea that only people who are good at things should be allowed to do them. Know what? Screw that idea. Do stuff because you want to. Get stronger than you were yesterday; who cares if it's not as strong as that guy over there? He's not you. Run further than you did yesterday. So what if that ultramarathoner goes further? Is she going to be standing in front of you going "sorry, only so many miles to be run in the world, can't have you using up mine"? Celebrate your own awesome.

And, y'know, don't beat yourself up about having a bad day. If fitness were linear, people who set world records would break them every time they went out.

(Also, calipers? Notoriously inaccurate. There are only "better" ways of measuring bodyfat, but not actually any "good" ones.)

FrenchMob

I've always heard that the most reliable method is that electric shock thing they do (You don't really feel a shock, but it puts one through your body). Measuring tape is meh, and don't even look at the BMI, that thing is so off it's ridiculous haha. You have to account for almost zero muscle mass when using the BMI.

You have it reversed. The bio-impedance measurements are good for tracking a trend, but getting a real number is not very accurate. Calipers are accurate if done by someone with lots of experience, but the level of accuracy drops the fatter you are.

Most accurate are hydrostatic method, Bod Pod, or DEXA to get an actual number.