Man vs woman weight loss / fitness comp

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heartybeef
heartybeef Posts: 1 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
My wife and I are trying to find a good formula for a health comp. it’s not just weight loss, it’s muscle mass and fitness too. If we measure body fat percentage (25% competition weighting), skeletal muscle mass (25% competition weighting) and do a fitness test (50%) is that fair? My wife hasn’t worked out for years and I’ve been working out solidly for a while now so we trying to make it fair.

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  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    I keep typing and erasing. I see no way to do this. It doesn't make sense to me.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    heartybeef wrote: »
    My wife and I are trying to find a good formula for a health comp. it’s not just weight loss, it’s muscle mass and fitness too. If we measure body fat percentage (25% competition weighting), skeletal muscle mass (25% competition weighting) and do a fitness test (50%) is that fair? My wife hasn’t worked out for years and I’ve been working out solidly for a while now so we trying to make it fair.

    In what way is that ever going to be fair?
  • ssbbg
    ssbbg Posts: 153 Member
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    Women generally have higher body fat than men. Even at the most lean, I think women are probably 10% to men's 5% (or something like that). Same for muscle mass, men generally have more and taller people have more than shorter, so a woman is likely doubly disadvantaged than men when comparing muscle mass. In terms of adding muscle, women generally add it at a slower rate than men.

    I agree this isn't going to be at all fair.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    I guess I'm wondering what's the overarching goal here? If it's to encourage each other to increase fitness, why not simply make lifestyle changes together, maybe try cooking a few new recipes together, do a regular activity together (e.g., after dinner walking) or ensure that the other partner has some uninterrupted time to pursue her/his activity of choice? A competition sets the stage for hurt feelings.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    Each person set goals and compete against themselves.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
    edited January 2019
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    Men and women have different body composition. Women also have to deal with a monthly hormonal cycle that can cause fairly wild water weight swings. Weight loss isnt linear nor does it happen on a schedule. If you are using a smart scale for your measurements, they can be very innacurate and are greatly affected by hydration and fat distribution. We routinely see posts here from women who are demoralized and feel like a failure because they are working harder and losing less than their husband/ boyfriend. There is no way to make a competition like this fair.

    My suggestion would be to encourage each other rather than compete against each other. As your wife is a beginnet, I can only imagine a competition like this ultimately discouraging her and weighing her down rather than helping, but obviously I don't actually know either of you!
  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,070 Member
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    lorrpb wrote: »
    Each person set goals and compete against themselves.

    I was going to say something similar. If you are both motivated by competition, each set your own individual goals and pick a prize if one or both of you achieve them.

    I did this with my family a few years ago. My son, his GF and my husband all wanted to lose weight. I just wanted to drop some BF. We picked a timeframe- 12 weeks, each put in $100 and set our own goals. Theirs were to lose 20lbs. Mine was to lose either 10lbs or 5% BF. We measured progress by percentage of goal met. If more than 1 person achieved their goal the pot would be split. If no one did, the person who came closest would get the pot.

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