At some point, you’re going to want to know if all this bodcompopp mojo is working. You might jump on the scales. Maybe your scales use bioelectrical impedance analysis and give you a percent body fat reading. Watch your hydration levels as fluctuations can throw those results off.
Or you go to a lab and do skinfold caliper testing or hydrostatic underwater weighing. Or get a DEXA scan. All can be telling, but you don’t need to do that too often. Maybe once or twice per year.
Let’s say you look at the tape measure. Did the chest or arms go up? Did the waist or hips go down?
You can see we are looking at another of those personality-related metrics. I’ll offer up a few more suggestions and leave it up to you.
I like two simple tests, done once per week. The tight pants test and ye ole mirror posedown.
The tight pants test is exactly what it sounds like. Find a snug pair of pants in the drawer or closet that take a little wiggling and wrestling to get on. Every week, at about the same time, pull those pants on and see how it’s going. This tends to quickly identify belly fat for men and thigh fat for women. The one challenge, though, is all that Lifetime Athlete training we do in the Training Tribe tends to jack up your glutes. Beware!
The mirror posedown is also eminently clear. When you get out of the shower, hit some poses and flex a bit. A decent self-check. This appeals to the somewhat popular phrase “look good naked.”
The main thing to keep in mind with self assessment is not to get too caught up in chasing the daily fluctuations. That can drive you crazy. Look at what happens month to month. And always think about how you feel and perform in addition to how you look.