recomposer body page introduction

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overview

The Recomposer Body page is the heart of the Recomposer system. It is where:

  1. body composition is measured and tracked,
  2. body composition goals are set and displayed graphically
  3. overall diet and training goals are calculated, and
  4. every element of body, diet and training progress is brought together.

your recomposition

The main section of the body page shows graphs comparing your current body composition to your goal.

recomposer body composition goal setting

current body composition

On the upper left you can see your bodyweight and bodyfat percentage (85kg at 18% fat in the screenshot above). The graph beneath displays your fat mass (15.3kg) and lean (muscle) mass (69.7kg) graphically. To the left of the current body composition graph is a secondary graph showing the strength of your current lean (muscle) mass, according to your Strength Test (160kg squat, 120kg bench and 220kg deadlift in the above example).

goal body composition

On the upper right is your goal weight and bodyfat percentage, sometimes shown with a date to achieve the goal if this has been set with your Coach. The graph below shows the resultant goal fat mass and lean (muscle) mass, along with a secondary graph illustrating your predicted, increased strength (see below for further explanation).

goal sliders

Above the graphs are a goal bodyweight and bodyfat slider. You can move the sliders to visualise what is involved in achieving different body composition goals. Only your Coach can ‘set’ your goal, however.

Between the current and goal body composition graphs is the breakdown of what your diet and training need to achieve, further explained below.

diet off / eat on ‘x’kg

This is the change in bodyweight that needs to be achieved by your diet. If your goal is to lose weight, that weight needs to be “dieted off”. If your goal is to gain weight, that weight needs to be “eaten on”.

The success of your diet should be primarily assessed by whether it is succeeding in changing your bodyweight toward your goal bodyweight.

train on / cannibalise ‘x’kg

This is the change in muscle mass (lean mass) that needs to be achieved by your weight training. A body recomposition goal should always involve training to gain muscle mass. If your goal is to cannibalise your own muscle mass, your goal should be reassessed.

bodyweight and lean (muscle) mass measurements are profoundly affected by hydration. your coach will need to take this into account when interpreting body composition measurements

for net fat loss of ‘x’kg

This shows the body-fat loss (or gain) that will result from the change in bodyweight, plus the change in muscle mass.

No additional activity or intervention is required or recommended for ‘fat loss’. It is mathematically fallacious to try to achieve a body composition goal by adding a 3rd variable to ‘burn fat’. Recomposer highlights this mathematical truth.

strength gain of…

This is the predicted increase in maximal strength capability resulting from the increase in muscle mass.

The success of any weight training program should be primarily assessed by the regular increase in maximal strength performances on all exercises (ie lifting weights for as many reps as possible to ‘failure’), as this is the logical result of gaining muscle tissue.

The inability to lift more weight after an extended period of weight training, indicates a failure to gain real muscle tissue, and any measured increase in lean mass is likely only temporary inflation of the existing tissue with fluid and stored energy (ie glycogen and creatine).

the predicted maximal strength increase is only as accurate as the strength test. typically trainers will experience larger increases in the weights they can lift in the gym, due to skill and confidence, than the strength increases predicted by recomposer. coaches should regularly add strength test results (either from normal gym workouts or formal strength tests) to update the current and goal strength.

 

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