For the past year and a half, I have been attending Fitbody Boot Camp. What drove me there was when I started to plateau in my workouts and results. To clarify, I never thought of myself as fat because on the outside, I was skinny, but did you know that there is such a thing as skinny fat? Here is the body fat % breakdown:
It is entirely possible for a "skinny girl" to come in at over 31% body fat and be considered overweight because she has such little lean mass. When I started Fitcamp, I was weighed 98 lbs and at approximately 21-24% body fat per calipers testing. I was already in the Fitness zone probably because I was active with Pilates and ran regularly, but I needed more.
Fitcamp is basically high intensity interval training. There are 5 stations, 2 exercises each stations, rotating between each exercise at 30 second increments, and 3 minutes each station. The only weights we use are light weights, the heaviest being 20lbs.
Today, I took the hydrostatic test, which is supposed to be one of the most accurate tests out there. Here are my results:
9.6% puts me in the 99% percentile!!! I was shocked and had one of those rub your eyes for clarity moments because I was hoping for 18%, but expected 20%. Circuit training seriously works! In the past year and a half, I have consistently worked out 3-5 times a week and had zero cheat days. I don't think I even had a cheat meal, but would sneak in a few chips or a birthday cake here and there. I love fries and ice cream, but probably only had those a handful of times throughout. It means a lot when your hard work and sacrifice finally pay off. The best part is that I don't even feel deprived because eating healthy and exercising has become a part of my lifestyle - almost second nature!
Now, if you Google women who are at about 10% body fat like me, you will notice that they are shredded to the point where it is kind of gross. Am I? You would think so, but no way! This was the best illustration I could find online that made sense of this disconnect:
Both individuals are at 10% body fat but one weighs 175 lbs (left) and the other 150 lbs (right). In other words, the guy on the left has 158 lbs of lean mass and the one on the right 135 lbs. What a difference and additional 23 lbs of muscle makes!
I think I have done a great job at getting rid of my excess fat, but now I need to focus on gaining muscle in order to gain more definition. The light weights at Fitcamp ain't cutting it anymore. This will mean more protein and heavier weight training at the gym. Do I want to look like a huge body builder? Heck no - I don't even have the frame for that! But do I want definition and abs like Emily Skye's? Heck ya!!
Here's to my next goal!
| Classification | Women (% Fat) | Men (% Fat) |
| Essential Fat | 10-12% | 2-4% |
| Athletes | 14-20% | 6-13% |
| Fitness | 21-24% | 14-17% |
| Acceptable | 25-31% | 18-25% |
| Obese | 32%+ | 25%+ |
Fitcamp is basically high intensity interval training. There are 5 stations, 2 exercises each stations, rotating between each exercise at 30 second increments, and 3 minutes each station. The only weights we use are light weights, the heaviest being 20lbs.
Today, I took the hydrostatic test, which is supposed to be one of the most accurate tests out there. Here are my results:
9.6% puts me in the 99% percentile!!! I was shocked and had one of those rub your eyes for clarity moments because I was hoping for 18%, but expected 20%. Circuit training seriously works! In the past year and a half, I have consistently worked out 3-5 times a week and had zero cheat days. I don't think I even had a cheat meal, but would sneak in a few chips or a birthday cake here and there. I love fries and ice cream, but probably only had those a handful of times throughout. It means a lot when your hard work and sacrifice finally pay off. The best part is that I don't even feel deprived because eating healthy and exercising has become a part of my lifestyle - almost second nature!
Now, if you Google women who are at about 10% body fat like me, you will notice that they are shredded to the point where it is kind of gross. Am I? You would think so, but no way! This was the best illustration I could find online that made sense of this disconnect:
I think I have done a great job at getting rid of my excess fat, but now I need to focus on gaining muscle in order to gain more definition. The light weights at Fitcamp ain't cutting it anymore. This will mean more protein and heavier weight training at the gym. Do I want to look like a huge body builder? Heck no - I don't even have the frame for that! But do I want definition and abs like Emily Skye's? Heck ya!!
Here's to my next goal!
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