Ensure you are on track with your health and improve your training and lifestyle. Whether you are an athlete wanting to gain the edge on your competitor or simply want to improve your health by having regular health assessments, make sure you are putting your best foot forward.
What's included in a Health Assessment?
A client’s height and weight is taken at the beginning of your health assessment. Height and weight are used to calculate body Mass Index, basal metabolic rate and active metabolic rate. Weight is monitored over time to help ensure the clients goals are on track.
Taking skin fold measurements is a common method for determining body fat composition. 7 measurements sites are taken including chest, midaxillary, subprailiac, abdominal, thigh, tricep and sub-scapular. These measurements are used to measure body fat composition over time and to calculate body fat and lean body mass percentages.
Girth measurements are circumference measures taken at standard anatomical sites around the clients body including hips, upper and mid thigh, waist, chest and bicep. These measurements are recorded and monitored over time. As your body composition changes in response to physical exercise and diet, your body size and shape will change. Areas of high fat deposits may reduce in size i.e. waist and hips, and areas of high muscle mass may increase in size i.e. arms and chest.
Essential body fat is necessary to maintain life and reproductive functions. The essential body fat percentage for women (10-12%) is greater than for men (2-4%). Once Body Fat Percentages are calculated we can assist you in reaching your weight loss (body fat) goals and ideal race weights.
Lean body mass is an estimation of how much you weigh excluding your body fat ie- how much your bones, organs and muscles weigh. As the other factors are assumed to be relatively static, by monitoring your lean body mass we can get a fairly accurate estimate of the amount of muscle you are gaining or losing. This is an important factor in weight loss or gain and in athletes performance.
The widely-used calculation of Body Mass Index (BMI) provides a measure that allows for the comparison of individuals of different heights in terms of their weight. Due to differences in body composition the BMI is not necessarily an accurate indicator of body fat, for example individuals with greater than average muscle mass will have a higher BMI. But this gives us a general ideal on your weight versus your height and where this fits into the general population.
Basal Metabolic Rate is the number if calories your body burns at rest / the amount of energy expended while at rest. BMR decreases with age due to the loss of lean body mass. Increasing muscle mass increases your BMR. This is important to know for those trying to lose body fat and not muscle mass. BMR is calculated using your height, weight, age and body fat / lean muscle mass percentages.
Active Metabolic Rate is defined as the amount of calories burnt by a human body in a single day. So when factoring in your current training load or activity level, we can calculate the average number of calories your body burns per day. This is crucial for those wanting to lose body fat and for athletes wanting to train at their peak.
We use the sit and reach test – a common measure of flexibility, which specifically measures the flexibility of your lower back and hamstring muscles. This flexibility test is important as because tightness in this area is implicated in lumbar lordosis, forward pelvic tilt and lower back pain. Flexibility is also crucial for athletes as those with higher flexibility and elasticity in their muscles, perform more effectively and efficiently than athletes with low-elasticity muscles.
Receive general nutritional advice for training and racing and general health and wellbeing. Nutrition is a key factor in weight loss and training and racing performance. If the client requires further nutritional advice we recommend seeking advice from a dietician or nutritionist at Bounce Health.
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