Curious about where you are on your journey to becoming more muscle and less fat? Wondering about your bone health? In this episode, I answer three of your questions that could really unlock the next level of strength and wellness for you.

The first question is about how to calculate your body composition. The first thing to understand is that body composition is the totality of your current body weight according to gravity on Mother Earth. Your body composition is the total body weight of your body fat, lean muscle mass, and bone mass.

It's so important to get a professional assessment over an online calculator because they have the highest percentage of error. I focus on muscle mass over body fat percentage for a more accurate picture of health. To calculate it, I take the body fat percentage that's given to you from your DEXA assessment. I take that number and subtract it from 100%. So if your body fat percentage is 30%, then your adjusted lean muscle mass would be 70%.

The next question is about the best ways to strength train after receiving an osteoporosis diagnosis. Unfortunately, the advice for how to handle this diagnosis is often not handled well. If you search “bone,” I have a lot of very specific episodes on this topic but for now, let me say that walking is a great place to start if you’re out of the exercise habit. From there, you can begin strength training.

The last question is about how to strength train if you have an injury. Let me first say that your next workout is only as good as your recovery from your last workout. Assess how well you recover. I’d also recommend concentrating on very gradual progression in your workouts. Each week should really only be a tiny bit more than the previous week. If this all feels a little too calculated, another thing I often tell my clients is to leave every workout wanting more and let the goal be to leave your workout feeling great. Don't push. Don't overdo it.

You may be tempted to think that improving your body composition and bone health is an impossible task, but the truth is, it's pretty formulaic and all about finding the right programming that works for your body!
If you're interested in womens health, this is the podcast for you. 

Resources Mentioned:

Research on body composition assessments in nutrition and clinical practice

Research on managing osteoporosis

Research on the fundamentals of resistance training

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Transcripts can be found on the official blog page for this episode at hollyperkins.com/blog

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Disclaimer: Content and information as part of The Holly Perkins Health Podcast is for general interest, education, and entertainment purposes only. The use of information on this podcast or materials or products linked from this podcast or website is at the user’s own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.

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