Weight and percentage body fat query

FutureGuy

Hi everyone,
I bit the bullet and joined the gym after a few months of laziness. I play soccer quite regularly but never made a serious attemt at going to the gym on a regular basis.

My goal is to gain some more muscle and to get to about 13 st.

When I started a month ago my weight was 13 st 4 lbs and my % body fat was 23.2%. I'm 30 y.o. and 5' 11.

I have a 3 day routine, each preceeded by a 2000 m row (about 10 min) and followed by abs and a 10 min jog/warm down. Takes about 1.5 h to complete)

Day 1: Chest and Bicep
Day 2: Tricep and Back
Day 3: Shoulders and Legs

In 4 weeks, my weight was actually increased to 13 st 7 lbs :mad: but my % fat has decreased to 20.2%. I'm not sure if these results are correct? Should I recheck or are these results usual?

teflon

FutureGuy wrote:

Hi everyone,
I bit the bullet and joined the gym after a few months of laziness. I play soccer quite regularly but never made a serious attemt at going to the gym on a regular basis.

My goal is to gain some more muscle and to get to about 13 st.

When I started a month ago my weight was 13 st 4 lbs and my % body fat was 23.2%. I'm 30 y.o. and 5' 11.

I have a 3 day routine, each preceeded by a 2000 m row (about 10 min) and followed by abs and a 10 min jog/warm down. Takes about 1.5 h to complete)

Day 1: Chest and Bicep
Day 2: Tricep and Back
Day 3: Shoulders and Legs

In 4 weeks, my weight was actually increased to 13 st 7 lbs :mad: but my % fat has decreased to 20.2%. I'm not sure if these results are correct? Should I recheck or are these results usual?

Muscle weighs heavier than fat so as you gain muscle, which is probably what you are beginning to do now, your weight might increase. As long as your BMI has decreased, you are doing well. There are alot of factors to consider, for example if you are doing your sit-ups a certain way, your waist can actually expand, even though you may be doing them correctly.

Just keep an eye on the BMI and if its getting lower then you're onto a winner.

Best of luck with your goal..:D

Dragan

teflon wrote:

Just keep an eye on the BMI and if its getting lower then you're onto a winner.

BMI is based off weight versus height, therefore as he adds muscles and subsequently gets heavier his BMI will actually increase.

OP, for a simple way to keep track of progress take a picture under the same lighting conditions every 4 weeks.

rubadub

teflon wrote:

Just keep an eye on the BMI and if its getting lower then you're onto a winner.

If his BMI is getting lower it simply means his gravitational pull on the earth is less. His goal is building muscle and getting to 13stone. The scales/BMI will show up the 13stone, but tell nothing about the muscle.

How did you get the BF tested? Even if it is with a good calipers the amount can be wrong by a fair amount

FutureGuy

rubadub wrote:

If his BMI is getting lower it simply means his gravitational pull on the earth is less. His goal is building muscle and getting to 13stone. The scales/BMI will show up the 13stone, but tell nothing about the muscle.

How did you get the BF tested? Even if it is with a good calipers the amount can be wrong by a fair amount

I used the BF machine in the gym. It measuers height, weight, BMI, %body fat, Blood Pressure and Heart Rate.

BTW, my BMI actually increased over the same period (now 26.2%).

The reason I am doubting the results is that a 3% reduction in body fat over a 4-week period seems way too large to be true. Maybe I need to recheck.

teflon

Dragan wrote:

BMI is based off weight versus height, therefore as he adds muscles and subsequently gets heavier his BMI will actually increase.

OP, for a simple way to keep track of progress take a picture under the same lighting conditions every 4 weeks.

Apologies, meant bodyfat and not BMI

Vegeta

FutureGuy wrote:

I used the BF machine in the gym. It measuers height, weight, BMI, %body fat, Blood Pressure and Heart Rate.

BTW, my BMI actually increased over the same period (now 26.2%).

The reason I am doubting the results is that a 3% reduction in body fat over a 4-week period seems way too large to be true. Maybe I need to recheck.

Those machines are quite inaccurate and more importantly they are not consistent due to the way they measure body fat.

While calipers are also inaccurate they are consistent. You will be the one taking the measurements and as long as you use the same technique and are observing a drop or downward trend in BF% you are going in the right direction

As Dragan points out pictures are a great way to track progress. as soon as our super shed is finished at home and all the gear is moved out I will be taking pictures myself to track the fat loss

Froot

FutureGuy wrote:

Day 1: Chest and Bicep
Day 2: Tricep and Back
Day 3: Shoulders and Legs

In 4 weeks, my weight was actually increased to 13 st 7 lbs :mad: but my % fat has decreased to 20.2%. I'm not sure if these results are correct? Should I recheck or are these results usual?

I prefer to do it this way but of course how you do a split depends on your own preference and the advice you have been given.

Day1: Chest, shoulders + triceps
Day 2: Back + Biceps
Day 3: Legs + abs

Lifting heavy weights puts on muscle and burns fat. So your weights workout helps you to gain muscle (and hence weight) and lose fat and some weight. So you will see your weight potentially going up but most likely your physical appearance improving and your bodyfat going down. If you want to lose more body fat just watch your diet and keep up the good work