Why look at body composition?
The bathroom scale does not always provide a complete “picture of health.” Those numbers you see on the scale are often misleading because “scale weight” does not distinguish between “fat mass” and “lean body mass.” “Fat mass” is composed of essential body fat (found in cell membranes and surrounding internal organs) and storage body fat, or adipose tissue, which is used as body insulation and as a fuel source. “Lean body mass” consists of muscle, water, bones and internal organs. Focusing on weight loss alone can have a negative impact on performance. Aggressive diet and training strategies directed towards simply losing pounds commonly have the deleterious effect of unspecified weight loss. All-too-often the weight that is lost is comprised of both fat AND force-producing muscle tissue. The goal of body composition change is to lose the excess fat or “dead weight” and without losing any lean mass.
