Measure, maintain, or improve your overall body composition.
The Equinox Longevity Assessment is a nine-part series designed to provide members with evidence-based tools to measure and benchmark their fitness age, and provide training guidance to optimize performance. Developed with Michael Crandall, CSCS, a Tier X Coach at Equinox, the full program can be accessed here.
Your body composition, not your weight or your body mass index (BMI), is the best indicator of your health. For years, BMI was the gold standard. But a 2014 study from UCLA found that 54 million Americans whose BMI classifies them as overweight or obese are not. The problem with BMI is that it doesn’t take into account where the weight is distributed. People with large amounts of muscle — like professional athletes — may have a high BMI but not have too much fat. That’s because their weight is distributed in a way that makes sense for their bodies and physical pursuits.
Body composition refers to the percentage of fat, muscle, bone, and other tissues in the body. Equinox Clubs measure body composition with an InBody scan. This equipment uses a method called bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) to estimate body composition. BIA works by sending a small electrical current through the body to measure the resistance to the current. The resistance is used to calculate the amount of fat, muscle mass, body water values, and the difference in weight between your right and left limbs.
Studies generally suggest that high fat mass is associated with increased risk of mortality and low lean body mass is associated with increased risk of mortality. Tracking your change in muscle mass is equally important. Researchers at UCLA analyzed BMI and muscle mass data for more than 3,600 seniors in a long-term study published in the American Journal of Medicine. The study tracked which seniors had died a decade later. BMI wasn’t a good predictor of death, but muscle mass was. The more muscle people had correlated with better odds of survival.
It’s never too early to start measuring your body composition. Having those numbers as benchmarks can help you set goals to maintain and improve. When you have a healthy body composition, you’ll feel your best in the gym, on the basketball court, and out on the town.
Action Plan
Club members receive a complimentary yearly InBody scan performed by a Equinox Coach. The test should be done first thing in the morning before you’ve eaten anything. Your Coach will explain your results and share norms for your sex and age; that said, know that there is no agreed-upon “normal” range for body fat, just as there is no ideal body weight. The norms charts from the American College of Sports Medicine provide guidelines for body composition based on age and sex.
After your scan, your Coach will also help you build a roadmap for maintaining or improving your overall body composition throughout your lifetime. Interventions include proper sleep, nutrition, stress management, and a well-rounded fitness regimen.