I had my first ever Dexa Scan performed today. It was quick, easy and provided lots of fascinating information. The first actionable item was to do something to improve bone mass density. Apparently it’s a natural process, that is the weakening of skeletal bone mass, but I’m not about to head into a risk zone for increased breakage or osteoporosis. I will start supplementary Vitamin K and Calcium and see how things look at my next Dexa, which I plan to do in six months.
In terms of body composition, I am leaner than I estimated based on pictures. While I guessed I was in the 12-13% range, I am actually 11% body fat. My upper body is leaner than my lower body–which I actually can tell from the mirror and pics–but most importantly, my abdominal area is très lean. 8.6% to be precise. This is an important health indicator as this is where any visceral fat would be hanging around, choking my organs in blubbery adipose. Not on my watch.
My legs are 13.9% body fat, which explains why it’s difficult to see much separation or definition in the quadricep muscles. Not that I care about that, but it was a curiosity for me as I can clearly see definition and separation in my upper body including abs, but not in my legs. This caused me to question my guesstimate on body fat, but as it turns out, it’s perfectly normal to have different levels of leanness across the body based on how we’re genetically wired to store body fat.
So I know that as of today’s date, I am carrying 150.85 lbs of lean body mass, and 18.69 lbs of body fat. I will most likely recheck in 6 months or so unless my body weight hasn’t changed much.
Plan:Â
- Stick to PTW’s Intermediate Powerlifting Program
- Stick to calorie cycling ketogenic diet
- Adjust calories based on scale weight (theoretically, I should be able to gain .86 lbs of lean body mass per month).
Fat Free Mass Index.
My FFMI is 21.7, which is between above average and excellent. Thank you, thank you very much.Â
A FFMI of 23-25 would be superior and pushing the maximum believed to be obtainable without anabolics. At 53 years young, and already bordering on excellent FFMI, it’s not likely that I can reach a superior level of fat free mass. I may be carrying about as much as I can now! Many theorists take the position that the best I can do at this age is to prevent the loss of muscle by resistance training and sufficient dietary protein. That may well be the case, but I can say this with confidence: I will continue to try. If at most all I can so is maintain this physique through the foreseeable future, I can still be proud of what I’ve accomplished.
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