Dexa Scan - Body Composition Personal Challenge

[GaryMac]

Hi,
This is my first post. I am a 51 yo male who was feeling unfit & a bit flabby in the middle so bought a Concept 2. I am new to rowing & about 5-6 weeks into my journey. In that time through cleaning up my diet & rowing 6 days a week I have lost 3 kgs. Thinking I was doing well I decided to have a Dexa body composition test done and was a bit shocked with the results. At 178cms and 74.8kgs it came back that I was 32.8% body fat!! Well above the max 25% recommended for my age. My fat mass was 23.6kg, Lean mass was 48.3kg and thankfully my Bone Mass Density (BMD) was fairly good for my age at 1.218 g/cm.

I hadn’t had a fat test done in 20 years but back then I was very fit at about 73kgs & only 14.7% fat. Doing some rough arithmetic I must have lost about 11kgs of muscle and gained 13kgs of fat over those 20 yrs, most of it in my abdomen area . This has been enough to make me challenge myself to see how much of a turnaround I can achieve by Xmas (roughly 16 weeks).

I am fairly time poor so am hoping to stick mainly to rowing 5kms x 6 days per week with a couple of bike rides on weekends to burn some additional calories. For me this should be something I can hopefully maintain & if successful keep going after the 16 weeks. I don’t like to diet so will continue cleaning up my diet, cut back on starchy carbs and avoid lunchtime Japanese Chicken curries as much as possible . At the end of my challenge I will have another scan & post my results here to keep me honest. I am interested to see how much muscle the rowing will add while maintaining a calorie deficit and also if it can increase my bone density.

Just wondering if anyone else has any success with body transformations just from rowing and a diet clean up and have you had a Dexa scan to confirm your body composition?

[Ombrax]

I am interested to see how much muscle the rowing will add while maintaining a calorie deficit

Welcome to the forum, Gary.

Rowing will definitely add muscle, and if you put in the time and effort you will be the difference, but IMO the biggest contribution will be the reduction calorie in intake.

Unfortunately for us (not for our ancestors who didn't have access to the nearly unlimited amounts of calorie-rich foods we have) the human body is quite efficient, and unless you're spending hours and hours per day rowing or cycling, there are only so many calories you'll burn.

When trying to loose a significant amount of weight it takes just as much effort controlling your diet as it does to exercise.

Good Luck

[Dangerscouse]

About three months before I got married in 2012, I was made redundant from work so I set about having a daily routine which included rowing four times a week and weight lifting.

I have rowed on and off for 19 years, and circa 2009-2011 it was notably patchy and only consisted of a 15 min HIIT session, and the very occasional 10km, when I did do it.

After three months of rowing, and not controlling my diet in any notable way, I had lost circa two stone (14kg) and one of our wedding guests said (tongue in cheek) that he wouldn't have recognised me if I wasn't the groom.

Since then I have managed to maintain a very steady weight through three or four days of rowing and one dynamic hot Pilates class a week.

In my experience with enough effort there is a weight that you are possibly supposed to be and you will find this equilibrium when the effort becomes a lifestyle. Hopefully with your prior body weight / fitness you will gravitate back to this weight.

[Gammmmo]

I am interested to see how much muscle the rowing will add while maintaining a calorie deficit and also if it can increase my bone density.

It will add some, though nowhere near what weights will. What is in your favour is you are starting from a newbie standpoint which is typically the only time one can lose fat AND gain muscle. If you have a propensity to bulk that is of course in your favour too.

Just wondering if anyone else has any success with body transformations just from rowing and a diet clean up and have you had a Dexa scan to confirm your body composition?

Yes. I did but my start point was different as I was a skinny racing cyclist. I put on a little muscle and didn't have much fat to lose, so my weight went up a few kgs. Your case is different. I had a dexascan back in 2012/2013 and had osteopenia in my lower back and hip bone IIRC. I've not had one since but I suspect my bone mass will have gone up thanks mainly to a) doing weights and b) reducing the excessive cardio. Again, I suspect your case is different because you're looking for the fat/muscle readings instead.

[GaryMac]

Hi, I am almost at the halfway point so thought I’d post an update. I have been pretty consistent and row 5km most mornings before work. On the weekends I have been cycling for an hour each day or longer rowing sessions if the weather is too bad to cycle. In under 8 weeks I have lost 5kg (8kgs since I got the Concept2 12 weeks ago). I am feeling really good (mentally & physically) and can fit into clothes I haven’t worn for years. I am tempted to have another Dexa scan to see how much muscle I have added but will stick to my original plan.

[Carl Watts]

I would be interested to see how the results of that scan compare to just the array of body fat scales on the market for home use.

Yes sure they are not "Accurate" but its all relative, you use them at the start and track your progress and as long as the body fat numbers are going down then your on the right track.

Not surprised at your numbers, I started years ago at 28% and even when killing myself on the Erg with 7500m a day average for a whole year only managed to get down to 20% body fat. Still its all relative I guess because 20% still looks better than 90% of 50+ men over here.

[mightymayesy]

Hi Gary!

You all but described me and my goals too! I'm a few weeks behind you.

I really look forward to your updates.

Sam

[GaryMac]

And the results are in! Went for my follow-up scan today. In just under 4 months I managed to increase lean mass by 2.8kgs, lose 7.8kgs of fat & decrease body fat % from 32.8 to 23.7%. I have roughly dropped 4” off my waist too. I am feeling good, sleeping better & think mental health has improved significantly.

I managed to stick to my original plan of rowing 5kms per day during the week & bike riding for about an hour Sat & Sun. I didn’t diet as such just ate clean, reduced starchy carbs & swapped mid-week lunches for a protein/frozen fruit shake.

I am a little disappointed my BF didn’t get under 20% but I am now at WHO 50th percentile which in my 50’s is probably respectable. I was also a bit disappointed as my rowing performance peaked early & then plateau’d but I suppose I am now in LW not HW category.

My next phase will try & focus on improving rowing performance so am going to start a kettlebell strength program (KB swings & Turkish Get Ups) to gain some muscle, start a stretching & yoga routine to improve flexibility & I will drop my cardio to just following the basic Pete plan (maybe some light bike rides for recovery). I will add more calories maybe go back to proper lunches but keep the protein shake too. And in 6 months I might get another scan to monitor progress.

[Ombrax]

And the results are in! Went for my follow-up scan today. In just under 4 months I managed to increase lean mass by 2.8kgs, lose 7.8kgs of fat & decrease body fat % from 32.8 to 23.7%. I have roughly dropped 4” off my waist too. I am feeling good, sleeping better & think mental health has improved significantly.

Congratulations, Gary - that's awesome news!

I'm glad it's working for you and you're definitely showing lots of improvement.

Keep it up.

[GaryMac]

My wife went for a scan today to start her journey and they had a 2 for one special on so I had another scan.

I am now down to 16.3% BF This means since I got my Concept 2 in July I have lost 15 kgs of fat and gained 7 Kgs of muscle. This has been a big improvement in the last 5-6 weeks since my last scan and I am going to credit adding Kettlebell Swings and Turkish Get Ups to my routine. I worked really hard over Christmas and am doing 200 KB swings and 10 TGUs a day and following the basic Pete plan 3-4 days per week. I am really starting to see the difference and feel really good. I have been working on flexibility/mobility too and am starting to see an improvement in my rowing finally. I plan to keep this up for at least the next 3 months and will reassess my progress and goals then.

[lindsayh]

that's just a great story Gary - thanks for sharing it

[max_ratcliffe]

My wife went for a scan today to start her journey and they had a 2 for one special on so I had another scan.

I am now down to 16.3% BF This means since I got my Concept 2 in July I have lost 15 kgs of fat and gained 7 Kgs of muscle. This has been a big improvement in the last 5-6 weeks since my last scan and I am going to credit adding Kettlebell Swings and Turkish Get Ups to my routine. I worked really hard over Christmas and am doing 200 KB swings and 10 TGUs a day and following the basic Pete plan 3-4 days per week. I am really starting to see the difference and feel really good. I have been working on flexibility/mobility too and am starting to see an improvement in my rowing finally. I plan to keep this up for at least the next 3 months and will reassess my progress and goals then.

Outstanding work. Very well done indeed.

Losing that weight and putting the muscle on at the same time is no small feat - conventional wisdom is that this is usually only possible for the very obese. Your training must be really on point for you.

I liked the TGU, but wasn't sure it was doing that much for me (although I'm sure it's good for joint stability, etc). Perhaps I should put them back into my routine. Do you do the swings and the TGUs every training day, or 7 days a week?

[GaryMac]

Hi Max,
I am loosely following the Simple and Sinister program so have been doing swings and TGU every day. I don’t think the TGUs will add much muscle size but TBH I am doing them more to gain strength and mobility especially in my shoulders as my thoracic and shoulder ROM is poor.