NIFS Healthy Living Blog

Embarking on a journey toward fat loss or body recomposition is akin to preparing for a marathon. Just as you wouldn't sprint at the start line, nutritionally, it's vital to "walk before you run." This philosophy underscores the importance of gradual, sustainable steps in dietary adjustments, emphasizing the hierarchy of nutritional priorities that catalyze progress.

The Cornerstone of Nutrition: Caloric Intake

At the heart of any effective fat loss or recomposition strategy is managing caloric intake. The first step isn't intricately tracking every morsel, but understanding that the energy you consume versus the energy you expend dictates your body's changes. This principle doesn't necessitate immediate, meticulous food logging. Instead, start by becoming mindful of your eating habits and recognizing patterns that may contribute to excess calorie consumption. Simple adjustments, like reducing portion sizes or limiting high-calorie, nutrient-poor snacks, can initiate progress without overwhelming you with the nuances of calorie counting.

The Second Pillar: Protein Intake

Protein plays a pivotal role in preserving muscle mass during a calorie deficit and in supporting muscle growth during recomposition phases. However, before diving into the complexities of macronutrient ratios, focus on incorporating quality protein sources into your meals consistently. Choices like lean meats, fish, dairy, and plant-based proteins not only support your body’s needs but also contribute to satiety, helping you manage overall calorie intake more effectively.

Laying the Foundation: Eating Habits and Food Choices

Before delving into the specifics of tracking, the foundation of your nutritional strategy should be establishing regular eating patterns and making healthful food choices. Eating at consistent times aids in managing hunger and energy levels, preventing overeating. Gradually shifting your diet toward whole, nutrient-dense foods improves your overall nutrient intake, setting the stage for more detailed nutritional strategies like macronutrient tracking.

In essence, successful nutrition planning for fat loss or body recomposition mirrors the adage of "walk before you run." Start with broad, manageable changes in eating habits and food choices (and see this blog for where to start in other areas). As these become ingrained, refine your focus toward caloric and protein intake. This phased approach not only promotes physical progress but also fosters a healthier relationship with food, ensuring long-term success on your journey.

This blog was written by Sabrina Goshen, an Aligned Health Practice Registered Dietitian.

The first thought that comes into most people’s heads when they hear the word weightlifting is, more times than not, “bulky.” The perception is that heavy weightlifting will cause an undesired large gain of muscle mass. This is true; weightlifting will cause you to put on muscle mass, but it will take a lot more than just lifting weights to be “bulky.” Please do not let your goals steer you away from certain exercises.

What Is Olympic Weightlifting?

The sport of Olympic weightlifting is comprised of the snatch, and clean and jerk. The snatch is a lift in which you take the bar from the floor to overhead in one swift movement. The clean and jerk is a lift in which you take the bar from the bar to the shoulder in one swift movement, and then take it from the shoulder to overhead in a second movement. The Olympic lifts are full-body, explosive movements that require the use of every muscle group in the body.

Take a look at any high-level athlete who competes in events such as track or wrestling. They have to get as strong as they can without putting on extra weight. They achieve this by lifting heavy loads for lower rep schemes as fast as they can. This is one reason why you will see athletes in these sports utilizing the Olympic lifts in the weight room. In the off season if they need to put on size, they will move to the higher rep ranges.

Benefits of Olympic Weightlifting

There are many benefits to learning and performing the Olympic lifts within your exercise routine. The lifts can be programmed in many different ways depending on your specific goals. These are my top five benefits of learning the lifts from a certified coach:

1. Body composition: The snatch and clean and jerk are full-body lifts that use the legs, glutes, back, abs, shoulders, and arms. Performing the lifts burns more calories in a shorter period of time compared to performing isolation/single-joint movements. The lifts and accessory lifts can be used to put on lean tissue, increase strength, and ultimately decrease body fat.
2. Muscular power and strength: Muscular power is how fast you can move a load. Decrease in muscular power over time is the main cause of falls in older adults. In Olympic weightlifting, nothing is done slowly. All loads are moved at max velocity, therefore increasing power. If your goal is to run faster and jump higher, power is the key ingredient.
3. Coordination: The Olympic lifts require precise coordination, rhythm, and timing. Improving body awareness and coordination is great for the activities of daily living. Learning new things also increases cognitive abilities in old age.
4. Range of motion: Most people associate heavy lifting with being stiff and bulky. The Olympic lifts, however, require the lifter to control a load through a full range of motion in the knees, ankles, hips, and shoulders. If the range of motion is not there now, or at the start of your lifting journey, over time training through a full range of motion will increase flexibility more effectively than static stretching one time per week.
5. Work capacity: Depending on how the lifts are programmed, they can be used to cause a range of positive changes to your body. One way to increase work capacity is by limiting the amount of rest time in between sets. Over time you will be able to recover faster from higher-intensity training.

The Olympic lifts should be performed under the eyes of a certified, experienced coach. Learning the lifts on your own can be done, but will take much longer and will not produce the results you are seeking. If you are interested in learning the Olympic lifts, visit our Master Class here at NIFS, which is free to members. If you are looking for one-on-one or more personal coaching, you can visit us at the track desk and one of our staff will get you going in the right direction.

This blog was written by Evan James, NIFS Exercise Physiologist EP-C, Health Fitness Instructor, and Personal Trainer. To learn more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

BOD POD®: A Body Composition Assessment

Have you ever wondered what your true body composition is? Are you ready to measure your success with precision? When you get onto the scale, the number that you see is your body’s actual weight; however, that is not a true reflection of the makeup inside your body.

The results from a BOD POD assessment will give you those real numbers that you are looking for. You will see a true muscle-to-fat ratio and get a better idea of your overall health. Whether your goal is to gain, lose, or maintain, this assessment will give you real and accurate measurements to help you measure your success.

Why It’s Important to Know Your Body Composition

In order to tell your true level of health, you need to know what’s going on inside of you. You can obviously tell when someone is overweight or underweight on the outside; however, we know that looks can be deceiving. Someone may appear on the outside to be on the heavier side, but they may have a significant amount of muscle mass below the surface. When simply measuring using a scale, there is no way to tell the muscle-to-fat composition inside. Knowing these numbers can be helpful to see the potential risk for things like cardiovascular disease. This assessment will give you the real numbers of your body composition and level of health to help you set goals to gain, lose, or maintain your weight and body fat percentage.

How It Works

The BOD POD uses air displacement technology to get your numbers. Imagine this like a bathtub that is half-full of water. If we measured the amount of water in the tub, then you got into it and we measured the amount of change in the water level, we would come up with the water displacement amount. This same thing happens using the BOD POD, just with air volume—and a lot less mess! This measurement is as accurate as hydrostatic measuring! You will also get an estimated resting metabolic rate (RMR). The RMR tells you how many calories your body uses in one day for accurate consumption, no matter what the goal is.

And, if you decide to come back for another test, the system will save and compare your results so that you can see the changes over time. This assessment takes only a short 15 minutes. For most accurate results, be sure not to eat, drink, or exercise 2 to 3 hours prior and wear tight, form-fitting clothing like compression clothes or a swimsuit.

You can see a sample BOD POD report here. Click here to watch a video on how a BOD POD^® test is done.

Cost is $45 per test, or 2 for $80 (one BOD POD assessment annually FREE to NIFS members). To schedule your BOD POD, contact the NIFS track desk at 317-274-3432 ext. 262 or fitness@nifs.org.

This blog was written by Amanda Bireline, Fitness Center Manager. To read more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

At times you may hear somebody at the gym or fitness center saying, “I don’t want to look like a bodybuilder,” or “I don’t want to be a powerlifter.” That’s great! That person knows their goals and also what they want to avoid. However, don’t let your specific goals cause you to have myth-generated fears of certain exercises.

Extreme Lifting Programs

Just take a second to think about what exactly a bodybuilder or a powerlifter has to do in order to earn his or her title. A bodybuilder must train with heavy weights, high intensity, and a whole lot of volume (reps and sets). Not only is the training extremely specific to what they do, but they have to do it for years to even be considered an amateur! I haven’t even mentioned a bodybuilder’s diet. Bodybuilders can consume 8,000 to 9,000 calories per day to gain muscle the way that they do!

A powerlifter’s training is just as specific to their sport. They train with very heavy weights and high intensity, but lower volume. A powerlifter pushes his or her body to an extreme level by slowly loading more and more weight into the program over time. A powerlifter can also consume upwards of 7,000 to 8,000 calories per day in order to fuel his or her body to perform at such a high, strenuous level.

All in all, extreme athletes such as professional bodybuilders and powerlifters follow very intense and specific programs that have gotten them to the level they are at today. What does that mean for the normal gym-goer? It means that there should be no fear of looking like a bodybuilder or a powerlifter unless you are following that specific style of program or eating that amount of food.

The Benefits of Lifting Weights

So far, I have given you reasons why you shouldn’t avoid weightlifting, but now I will give you specific reasons why you should be lifting weights.

• Strengthening bone: Lifting weights can add bone density, which will really pay off in later years, possibly saving you from injuries and expensive surgeries.
• Adding stability: When weight training, you are forced to recruit stabilizing muscles. These will become stronger and allow you to perform physical functions more efficiently.
• Boosting your metabolism: That’s right; lifting weights burns calories! You will be burning calories during a weightlifting session, but also afterwards. Your metabolism can get a positive effect from weight training, causing you to burn more calories throughout your day*.
• Increasing Fat Free Mass (FFM): Weight training will help to build muscle, which is included in FFM. So, if you do it correctly, you can effectively burn fat and gain muscle through weight training*. Sounds like a win-win to me!
• Increasing functionality: So when your friend says “Hey, can you help me move into my new house this weekend?” you don’t have to dread saying yes! If you have grown accustomed to lifting weights, you will be well prepared for events like moving furniture, yard work, and rearranging all your stuff in the attic* (just like you’ve been meaning to do for the past five years).

So, if weightlifting isn’t for you, I want to encourage you to go into the gym and try a session of weight training. If you’re brand new to weightlifting and need some help, a Health Fitness Specialist like me is always waiting here at NIFS to help you get started.

*Individual results vary and are not guaranteed.

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This blog was written by Aaron Combs, NSCA CSCS and Health/Fitness Instructor. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.