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The Bioscan: 5 Measurements We Focus On

If you can measure it, you can change it. Let Vision Personal Training show you the benefits of the Vision BIOSCAN and how it can help you.
Weight Loss Articles
Weight Loss Articles

By Ben Kayser at Drummoyne

We use the Bioscan to identify areas in which we can target in your program or build upon depending on the result. 5 of these top measurements we can make a focus upon include your Skeletal Muscle Mass, Total Fat Mass, Visceral Fat, Mineral Density and the Bioage. In this article we will look at what each category involves, why it's important to focus on the area to better your health and how we do this!

Skeletal Muscle Mass is a major area of interest on the Bioscan results. Basically, muscle is a band of fibrous tissue that helps produce and maintain movement. We want to increase our skeletal muscle mass because we'll move better and faster, burn more energy when training but especially at rest and increases our insulin sensitivity meaning when we eat carbs, we can handle them better and not let them go straight to our thighs! This number on the Bioscan helps indicate whether we're in the optimal range or not, and usually indicates if somebody is doing resistance training. 60mins or 2 sessions a week over a period of 4-6 months is enough to put us in the optimal range. The lower end of the range can suggest either minimal or no resistance training is happening.

Total Fat Mass is the second area. Fat is basically calories that your body has stored away because of an overconsumption in the past. It can cause decrease insulin sensitivity and increases the risk of cancer, cardiovascular issues and diabetes.  Did you know the more fat mass you have can put 4 times the amount of pressure in kilos on your knees! Simply, 10kgs = 40kgs extra per knee per step! A small daily calorie deficit is the way to reduce this - stick to your macros and complete your cardio minutes every week and you'll be well on your way!

Visceral Fat is the worst place to carry fat in our body. It is the fat that surrounds your organs. Visceral Fat is below the muscle in your abdomen and is held around your organs. Subcutaneous fat is above the muscle and can be grabbed easily. Visceral Fat causes inflammation in your organs and this directly links to the formation of lifestyle diseases. To lower it, stay within that calorie deficit/macronutrients in your diary and lower trans fats which are found in anything that is highly processed and fatty, also oils with low smoke points. Focus on lowering alcohol intake as visceral fat reduces the effectiveness of your liver and the ability to breakdown toxins in your body!

Minerals give us an idea of our bone mineral density. Simply put the higher it is, the better and less likely we are to become injured during a fall, less likely to be osteoporotic and more likely to have a better frame for things like posture. To increase our bone mineral density, we need to stress the body and bones by resistance training as the muscle attaches on bone and doing weights puts the muscle under tension pulling on the bone, forcing the bone to become stronger. Again, 60 minutes is enough a week to impact this. Calcium and Vitamin D are also essential in helping to grow and build density. You can get these nutrients by eating green leafy vegetables, nuts and dairy and also getting outside in the sunshine for your Vitamin D!!

At the end of the scan you are given a BioAge. Essentially, we want this number to be lower than our chronological age. Overall it is an indicator of your measurements and whether they fall into the optimal range (in the brackets) of measurements for your age, weight, height and body type. The two biggest factors are the skeletal muscle mass and total fat mass. So, if you increase your skeletal muscle mass and decrease your total body fat your BioAge should improve!

 


 

 

 

*Disclaimer: Individual results vary based on agreed goals. Click here for details.

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