![]() However, DXA manufacturers have not integrated athlete data or the capacity to compare measurements to other athletes into their software or reports. This allows for some unique comparisons between athletes. Another advantage of looking at DXA data for optimal body composition comparisons is that you can look at lean and fat mass values of the arms, legs, and trunk, in addition to whole body. With more athletes now being measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), we can build a bigger database for professional, collegiate, and even youth athletes for all types of sports. Specifically, by looking at body composition differences between types of elite athletes, we can get an idea of optimal fat, lean, and total mass values for a sport and position. 1 In general, the closer an athlete’s body composition is to the ideal body composition for their sport, the better their performance will be, says Click To Tweet Jordan Moon: In general, the simple answer is that “body composition is an apparent function of the physical task,” and the closer an athlete’s body composition is to the ideal body composition for their sport, the better their performance will be. And remember, body comp is not just about performance, it’s about health!ĭr. Most methods already have a standard of error, so there’s no use making it worse or making it so taking some tests overall is a waste of time. How often do you test? Both the method used and tracking over time can mean the difference between accurate and not accurate, within reasonable limitations. Sure, that’s no fault of the BOD POD-it just gives you a number-but, under those circumstances, you’d be better off getting your body composition guessed at the State Fair booth! I’ve heard BOD POD testing horror stories: not testing for hydration, taking the test at different times of the day over a period, taking the test less than 24 hours after a hard workout. How you obtain the information is probably more important than the results, of course. Jordan Moon, I ask him more questions about body composition for athletes.īob Alejo: What’s the general relationship between body composition and performance?ĭoes it even matter? Some would argue that it’s all about results, but that’s certainly a myopic view. Now that would be comprehensive! I know other coaches would love to see that.ĭon’t kid yourself: Body weight and body composition matter! Here, as a follow-up to my last conversation on testing methods with body composition expert Dr. In addition to how much an athlete can squat, it would be great for practitioners to show body-weight-to-strength ratios, along with body composition information. Not taking body composition measurements during these transformations means that it is an all-out guess for caloric addition/restriction or protein intake. There is no argument that those physical changes could result in more lean tissue loss than necessary, which would certainly affect the efficacy of strength and power acquisition. There are plenty of online photos showing “before” and “after” for athletes, as freshmen and then later, yet almost nothing showing “before” and “after” for lean mass, fat mass, and body composition changes. Certainly, the engine producing that speed is important as well. ![]() And, as we read more about running speed, we realize that mass is important to speed. For some studies, body weight is crucial when scaling for strength and power. There’s a good amount of research on athletes that includes at least body weight, regardless of the purpose of the study. But what about BETTER sports performance results? We can gain some insights on this by learning about norms. Granted, it’s all about sports performance results. ![]() I’m surprised, but not that much, that there is seldom any rhetoric or higher level of discussion about body composition.
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