“It’s somewhat painful, but I’m reminded once again that nutrition is the key to realizing one’s gym goals.”
This one goes out to the fallen. Some of you know who you are, but, regrettably, most of you do not. You’re the 30-something guys who have fallen off the fitness wagon, the formerly pumped who now boast a spare tire and flabby triceps where a six-pack and 16-inch arms used to be.
Your muscle tees have been replaced by gut-hiding, over-sized golf shirts and your waist line is unfortunately growing to match your age.
Having just turned 30, I started thinking about the plight of your group of males — then I realized I was one of you. Although I’ve long-maintained a four to five day-per-week workout regimen, my nutrition has lagged drastically as work-related travel, stress and general laziness have pushed me away from the fresh produce section of the supermarket and toward the junk food aisle.
I’m not really far overweight per se, but the areas once covered by muscle are now largely being shielded by a thick layer of fat — it looks like I’m not alone.
According to recent Statistics Canada figures, approximately 65 per cent of men over the age of 25 are overweight based on body mass index (BMI) measurement standards, while 22.9 per cent of men over 30-years-old are considered obese.
Those are sobering figures, which none of us should take lightly. Over the next few installments of A Guy Thing I’ll be working with Extreme Fitness personal trainer Michael DeSousa to help educate (or in some cases re-educate) the male masses about fitness and nutrition fundamentals with the aim of getting many of you back on track, while helping others find their way to fitness. The series begins this week with a focus on measurement.
Despite its efficacy for determining general weight and height relationships, DeSousa stresses the BMI can be inaccurate because it doesn’t take into account fundamental differences between muscle and fat — the former weighing about three times more than the latter. Despite being extremely lean in many cases, muscular athletes and bodybuilders are often considered overweight based on BMI calculations.
The alternative is a body composition test to determine how much fat is packed onto your frame. These tests, which used to be done with calipers to varying levels of accuracy, are now typically performed with technology similar to the ultrasound — accuracy levels can still vary, so be sure to have the test done at a fitness centre or clinic with qualified personnel and modern equipment.
DeSousa points out that most guys aged 30 and older fall in the 25 to 30 per cent body fat category. I scored a fair 19.9 per cent. To put that figure into perspective, up to 15.9 per cent body fat is considered an excellent score for a guy in my age group, anyone with less would look downright ripped. Those with more than about 21 per cent body fat need to take action fast.
It’s somewhat painful, but I’m reminded once again that nutrition is the key to realizing one’s gym goals. It’s also one of the hardest aspects of personal fitness to consistently maintain. “The greatest challenge I have is getting my clients’ lifestyle outside the gym to support what they’re doing inside the gym,” DeSousa says.
Check out A Guy Thing in two weeks for a discussion of lifting programs and their value to promoting health in over-30 males. In the meantime, let me know your success stories and which programs or strategies have helped you get into shape in the past.
Chris Atchison has been working as a journalist for the past seven years in both freelance and full-time capacities. A Guy Thing, his take on the everyday travails of the urban male, runs biweekly.
