NIFS Healthy Living Blog

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.

For all you Rocky fans out there (and I am assuming that is all of you), the name Frankie Fear should instantly take you to Rocky’s basement in the fifth installment of the series, where the Italian Stallion is introducing Frankie to Tommy Gun. Frankie Fear is regarded as your best friend, because he keeps you sharp, hungry, and focused on survival and victory. Rocky goes on to explain that fear is like a fire deep inside, and if you learn to control it, it can make you “hot,” but if you don’t, it can “burn you up.”

Now I am not doing this powerful scene much justice, but the meaning of it has stuck with me for a very long time. Fear can be paralyzing, and can keep you from taking a risk that could change your whole life. Or, fear can push you further than you have ever gone before. So is Frankie your bestie? Do you control the “fire,” or does it control you?

Risk = Reward

A few years back, before my first 12-mile Tough Mudder, fear was definitely a fire lit up inside me for a month leading up to the event. I’ve been a competitor my entire life, so I have experienced the fear of competition many times and could easily control it. The fear that was overwhelming was the fear of taking a risk at a brand-new obstacle—12 miles of obstacles, to be exact. I saw some of the YouTube videos of this event: mud, tall obstacles, high falls, electricity! That fire was being stoked, and I was beginning to question the risk-reward relationship of this event. But with the help of a true friend, training, and controlling that fire, I completed the 12-mile crazy track.

The risk, of course, was both physical harm and mental defeat. But the reward was redefining who I was and what I was capable of. You find out a great deal about yourself during intense challenges, and what I learned that day has carried me through so many more challenges and battles. Not only during the event, but in the training leading up to it, I defined some new physical heights and a motto that nothing is impossible.

Top 5 Reasons to Compete

So why would you risk competing in this year’s Powerlifting Competition? There are plenty of reasons why, and you should have a few reasons of your own. But here are my top 5 risk = reward reasons to compete in the NIFS 3^rd Annual Powerlifting Competition:

1. Learn to control Fear. This will serve you well not only in this competition, but in life.
2. Visit 3 bars (squat, bench, deadlift) for one low cover charge. Unlike the other bars, you will gain perspective and a medal!
3. Dare to be GREAT. It’s been written that the “enemy of great is often the good.” Don’t settle for “okay,” or “good enough”; dare to be better than that.
4. Surround yourself with like-minded people. The competition will be filled with others who have taken the risk to compete; share the experience and the gains
5. Find out what you are truly capable of. Gain the mindset that nothing is impossible, and bring out that inner Warrior that will carry you through so many challenges in your life.

A Testimonial from a First-Time Lifter

Still not convinced you should compete? Here is what a first-time lifter at our first meet had to say:

"This was my first powerlifting meet, and I was a little nervous coming in not really knowing what to expect. However, EVERYONE was very nice including the staff running the event and the competitors. After doing several powerlifting meets after this one, this one ran the smoothest and fastest by far. It was an amazing atmosphere with lots of spectators and everyone cheering you on every single lift." —Bailey Schober

Don’t let fear burn up your opportunity to be great and to find out what you are ultimately capable of! The risk that you will take will be worth the reward.

This blog was written by Tony Maloney, ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist and Fitness Center Manager. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.