What Is Body Composition?

Body composition is the way to describe what the body is made of. When we talk about this, it’s usually referring to muscle and fat, and how we can improve the ratios. This can be done with a variety of practices, including sleep, nutrition, and exercise.

How To Access Body Composition

You can access it through visual appearance, which is perhaps the most helpful. Body weight is another, which is a good can be a tool of progress. Lifting performance can help gauge muscle mass. DEXA scans are also a diagnostic tool.

How To Improve Body Composition

1. Cold thermogenesis

Cold therapy is know as a hormetic stressor. A hormetic stressor is something that you do in the short term that causes a bout of stress, but makes you more resilient in the long term. There are many hormetic stressors, but today I’m going to focus on cold therapy. Cold therapy is the process of using showers, ice baths, and cold plunges to train your nervous system to be more resilient to stress. This does just not relate to cold temperatures, but this will carry over in other areas of life.

2. Build muscle

Muscle acts as a glucose sink, and is where it’s primarily stored. The more muscle you have, the more glucose you will be able to tolerate.

3. Intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting is great for making you more insulin sensitive. This study shows how it can improve insulin sensitivity, weight, and cardio metabolic health.

4. Saunas

Nomads in Finland build the first sauna 10,000 years ago. It used to be a hot hole in the ground, and evolved into stand alone huts. Stones would be roasted over an open flame, and ounce there was enough heat, they got rid of the fire, and got inside. They would splash water on the stones to create steam, endure the heat as long as possible, then jump into an icy cold body of water. Saunas were also used to build a sense of community.

5. Protein

Protein is often over looked when it comes to the three macro nutrients, proteins, carbs, and fat. Fat, and carbs have been getting a lot of attention the past few decades, but protein, not so much. Today you will find out what protein actually is, the importance of it in building our bodies, and much more. It’s also very helpful for satiety, and helps you stay full longer.