Why do you work out at the gym? In 2016, 603 people were asked this question, and the answers were not all that surprising. In the survey, where respondents could pick multiple reasons for their gym memberships, 54% said the gym helps them stay healthy, 42% said the gym helps them optimize their strength and endurance, and 41% said the gym helps them manage their weight. Other reasons included that the gym “helps me get a better-looking body” (38%) and “helps me optimize my appearance” (37%).

There’s no doubt that exercising at the gym can crush all these goals, but there are lots of different exercises out there and each one affects the body differently. While most people associate gym exercise with losing weight, this assumption overlooks the other positive changes that occur with your body’s composition when you work out regularly.

In this blog, we’ll discuss what body composition is and how it can be impacted by various workouts at our Thornton gym.

What Is Body Composition?

Body composition is a term that describes the proportion of various substances in the body. Some of the many components that make up the body include:

Protein
Fat
Water
Minerals

All of these components are important, and everyone has them in different amounts.

Weight Loss and Body Composition

When it comes to losing weight, people tend to focus on the numbers they see on their scale. They’re excited when the numbers go down, assuming that means they’ve lost some body fat. But those numbers don’t show what’s behind the weight loss. When someone’s weight goes down, have they really lost fat? Or was it muscle? Or water? A simple scale will never tell you those details, but the type of weight loss or weight gain is far more important than how much has been lost or gained.

Working Out at the Gym and Body Composition

When you combine workouts at the gym with a healthy, high-protein diet, you’ll start to notice changes in your body composition. Even if the numbers on your scale don’t budge, you could be losing fat mass while adding lean muscle to your frame. If you exercise regularly, it’s important to not only track your weight loss and weight gain, but also the changes in your body composition.

Devices like the InBody 770 at AFAC gym can measure your muscle mass, fat mass, and much more so that you get a comprehensive analysis of your entire body. Regular body composition testing will help you to verify that you’re not losing muscle mass due to your gym workouts. Remember that when you work out — especially during strength training — your muscles are sustaining small tears. As your muscles recover, they’ll need proper rest and nutrition to rebuild. If you’re overtraining, you could actually experience a reduction in muscle mass because your body can’t “keep up” with the rebuilding of areas that were torn down, which can eventually lead to lost muscle tissue.

How Does Cardiovascular Exercise at the Gym Affect Body Composition?

People who are trying to lose weight are often told that cardiovascular, or aerobic, exercise is the key to any weight loss program. Cardiovascular exercise keeps your heart rate elevated for a prolonged period of time. This does help burn calories so that you can achieve the calorie deficit needed to lose weight, but it also has an impact on your body’s composition.

One study published by the American Physiological Society followed the effects of regular exercise in adults. Over 8 months, adults in the study were placed on either aerobic training programs, strength training programs, or a combined program of aerobic and strength training.

Researchers found that the participants in the aerobic training program lost the most weight overall — including more fat mass — than those in the strength training program. However, those in the strength training program gained more fat-free mass, including lean muscle. While those who were in the strength training-only program didn’t lose as much fat mass, the muscle tissue they gained could help boost their metabolism and future fat loss efforts.

While it required double the time commitment, a combined program of aerobic and strength training didn’t result in a greater loss of fat over aerobic training alone. But, if increasing muscle mass and strength is your goal, a strength training program is required. Some cardiovascular machines (like the StairMaster, rowing machines, VersaClimber, and Jacobs Ladder) do provide some strength training benefits, but they can’t be relied upon to build muscle tissue in the same way that a strength training program does.

How Does Resistance Training at the Gym Affect Body Composition?

Resistance training, also known as strength training, helps people of all ages and abilities increase their muscle strength by making their muscles work against a weight or another force. There are many different types of strength training, including:

Free weights like barbells, dumbbells, and kettlebells
Resistance bands
Weight machines
Bodyweight exercises like pullups, chinups, sit-ups, and planks

Resistance training affects body composition by building lean muscle mass. As the muscles contract to overcome an opposing force, the muscles become stronger over time.

The Journal of Medicine published a study that investigated how resistance training helps elderly individuals. The researchers gathered seniors who were struggling with their physical abilities and started them on a strength training program. By the end of the program, researchers observed an increase in the participants’ muscle mass, fat-free mass, gait speed, and overall physical abilities. This study showed not only how strength training improved body composition in the elderly, but also how it increased their mobility and ability to complete daily tasks.

Another study published by the Journal of Strength and Conditioning assigned male participants into different strength training programs. The study found that regardless of the frequency of their strength training program, all participants in the study gained overall muscle strength. The study participants also boosted their muscular endurance as well as the thickness of their major muscle groups. All these signs point to an increase in lean body composition.

In addition to increasing your lean muscle mass, strength training comes with a host of other benefits. Yet another study showed that just 30 minutes of strength training per week lowers the risk of dying from serious illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer by 10%-20%.

How Does Vibration Training at the Gym Affect Body Composition?

Vibration exercise on machines like the Power Plate have gained popularity because this type of exercise can add another level of stimulation for muscle fibers. People can simply stand on a Power Plate and engage their muscles through vibration alone, or they can perform exercises on the Power Plate to increase the intensity of their workouts. Vibration exercise is a relatively new concept but it does show some promise in improving body composition.

In one study, postmenopausal women were divided into three groups – the first group participated in resistance training, the second group participated in resistance training with vibration training, and the third group didn’t do any training at all. After the eight-month study was completed:

Both the resistance-training group and the resistance-training with vibration group showed an increase in lean tissue mass
Only the resistance-training plus vibration group showed a lower percentage of body fat
The group that didn’t train at all gained body fat and didn’t show any increase in lean tissue

Another study published by the Journal of Sports Medicine and Fitness followed male athletes in a vibration training program. They were separated into two groups – one group had only lower-limb strength training and the second group had lower-limb strength training combined with vibration training. After eight weeks, athletes in the combined strength training and vibration group showed improvement in their leg extension strength, balancing ability, and peak vertical lift compared to the strength-training only group.

If you’re interested in trying the Power Plate for vibration exercise, AFAC gym has several machines for our members to use and we also hold regular Power Plate classes.

How to Improve Your Body Composition

Body composition can be a complicated topic. To simplify how body composition affects you at the gym, you can look at your body as being made up of fat mass and fat-free mass. You can improve your body composition by decreasing body fat, increasing muscle tissue, or a combination of both.

Most of us know that diet and exercise at the gym can impact our body weight and body composition, but striking the perfect balance between the two isn’t always easy. Here are some tips to get started.

Diet and Body Composition

If you consistently eat more calories than your body uses, you will gain weight, typically in the form of fat.
If you consistently eat fewer calories than your body uses, you will lose weight. This is often called being in a “calorie deficit.”
Eating lower-nutrition, highly processed foods like candy, ice cream, pizza, and chips are rewarding to the brain, but won’t keep your hunger satisfied.
Eating enough protein is essential for everyone, and even more important for those who are trying to gain muscle and lose fat. Good sources of lean protein include lean beef, chicken, turkey, salmon, eggs, nuts, peanut butter, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and lentils.
Protein will satisfy your hunger better than carbs and fat, and your body also burns more calories processing protein than other nutrients.
Fiber has several health benefits and can also increase your feelings of fullness after eating. Good sources of fiber include beans, nuts, whole grains, and vegetables.

Physical Activity and Body Composition

Physical activity is critical for improving body composition.
Exercising at the gym not only increases the calories you use but is also necessary for optimal muscle growth.
Strength training will challenge your muscles during exercise, helping them to grow and get stronger, which will increase your lean muscle mass and calories burned at rest.
Exercise, particularly cardiovascular exercise, can help you burn a high number of calories and lose fat.
The American College of Sports Medicine says that 150-250 minutes of exercise per week may lead to weight loss. They recommend 250 minutes per week of exercise to achieve significant weight loss.
Building muscle while losing fat is recommended because muscle tissue is more metabolically active than fat and will help you burn more calories throughout the day, even when you’re at rest.

Other Factors that Affect Body Composition

Beyond nutrition and exercise, there are other factors that can impact your body composition.

People with poor sleep quality tend to have worse body composition than those with good sleep quality.
Individuals who consume a lot of alcohol are more likely to be obese.
Age and genetics can also impact body composition.

Get a Well-Rounded Exercise Program at AFAC Gym

As people strive to attain better body composition, exercising at the gym is more important than ever. In addition, to get the results you’re hoping for, it’s critical to follow a well-rounded exercise program that touches on all phases of fitness including aerobic, strength training, balance, stretching, recovery, and even mental health.

AFAC gym is here to support you as you strive to achieve your fitness goals. Our personal trainers dedicated staff have a wealth of knowledge to assist you with your questions about body composition. We can also help you track your progress through regular body composition assessments using our InBody 770.

To learn more about becoming a member of AFAC gym — the best gym in Thornton, Colorado — please stop by or give us a call anytime. We’ll be happy to assist you. You can also contact our gym owner, Susan, at 720-849-0245 or susan@adventurefitness.club for assistance.