Female client 5 months, great gains but can’t get BF% down.
44 y/o female, not overweight; came to me to get ‘fit’. She is a very disciplined clean eater and works with me 3 hrs a week with workouts on her own at home 2 days (mostly cardio). While she’s made tremendous progress with strength and muscle tone, I can’t seem to get the BF% down. She’s at 24.5% and wants to shave a few points off and then there is those stubborn ‘love handles’.
We’re strength training (progressive and supersets), cardio intervals and HIIT sessions, all of which she loves. She’s a nurse anesthetist, so snacking during the day is pretty much impossible due to her surgery schedules.
I am thinking that her protein/caloric intake is insufficient or perhaps we are over training? Welcome your thoughts.
It seems like you are doing all the right things for her as far as training goes. Before changing anything else, I would pay more attention to her diet. Her job is not the most active and I’m sure there can be days where she spends hours of just either standing or sitting while in surgeries. Maybe you need to team up with a RD to tackle her diet and see if that will work. Give her a few weeks and then take her BF% to see if that has changed. Then you can re-evaluate her program.
Hi Lynn,
Question – what was her body fat% and bodyweight when you first started? And also what is her current bodyweight? I really can’t be of much help unless I get some more info.
Paul Thomas
www.homeworkoutguy.com
Hi Lynn,
Upon first review of your post, my first thought would be her diet. However, there are too many questions that need answers before giving you an educated guess. Given that her BF% is already within a normal range, it will be even harder for her to drop those few extra points. I always want to dig a little deeper with clients to find out “why that number?” because although she may eventually reach her goals, it may require extreme dedication and a change in her lifestyle that will be hard for her to maintain. So, my questions to think about would be:
–What was her starting BF%and what is her goal BF%?
–Does she journal her food intake to know exactly what her daily intake and nutrient makeup are?
–On strength training days, is she lifting heavy enough to fatigue or fail within 12 or so reps?
–She is 44, so she could have changes in her hormones going on as well that play a role
–Sounds like you are mixing up her workouts, although you listed possible overtraining. Does she show any signs? I would limit the HIIT training sessions to 2x or maybe 3x per week.
–Along with this, is she getting enough rest and recovery? If not, this could inhibit any loss.
So I realize I have not actually answered your question, but I would dig a little deeper since it could be many factors for your client.
Good luck and hope these questions help.
Christine
Hello Lynn Valaes,
According to you, she is doing well and not overweight; so, why the desire to lower BF% more? Maybe a discussion how the body will do its best when we take care of it will help her stress level over this little detail subside and ultimately result in a surprise side effect.
If her intake is insufficient, maybe drinking smoothies, made at home from fresh ingredients, would be easier to ingest as opposed to chewing.
It can’t hurt to back off on the training to see if overtraining her body is plausible.
Take care,
Natalie aka NAPS 2 B Fit.
Yes, I would be interested in her starting measurements. Did you take girth measurements? If you are using a BIA, the area across which the charge travels may be retaining fat compared to other areas. If she has made progress until now, you may need to adjust her program.
But we could be more helpful with more information.