Practical Use for a Handstand
A funny thought took me: I've got a set of scales that do body fat percentage; I often use them with clients to demonstrate that the program they are following is helping them to lose fat and not lose mass from muscle, bone or other lean tissue.So I wondered, people stand on these scales and it calculates the percentage body fat, this is possible because the electrical impedance of fat is greater than that of muscle: so electricity flows more freely through muscle than fat.
The thing with body fat scales is that the circuit is from one foot, up the leg, across the groin and down the other leg. So I wondered whether I'd get a different answer if I did a handstand on them.
Suffering for Science
This proved really difficult. I can get into a handstand with hands shoulder-width apart fairly easily and even hold it freestanding for short periods (as long as a wall catches me initially). Narrow handstands are quite something else!Mine are inelegant and incredibly unstable and I have to have some help!
Somehow I managed one for long enough for the scales to get my weight and do the electrical impedance test.
The Results are In!
The result? It was practically the same body fat percentage!!!I weigh 66kg. Standing with my feet on the scales I'm 11.5% fat.
Handstanding on the scales I'm 11.7% fat.
I'd expected an even lower number than for the normal, lower body version; nearly identical was a real surprise!
Next I wondered, OK my limbs are consistent, what happens if I have one foot on the scales and one hand and force the current through my mid-riff?
The difference isn't that great. With one hand and one foot I'm 11.9% fat.
That's quite a small variation overall and really boosts my confidence in the body fat scales: whether they are "right" or "wrong", they are consistent. I'll enjoy telling my clients about this! perhaps it'd be fun to try the experiment on other people and see what it reveals...
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| Narrow Handstand on Body Fat Scales |
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