How do you measure up? (Part 1)

The way I see it is if you have a vision of where you want to be, the first thing to do is to know where you are now. So here's where I am now.

This is going to be in 2 parts. First up is recording my weight, fat percentage and various girth measurements of body parts (no not that one!!!!). Then tomorrow I am going to test myself with the RKC Rite of Passage drills - more on that in another post though.

Here are my stats:

Age: 34 Height: 5' 11"

Weight: 14st 5.6lbs (201.6lbs) Body Fat %: 25.3

Body Part Measurements
Neck: 14.75" Chest: 42" Upper Arm: 13.25" Waist: 42" Hips: 42.25"
Thigh: 24" Calf:15.5" Forearms: 11.5"

Ok, lets take a look at these.

I can't do much about the first 2, but if I found that by the end of this experience I was 2 years younger and 3" taller then I'd open up the worlds first Kettlebell Church and never stop preachin'!!!!

The next 2 however are of a lot more concern to me. I have been in and around this weight for a couple of years now. I have been "fat" throughout my life and more than likely consistantly clinically obese. Although at one stage in my adult life I had been down to 11st 7lbs - I still had a fairly flabby stomach!!

Below is a table of the categorized ranges of body fat percentages:

Description	Women	Men
Essential fat	12–15%	2–5%
Athletes	16–20%	6–13%
Fitness	21–24%	14–17%
Acceptable	25–31%	18–25%
Obese	32%+	25%+

I fall slightly over the acceptable range for men into obese (depending on accuracy of my scales). Although looking at my picture you wouldn't say I was obese and certainly none of my friends would call me obese. I can tell you that I do have large deposits of fat around my midsection - which judging from what I've read about it is the worst place to have it as it puts you at risk to all sorts of nasty diseases.

So in terms of body weight and composition - its not good and both need to take a nose dive.

The other measurements aren't really all that important to me - I don't strive to have a 45" chest or 18" biceps. It is unlikely that Kettlebell practice will give me those anyway.Kettlebells forge doers’ physiques along the lines of antique statues: broad shoulders with just a hint of pecs, back muscles like steel cables, wiry arms, rugged forearms, a cut midsection, and strong lean legs. I took those measurements just to see exactly what changes would take place.

So my goal is to drop body fat and weight overall, while maintaining or increasing the muscle I have so I never hit that 11st 7lbs and still flabby body again. Sounds like an original goal huh?