PerformanceNI Ltd

Total body weight within the recommended range would indicate a healthy body status, provided the correct LEAN/FAT proportions are maintained. Body composition assessment is a better indicator of your true physical condition than body weight since the same volume of muscle tissue and fat tissue do not weigh the same. Body composition defines the QUALITY of your weight. Fat weight - NOT total weight - determines health risk.

The general rule is, the lower the BP, the lower the risk of blood pressure contributing to Coronary Heart Disease (CHD). SYSTOLIC BP may increase due to the hardening or narrowing of the artery walls caused by deposits of minerals and fatty materials within the walls. This may arise from a poor diet and lack of exercise. If your body is subjected to stress or hypertension for long periods of time, the DIASTOLIC pressure may be elevated above 100 mm/Hg. This can eventually lead to heart failure, where the heart is unable to maintain its pumping ability, or a stroke, a condition in which brittle vessels burst and cut off the blood supply to vital organs in the body. Stress and hypertension may be directly controlled in the following ways: lose any excess or unnecessary body fat, stop smoking if you are a smoker, alcohol consumption, reduce salt intake. Both systolic and diastolic pressure may be significantly lowered with a regular program of exercise. Have your blood pressure checked regularly, as it can change without symptoms. This is especially true if you have a family history of high blood pressure or strokes.

Generally, the lower the heart beat rate at rest, the healthier the heart and the better condition you are in. The resting heart rate declines as you become fitter and is an easy way to measure progress when embarking on an exercise program. Monitoring your heart rate therefore, is widely accepted as a good practice for measuring the intensity of your workout level during aerobic activities. Ideally, exercise should raise your heart rate to a certain level, called the TARGET HEART RATE, and keep it there for a minimum of twenty minutes in order to burn excess fat and contribute significantly to cardiovascular fitness. By so doing you will achieve the maximum health benefits for your body. Your heart rate during exercise will increase and should, in normal circumstances, be maintained within the target range of 60% - 85%of your MAXIMUM HEART RATE (MHR)continuously during the exercise program. As a general rule, MHR is approximately 220 beats per minute minus the person's age.

Cholesterol is a fat-like substance in the blood necessary for the many functions in the body. The body manufactures all of the cholesterol that it needs, chiefly in the liver. However, an excessive amount, derived from a diet high in cholesterol and other fats, and physical inactivity, may increase the risk of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) A favourable body composition result (i.e. low body fat) does not necessarily mean that the cholesterol level will be normal. A LOW total cholesterol level is desirable. A combination of regular exercise and sensible dietary habits may achieve this desired result.

Glucose, or commonly called sugar, is an important energy source that is needed by all the cells and organs of our bodies. Some examples are our muscles and our brain. Glucose or sugar comes from the food we eat. Carbohydrates such as fruit, bread pasta and cereals are common sources of glucose. These foods are broken down into sugar in our stomachs, and then absorbed into the bloodstream. Normal glucose levels are typically less than 100 milligrams per decilitre, in the morning, when you first wake up, or before eating. We call this the fasting blood glucose or the sugar level. Normal glucose levels 1 to 2 hours after eating are typically less than 140. For the majority of healthy individuals, normal blood sugar levels are as follows between 4.0 to 6.0 mmol/L (72 to 108 mg/dL) when fasting and up to 7.8 mmol/L (140 mg/dL) 2 hours after eating. For people with diabetes, blood sugar level targets are. Before meals 4 to 7 mmol/L for people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes and after meals under 9 mmol/L for people with type 1 diabetes and under 8.5mmol/L for people with type 2 diabetes.

Your waist to hip circumference ratio is an indication of the distribution of your body fat. There is now growing evidence that the waist-to-hip girth ratio is significantly associated with coronary heart disease (CHD). Where the waist circumference equals or exceeds the hip circumference, the risk of CHD increases significantly. The ratio therefore distinguishes between fatness in the upper trunk (waist and abdomen areas) and fatness in the lower trunk (hip and buttocks). Too much fat in the upper trunk area produces a high ratio. Individuals with high levels of both overall body fat and upper trunk area, are at highest risk of CHD. The risk of CHD for women is generally much lower, at least until after menopause, compared to men.

This is a group of tests and health factors that have been proven to indicate a person's chance of having a cardiovascular event such as a heart attack or stroke. They have been refined to indicate the degree of risk, slight, moderate, or high. The most important indicators for cardiac risk are those of a person's personal health and lifestyle. These include, age, family history, weight, cigarette smoking, blood pressure, diet, exercise, physical activity and Diabetes. If your results show a significant risk of developing heart disease, we carefully design your programme to work on the most avoidable factors to reduce this risk. The follow up assessment is essential in this case, examining individual progress.

The minimum amount of energy required to keep you alive is known as the basal metabolism. For each individual there is a minimum level of energy required to sustain the body's vital functions in the waking state. BMR is therefore the ESTIMATED amount of energy your body requires during a 24-hour period to maintain these essential bodily elements, such as body temperature, heartbeat, brain and lungs, to function at REST. The millions of cells inside your body need energy to develop and survive. Muscle cells in particular, demand a lot of energy. This energy comes from the food that you eat. Living cells absorb tiny particles of food and extract energy from them to maintain your body's functions. The oxygen that you breathe in helps your cells to extract the essential fuels from the food that you eat. The greater the BMR per kg of Body Mass, the faster your body will consume the excess calories. Regular exercise may assist in increasing BMR.

This is the ESTIMATED amount of energy your body requires during a 24-hour period to maintain it at its present body composition status for the activity level selected. The key to weight control is basically a question of energy balance - input is food intake and output is by way of physical activity. When you consume only as many calories as your body needs, your weight will usually remain constant. Eat more than your body needs, and you'll put on excess fat. If your energy output is greater than your food intake, you'll burn excess fat. Increasing your activity level will burn more calories. It may also boost your lean tissue, thereby increasing your need for calories even at rest. Heavier people generally expend more energy to perform the same activity than people who weigh less.

BMI is calculated as WEIGHT in KILOGRAMS divided by HEIGHT in METRES squared. In the absence of a direct measure of body fat, it is an index based on weight and height. BMI is limited in predicting body fat for a given individual for a number of reasons: A large framed person heavy in muscle in relation to height can have a BMI in the excessively overweight range and yet not be over fat. Similarly, BMI will categorise individuals with a small frame mass relative to their height as being underweight. Individuals with short legs for their height have higher BMI. BMI is itself NOT a direct measure of fatness. It is only a generalised measure of proportional weight. With the advancement of technology and the development of the principles of Bio-Impedance Analysis (BIA), we can measure body fat levels in individuals undergoing weight loss or gain with greater accuracy and precision than the use of BMI.

There are two forms of fat tissue: Essential fat (approx. 4% for men and 10% for women) serves as a shock absorber and protective shield to the vital organs of the body such as the heart, liver, kidneys, brain and spinal cord. During weight loss this fat is only slightly reduced. Subcutaneous fat stored beneath the skin acts as an insulator to protect the body against excessive heat loss. Any excess calories derived from food intake will be stored here as fat. Obesity is defined as the excessive storage of energy in the form of fat. Since fat weight and not total weight determines health risk, it is clearly advantageous to maintain body fat levels within normal range. This will reduce the risk of suffering from the many health problems associated with being "over-fat". As fats are essential for normal body functions, body fat should not be reduced to below the recommended lower limit unless under the supervision of a health care professional.

Ideally, it is important not to lose lean weight as it is mainly this lean muscle tissue that maintains your metabolism, the rate at which your body burns the calories. It is the key to effective weight management. The greater the lean weight, the more the body burns energy at rest and during exercise. Therefore, it is particularly important to maintain and even increase lean weight during weight-reducing exercise/diet programmes and during the natural ageing process. Dieting alone, without exercise, will decrease lean weight. Hence there is a need for regular body composition monitoring. A low lean body tissue weight is generally associated with inactivity and possibly poor nutritional levels. NEVER use the lean weight as your target total body weight.

Water keeps your system moving, flushes out impurities, and cools the inner organs, regulating your body temperature. Water is lost from the body in urine, through the skin as sweat, and as water vapour in the form of small droplets of water in the expired air during each breath. Water loss, however, is the most serious consequence of profuse sweating. Body fluids should therefore be restored often, especially during and after exercise. Weight loss from water loss will not improve, and indeed may worsen your body composition. It is necessary to drink sufficient water regularly every day (six to eight glasses) to maintain normal hydration levels and good health. Since most of the body water is contained in the lean body mass, the body water percentage will increase with a loss of fat weight and a gain in lean tissue.

The importance of proper evaluation of body composition and metabolism is essential when determining exercise direction. Using the latest BIA technology and software. We can assess these components to develop the best exercise and diet plan for you. Losing fat weight, gaining muscle weight and proper hydration are essential steps to improving metabolism.

Aerobic capacity, or maximum oxygen uptake (VO2Max), is a measure of your stamina, endurance or cardiorespiratory fitness. It is commonly expressed in millilitres of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute (mlsO2/kg/min) and is affected by age, gender, body dimensions and body composition. Cardiorespiratory fitness is considered to be a measure of health-related fitness because: numerous research studies have shown that low levels of aerobic fitness are strongly associated with premature deaths, particularly from cardiovascular diseases, and better aerobic fitness is linked to higher levels of habitual physical activity, which is associated with many health benefits. Aerobic capacity is a most important measure of health-related fitness. Its careful assessment can create awareness and knowledge about the importance of regular exercise for your health and well-being and help to provide you with encouragement to lead a healthier and more active lifestyle.

The ability to move the joint through its full range of motion. Being supple helps you avoid injury and makes you less likely to have aches and strains. Inactivity and disuse can lead to shortening of muscles and tendons that surround the joints. The connective soft tissue (cartilage, ligaments and tendons) become stiffer and more rigid which reduces joint flexibility. Stretching exercises tend to lengthen the muscles and tendons and make them more flexible, thus reducing the risk of injuries during exercise and the effects of muscle soreness and joint stiffness.

Good posture is an easy and very important way to maintain a healthy mind and body. When you practice correct posture, your body is in alignment with itself. This can alleviate common problems such as back or neck pain, headaches, and fatigue. Being in good general health and standing (or sitting) tall will also boost your bearing and self-confidence.

Strength is an important component of fitness and can best be described as the ability to overcome inertia. Extra muscle power is often needed for lifting, carrying, pulling and pushing, to both take strain and avoid injury. There is a progressive decline in strength for most muscle groups due to a loss of total muscle protein brought about by inactivity, ageing, or both. Strength and muscle tone can be improved as a result of a carefully designed progressive exercise program. Research shows clearly that older adults can increase muscular strength and endurance with regular overload, strength-type training. Grip Strength is a simple way of measuring overall bodily strength.

Breathing tests detect abnormalities of the structure and function of the lungs and respiratory system. Both the amount of air you expel and the rapidity with which you expel it can be measured. This is dependent upon: The resistance offered by the respiratory passages to air flow - narrower airways make the air flow more difficult. The resistance offered by the lung tissues and chest - the stiffer the tissues, the harder the ventilation. If the volume of air you expel is less than expected, it may indicate lung disease or damage from smoking, emphysema, asthma or bronchitis. These problems can restrict the amount of air you are able to exhale. This area of fitness can be changed to some extent as a result of training. FVC is the largest volume of air that can be derived by a maximal forced exhalation after full inspiration. It is the total amount of air that can be forced out until no more can be expelled. It is in effect a measure of the SIZE of your lungs. This measurement has a lower value in subjects with emphysema because of exaggerated airway compression.

All health and fitness programmes are individual and designed around your level of health and fitness. Your will be offered achievable goals and targets to reach. All within a realistic time line. Never exercised before or an energetic sports participant. Losing fat weight, gaining muscle weight, posture improvement, rehabilitation, sport specific or just general wellbeing.