Skinny Girl's Quest for Muscle

Skinny Girl's Quest for Muscle
Product Review: Tanita BC-558 Ironman Segmental Body Composition Monitor

Now that I've owned and used the Tanita BC-558 Ironman Segmental Body Composition Monitor for a couple years, I thought it would be a good time to write up a review. Don't you hate reviews from the owners of brand new products that haven't really had time to actually use them? You know what I mean: "Oh, I just love my brand new car! It's so shiny and pretty. And, one of these days, I'm planning to drive it too!" I'm going to try to avoid knee-jerk reaction reviews and focus on products that I've tested over a useful period of time.

To start, what is a "Segmental Body Composition Monitor" anyway? Tanita describes its product as: "[this] product gives individual body composition readings for each body segment- trunk, right arm, left arm, right leg and left leg. The BC-558 is especially useful for anyone who is monitoring the balance of left and right side of body or trying to build or rehabilitate a particular part of one's body."

In case that's a little too vague, here's the information that I get from the scale each time I step on:

Today's Date
My Weight in Pounds (with one significant digit in 5th's, i.e. 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, etc.)
My Total Percentage of Body Fat
The Percentage of Body Fat in my Left Arm
...in my Right Arm
...in my Right Leg
...in my Left Leg
...in my Torso
My BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) in Calories
My Metabolic Age
My Hydration Level
A Visceral Fat Rating
My Total Pounds of Bone Mass
My Total Pounds of Lean Body Mass
The Total Pounds of Lean Mass in my Left Arm
...in my Right Arm
...in my Right Leg
...in my Left Leg
...in my Torso
A Physique Rating

And, all of the above comes with graphs showing improvement (or the unthinkable: declines) over time as long as you step on the scale regularly. The memory spans up to 36 months (according to Tanita). However, on my scale I've only been able to get readings as far back as 3 months with regular use, and longer periods with less frequent use.

Other Features:

The scale is fully functional for up to 4 users and has a "guest" setting. There is also a quick button for a weight only reading. Each user enters the following information: Gender, Birthday (day, month, year), Height (i.e. 5 ft, 4 1/2 inches, with 1/2 inch being the smallest unit of measure), and "Athletic" mode--either you are or you are not. Tanita describes this as "a person involved in intense physical activity of approximately 10 hours per week and who has a resting heart rate of approximately 60 beats per minute or less. Tanita’s athlete definition includes “lifetime of fitness” individuals who have been fit for years but currently exercise less than 10 hours per week. The body fat monitor function is not intended for pregnant women, professional athletes or bodybuilders."

I've been using the scale without the "Athletic" mode. However, after review and comparison of my body fat information over time, it appears that in my case, the "Athletic" mode gives me the most valid body fat reading.

I've tested myself under various scenarios with Total Body Fat Percentage readings as follows:

Female: 27.2%
Female (athletic): 23.5%
Male: 17.9%

In Karen Sessions ebook "Iron Dolls", she suggests averaging the Female and Male readings (on a similar scale, which does not have the "Athletic" mode) and subtracting 1 from the result. Using her math, my body fat would be:

First, find the Average:
27.2 (female) + 17.9 (male) = 45.1 / 2 = 22.55

Now from Average, Subtract 1:
22.55 - 1 = 21.55

Under her theory, I'm 22.55% body fat which is quite a difference from the 27.2% I get without Athletic mode. Using the Athletic mode (23.5%) appears to be a much closer result to her suggestion.

I've also been tested by employees of the local gym using calipers--who have put me closer to the 20 mark vs. the 30 mark. I am still considering a Bod Pod test as the ultimate comparison, but that'll be the topic for a future blog posting.

Changes Over Time:

One of the most useful aspects of the scale (or any body fat scale for that matter) is the ability to track changes over time and adjust as necessary to either cut additional fat or add lean mass. The Tanita does have a display with memory and graphs, but I much prefer tracking in a spreadsheet or notepad (in fact, I use both). Each morning that I test, I write down my scores. Later, when I'm at a computer I enter the information into excel in tabular format so I can see everything on one page. Being able to track information over time has also given me hints about proper scale use. My readings within the same day can be very different, however, day-to-day readings (always taken first thing in the morning) have much less variation.

Additionally, on the days that the scale claims I am more hydrated, my body fat scores are less (and it suggests I have more pounds of lean mass). I've read that another factor that can influence body fat scales is: body temperature (influenced by a recent shower or exercise). All of these details have helped me fine tune my reading schedule in attempt to get the most accurate information.

Right-side / Left-side Body Differences:

Another quite useful feature of this scale is the ability to determine right-side/left-side body discrepancies. For example, my right arm typically has 0.2 lbs or more muscle than my left arm. This may seem insignificant, but since my arms only include about 4 pounds of muscle each, this is a 5% difference--and very noticeable when it comes to bicep curls! This discrepancy, along with my right/left leg discrepancy which is just the opposite: left leg has more muscle than right, have remained consistent over time. Interestingly, the right/left leg discrepancy decreases in the summer with increased bicycling, but becomes prominent again during my less active winter months.

Guest Users:

My younger siblings stayed at my house a couple years ago and each one wanted to be tested on the scale. The first on the scale was my younger brother who was over 18 at the time. He had no trouble on the scale and it appeared to give him an accurate reading. The second to hop on the scale was under the age of 18. The Tanita not only provided less information, but the information itself seemed slightly wrong for his body type. And, the third of the bunch had the same problem (he is also under 18 years of age.) We theorized that the scale doesn't provide as much information for individuals under the age of 18. There was also no "Athletic" mode option for youngsters. We re-tested adjusting all of their ages up to 18 years and the information appeared slightly more accurate and useful.

Other Odds and Ends:

The scale uses standard batteries and I haven't had to change them yet since I purchased the scale. It's rather large, but not heavy. Plan on it taking up quite a bit of floor space unless you have a nice storage area. The display and buttons are all fairly self-explanatory once you read the manual and they are large and easy to read. Using the scale is easy as long as you can bend over--you are required to reach down and pull up two handles that are attached by cable to the scale. While standing on the scale, it's important to not allow your body parts to touch such as thighs touching each other, arms touching the sides of your body, etc. Tanita also recommends that you keep your arms at a 90 degree angle while holding the grips.

It's suggested that you clean the contacts regularly (prior to each use is recommended). I just keep a towel near the scale along with a pen and pad of paper. The scale scrolls through some of your output readings after use such as weight, body fat, right arm fat, left arm, left leg, right leg, and torso. However, don't overlook the other data not included in the scroll--to access it, you must manually press individual buttons. Probably the best feature Tanita could add to this scale is a USB port for data collection as you could quite possibly give yourself a wrist injury with all of the transcribing.

Recommended?

Can I recommend this scale? This is a tough question. The scale is very expensive. Using Karen Sessions' formula, one could use an inexpensive ($30) hand-held scale and achieve adequate information to track progress over time. Right/left body differences can be tracked in other ways such as one rep. max tests, a tape measure, or just looking at muscle size in the mirror.

If you have the funds and the interest, by all means, this is definitely the premier scale on the market. If you are a total data junky like me, than this is the scale for you. If you don't fall into either of these two categories (and you aren't recovering from single-sided body injury or a personal trainer who'd like another method besides calipers) than perhaps a less expensive model would be just fine.

Until next time, go do something athletic!