Total health and fitness is much more than a number on your scale, the size of your pants, or being able to brag that you never get sick. Wellness is a daily journey that looks different for everyone.
So, if you’ve decided to get serious about your health this year, we want to partner with you along the way — and the first step is fitness testing.
At SourceMD: Integrated Wellness Solutions in Encinitas, California, Dr. Dave Larson and our team often encounter patients who resolve to get “healthier” by reaching a certain weight or size. But the truth is that those numbers are only symptoms of underlying conditions.
Here, Dr. Larson talks about how fitness testing gives you an accurate picture of your overall health and helps you measure your success along the way.
If you begin a diet or exercise routine without fully understanding how your body works, you’re at a huge disadvantage. Your body is unique, and it won’t respond to the latest fad diet or workout the same way as your friend’s body will.
There are so many variables involved in losing weight, getting stronger, and achieving health and wellness that it’s almost impossible to do without professional help.
That’s why we offer comprehensive fitness testing. These tests reveal what’s going on in your body, so we know exactly how to guide you in your effort. It’s like taking the blinders off and finally seeing how your body ticks and what’s been standing in the way of your goals. Fitness testing gives you the “aha” moment that finally makes sense of your body-transformation journey.
Whether you’re overweight and sedentary or a serious athlete looking to optimize your performance, fitness testing gives you the advantage of complete information and clear vision.
Like any journey, you need to have a starting point, a destination, and a good understanding of the roadblocks ahead. Think of fitness testing as your roadmap to health.
Dr. Larson starts by taking a deep dive into your health history, because your past health affects your current and future health. Old injuries and illnesses may have altered your body’s ability to function properly, so knowing what you’ve been through gives Dr. Larson valuable clues about how your body works.
If there are any lingering issues or underlying conditions that are blocking your current health goals, he addresses those first to clear the pathway.
He also measures all your vital signs, such as your heart rate, blood pressure, weight, and height. With this valuable information in hand, Dr. Larson not only identifies problems that may hinder your health, but he treats them so you can move toward your goal safely.
To set achievable health goals, you have to know precisely where you are now, and that means learning all we can about your current condition.
Dr. Larson evaluates your trunk flexibility, posture, endurance, and strength to get a good picture of your starting point. He uses these to establish a baseline of your unique health markers and a comparison tool to evaluate your progress. If you begin a new workout or diet without this information, you have no way of knowing if your efforts are working.
We also perform a comprehensive body-composition analysis to accurately assess your body-fat percentage, waist circumference, and metabolic rate.
Using the state-of-the-art Styku™ 3D body scanner, Dr. Larson can synthesize millions of measurements to generate a 3D image of your body.
Although the technology is complex, the process is simple. Wearing leggings, shorts, or other form-fitting clothes, you stand on a turntable while a camera snaps countless shots of your body. It only takes about 40 seconds to gather all the information and generate an image of your body.
Dr. Larson can then evaluate how much fat you’re carrying and where it lies, including how much visceral fat you have hanging around your vital organs. He can also estimate your calorie expenditure and your basal metabolic rate.
Armed with this information, Dr. Larson develops a personalized program based on your unique needs, whether that includes fat loss, strength training, nutritional counseling, or all three.
If you’re serious about getting stronger, leaner, and healthier this year, give yourself the advantage of fitness testing. To schedule an appointment, call our friendly staff at 760-230-1317, and start 2022 off on the right foot.
