Step on your bathroom scale tomorrow morning and you’ll see a number. But what does that number actually tell you? Did you lose fat or muscle? Is your metabolism increasing or slowing down? Are your workout and nutrition strategies actually working, or are you spinning your wheels?
Advanced Body Composition Testing in Your Neighborhood
For residents along Sardis Road and throughout Asheville, WNC Barbell offers something far more valuable than a simple scale reading: InBody 570 body composition analysis. This medical-grade technology provides a comprehensive understanding of your body’s true composition in less than 45 seconds, giving you the data-driven insights needed to make smart decisions about your fitness journey. It’s time to ditch the misleading scale and discover what your body is really doing.
What Is Body Composition Analysis?
Body composition analysis refers to the process of measuring the different components that make up your body weight. Rather than lumping everything together into one number—like a bathroom scale does—body composition testing separates your weight into distinct categories: muscle mass, body fat, water, and minerals.
Why This Matters More Than Total Weight
Consider two women who both weigh 150 pounds. The first has 25% body fat and significant muscle mass. The second has 35% body fat and minimal muscle. The scale says they’re identical, but their health, fitness level, metabolism, and appearance are dramatically different. Total body weight tells you almost nothing useful; body composition tells you everything.
The Problem with Bathroom Scales
Your bathroom scale can’t distinguish between fat loss and muscle loss. It can’t tell if your weight dropped because you burned fat or because you lost water weight (which will return immediately). It can’t reveal if your “weight loss” diet is actually destroying your metabolism by causing muscle loss. This is why so many people experience the frustrating cycle of losing weight temporarily, only to regain even more—they lost muscle along with fat, slowed their metabolism, and set themselves up for rebound weight gain (Dulloo & Montani, International Journal of Obesity, 2015).
Beyond Weight Loss: Total Health Assessment
Body composition analysis also reveals health markers that pure weight never could. Visceral fat—the dangerous fat surrounding your internal organs—is strongly associated with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other metabolic conditions. You might be “normal weight” according to BMI charts but carry unhealthy levels of visceral fat. Conversely, you might be classified as “overweight” while actually being very lean with high muscle mass. Body composition testing reveals your true health status beyond misleading standards.
The InBody 570 Advantage
At WNC Barbell, we use the InBody 570—one of the most advanced body composition analyzers available. This isn’t a cheap handheld device or a scale with metal footpads that gives wildly inconsistent readings. The InBody 570 is medical-grade technology trusted by physicians, professional sports teams, and research institutions worldwide.
How the Technology Works
The InBody 570 uses bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) with a patented eight-point tactile electrode system. You stand barefoot on the device and hold onto the hand electrodes, then a safe, painless electrical current passes through your body. Because different body tissues conduct electricity at different rates—muscle conducts easily while fat resists—the device can accurately determine your body composition (InBody USA, Technical Specifications, 2023).
What Makes InBody Different from Other BIA Devices:
- No empirical estimations—doesn’t rely on age, gender, or ethnicity to estimate results
- Segmental analysis—measures each arm, leg, and trunk separately for comprehensive data
- Direct measurement—calculates results from actual impedance values, not statistical predictions
- High accuracy—clinically validated to correlate with DEXA scans at 98%+ accuracy
- Fast and non-invasive—complete analysis in under 45 seconds with no preparation required
Key Metrics Measured
Your InBody 570 results sheet provides detailed information across multiple health markers, giving you a complete picture of your body composition:
Skeletal Muscle Mass
This measures the actual muscle attached to your bones that you can grow through strength training. Unlike total body water (which includes water inside muscles), skeletal muscle mass shows you whether your training is effectively building muscle. Tracking this metric over time reveals whether your program is working—are you actually getting stronger, or just spinning your wheels?
Percent Body Fat
This is the percentage of your total weight that comes from fat tissue. Healthy ranges vary by age and gender, but tracking changes over time is more important than any single measurement. Successful fat loss programs should show decreasing body fat percentage while maintaining or increasing muscle mass—something impossible to track with a regular scale.
Body Fat Mass
The absolute weight of fat in your body. When combined with your total weight, this tells you exactly how much of your weight loss (or gain) came from fat versus other tissues. If you lose 10 pounds on the scale but your body fat mass only dropped 3 pounds, where did the other 7 pounds come from? Likely water and muscle—not the outcome you wanted.
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
Your BMR indicates how many calories your body burns at complete rest just to maintain basic functions. Higher muscle mass increases your BMR, while muscle loss decreases it. This explains why crash diets that cause muscle loss make it progressively harder to lose weight—you’ve literally slowed your metabolism. By tracking BMR over time, you can ensure your fitness program is increasing your metabolic rate rather than damaging it.
Visceral Fat Level
Visceral fat surrounds your internal organs and is strongly linked to cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome (Fox et al., Circulation, 2007). You can have low subcutaneous fat (fat under your skin) while still carrying dangerous visceral fat. The InBody 570 specifically measures this critical health marker, giving you insight into disease risk that appearance alone never reveals.
Segmental Lean Analysis
One of the most valuable features of the InBody 570 is segmental analysis—separate measurements for your right arm, left arm, right leg, left leg, and trunk. This reveals muscle imbalances that might lead to injury or limit performance. For example, if your right leg shows significantly less muscle than your left, you might have compensation patterns that increase injury risk. Identifying these imbalances allows you to address them before they cause problems.
How InBody Analysis Helps You Reach Your Goals
Having detailed body composition data transforms your fitness journey from guesswork into evidence-based strategy. Here’s how these metrics translate into real-world benefits:
Setting Realistic, Data-Driven Goals
Instead of saying “I want to lose 20 pounds,” you can set a specific goal like “I want to reduce my body fat from 30% to 25% while maintaining or increasing my muscle mass.” This type of goal prevents the common mistake of losing muscle along with fat, ensuring your transformation is actually healthy and sustainable.
Tracking Actual Fat Loss vs. Muscle Gain
The most frustrating fitness experience is working hard and “not seeing results” on the scale—despite feeling stronger and looking leaner. Body composition analysis reveals what’s really happening: you’re gaining muscle (which weighs more than fat by volume) while losing fat, resulting in positive changes the scale can’t capture. Many WNC Barbell members discover they’ve lost significant fat while the scale barely moved, explaining why their clothes fit better and they feel stronger despite minimal weight change.
Understanding Your Metabolism
Watching your basal metabolic rate over time tells you whether your nutrition and training strategy is working metabolically. If your BMR increases, you’re building metabolically active muscle and can eat more food while maintaining or losing fat—exactly what you want. If your BMR decreases, your program needs adjustment before metabolic damage occurs. This real-time metabolic feedback is invaluable for preventing the diet disasters that leave people with slower metabolisms than when they started.
Optimizing Nutrition and Training
Body composition data helps you fine-tune your approach. If your muscle mass is increasing but your body fat isn’t changing, you might need to adjust your caloric intake or cardio volume. If you’re losing fat but also losing muscle, you might need to increase protein intake or adjust your training program. Understanding these key metrics allows for strategic adjustments rather than random changes based on how you feel.
The Value of a Free Consultation
Every InBody scan at WNC Barbell includes a free consultation where we sit down with you, review your results, explain what the numbers mean, and discuss how to adjust your program based on the data. This personalized guidance ensures you’re not just collecting data but actually using it to make smarter decisions about your training and nutrition.
InBody Testing at WNC Barbell
Getting your body composition analyzed at WNC Barbell is simple, affordable, and provides insights you can’t get anywhere else in the region.
Pricing Structure
We offer InBody 570 testing at competitive rates designed to make this valuable technology accessible. Our prices are significantly lower than many medical facilities or specialized testing centers charge for similar technology, making it realistic to test regularly and track your progress over time.
Optimal Testing Frequency
We recommend testing every 2-4 weeks for the most useful data. Testing more frequently doesn’t provide enough time for meaningful changes to occur and can lead to frustration from normal daily fluctuations. Testing less frequently means you might continue ineffective strategies for too long before realizing they’re not working. The sweet spot for most people is every 3 weeks—frequent enough to track real progress while allowing enough time for measurable changes.
How to Schedule Your Test
Scheduling your InBody scan is easy. Simply contact us by phone at (828) 665-2007 or through our website to book an appointment. We’ll set up a convenient time that works with your schedule. The test itself takes less than 45 seconds, and the consultation typically runs 15-20 minutes, so you can easily fit it into a lunch break or before/after your workout.
What to Expect During Your Appointment
When you arrive for your InBody test, we’ll have you remove your shoes and socks and step onto the device. You’ll hold the hand electrodes, and the scan begins immediately. Within 45 seconds, your comprehensive results print out. We’ll then sit down together to review your report, explain each metric, answer your questions, and discuss how to adjust your approach based on what the data reveals. There’s no sales pitch—just genuine guidance to help you succeed.
Preparing for Your Test
For the most consistent results across multiple tests, follow these simple guidelines:
- Test at approximately the same time of day each visit (morning is ideal)
- Avoid eating for 3-4 hours before testing
- Use the bathroom before testing
- Avoid intense exercise immediately before testing
- Stay well-hydrated (dehydration can affect readings)
- For women, note where you are in your menstrual cycle (water retention varies)
These preparations aren’t mandatory for your first baseline test, but following them for subsequent tests ensures you’re comparing apples to apples.
Complete Fitness Solutions Beyond Body Composition
While body composition analysis is powerful on its own, it’s even more valuable when combined with the comprehensive fitness services WNC Barbell offers. We’re not just a testing facility—we’re a complete wellness solution for the Sardis Road community and beyond.
Personal Training to Support Your Goals
Knowing your body composition is step one. Step two is having an expert guide to help you improve it. Our certified personal trainers design programs specifically targeted to your InBody results. If your data shows you need to build muscle in specific areas, they’ll emphasize those movements. If you’re carrying excess visceral fat, they’ll incorporate the training methods most effective for reducing it. This data-driven approach to program design is far more effective than generic workout plans.
24/7 Access Supports Consistency
The key to changing your body composition isn’t the perfect program—it’s consistency with a good program. Our round-the-clock gym access removes schedule conflicts as an excuse, making it realistic to train regularly regardless of your work schedule, family obligations, or personal preferences. Whether you’re most energized at 5 a.m. or 11 p.m., the gym is open and ready for you.
Our Leadership Creates Welcoming Environment
Many people avoid gyms because they’ve felt uncomfortable or judged in fitness spaces. At WNC Barbell, our leadership has cultivated an environment where everyone—regardless of gender, age, or fitness level—feels genuinely welcome and supported. This matters because you’re more likely to stick with a program when you actually enjoy showing up, and consistency is what drives body composition changes.
Supplements and Energy Drinks for Serious Training
For those who use supplements to support their training, we stock Condemned Labz products and various energy drinks on-site for convenient access. While supplements aren’t necessary for improving body composition, they can support your training intensity and recovery when used appropriately.
Dionysus Cafe Nutrition Support
Body composition is built in the gym but revealed in the kitchen. Our on-site Dionysus Cafe offers gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and soy-free options that support your body composition goals without requiring you to meal prep everything at home. Having access to quality nutrition immediately after training supports recovery and makes it easier to stay consistent with healthy eating.
Frequently Asked Questions
How accurate is the InBody 570?
The InBody 570 is clinically validated and shows 98%+ correlation with DEXA scans (the gold standard for body composition analysis) in peer-reviewed research (InBody Clinical Research, 2022). While no body composition method is 100% perfect, the InBody 570 is among the most accurate non-invasive technologies available. More importantly, it’s extremely consistent for tracking changes over time, which is what matters most for monitoring your progress.
How should I prepare for my InBody test?
For the most consistent results, test at the same time of day (morning is ideal), avoid eating for 3-4 hours beforehand, use the bathroom before testing, avoid intense exercise immediately before, and stay well-hydrated. That said, these are guidelines for consistency across multiple tests—your first baseline test doesn’t require special preparation. We’ll provide detailed instructions when you schedule your appointment.
How often should I get tested?
We recommend testing every 2-4 weeks. This frequency provides enough time for meaningful changes to occur while keeping you accountable and allowing timely adjustments to your program if needed. Testing weekly is unnecessary and can be frustrating due to normal fluctuations. Testing less than every 4-6 weeks means you might continue ineffective strategies too long before realizing they need adjustment.
Can I get an InBody scan without being a member?
Absolutely! While our members receive discounted pricing ($35 vs. $45), we welcome non-members to schedule InBody testing. Many people use periodic body composition scans to track their progress even if they train elsewhere or at home. The comprehensive data and expert consultation provide value regardless of where you work out.
What’s included in the consultation?
Every InBody test at WNC Barbell includes a complimentary consultation where we review your results with you, explain what each metric means, answer your questions, and provide guidance on how to adjust your training and nutrition based on what the data reveals. This isn’t a sales pitch—it’s genuine expert guidance focused entirely on helping you understand and use your results effectively. The consultation typically takes 15-20 minutes and is scheduled immediately after your scan.
Take Control of Your Body Composition Today
You’ve been relying on a bathroom scale to measure your progress, and it’s been lying to you. It’s time to get real data about what’s actually happening inside your body—data that reveals whether your program is working, data that shows you exactly where to adjust, data that proves your hard work is paying off even when the scale seems stuck.
Body composition analysis isn’t a luxury—it’s essential feedback for anyone serious about transforming their health and fitness. For just $35-45, you get comprehensive insights that would otherwise require expensive medical imaging, plus expert consultation to help you interpret and use those insights effectively.
Located conveniently on Sardis Road, WNC Barbell makes body composition analysis accessible to the entire Asheville community. Whether you’re a current member or train elsewhere, we’d be honored to provide you with the data-driven insights you need to succeed.
Schedule your InBody 570 test today and discover what your body is really doing. It’s time to ditch the misleading scale and start making decisions based on facts rather than guesswork.