Did MK Gain Weight or Strong?

Was it just me? MK looks gain some weight? I first notice that at her shoulder area? Actuall execpt Jenny and Sasha all other woman looks bigger than last season.

I have to addmitt that at first I didn't like her Tosca at all, but again I didn't like her Aranjuez at last Campbell either, and by the end of the season with the way she skated I thought it was the best ever her skated (better than 98 Nat's, IMO) / delivered.

At first I did feel it almost the same as her last year's LP, but after rewatched it tiwce now I know why it gave me the looks same feeling. It was the non stop flow in whole program. There were places where the camera can't catch up her when she moved around the ice. Can someone attend the competetion tell that was she fast enough? Was she 'every where' on the rink like last year's some report described? It give me that feeling on TV though it is hard to confirm just by watching on TV.

Or may be I was wrong about the weight? It just more musculin and strong? Because I also notice that after the 4 min non stop skating she bearly increasing her asp rate. Not like last Nat's or World where she a little out of breath.

Hi mzheng

I don't really think she's gained weight. (maybe a pound or 2) I just think that she's not at what I call her "fighting" weight yet. But have no fear ... she will be by the next time we see her!

i think so... maybe she's gained a little... but only a little.. my roommate kept insisting that she had gained some wt... and i kept saying 'really?'... and then i finally decided that she had indeed put on some wt.. but not like sokolova or hughes did after major competitions... she's obviously, though, not at her 'fighting wt.' she has a few months to tone down before nationals though.....

I noticed something too. Her arms and legs looked normal to me, but there was something funny about her waist. It looked thicker, but almost more like she had something under her dress rather than a weight gain, because I don't think she'd gain weight just around her waist. She was a bit heavier in 2000/2001 before worlds, but it was all over weight gain, not just her middle. I wonder if she was wearing some type of brace for her lower back?

Looked Healthy and Normal

MK chest bones were showing, so I guessing she not toned up, not out of shape. Jenny Kirk looks too thin, not healthy, considering that t.v. puts 10 lbs on every skater. I think Kwan will take on that "runners-body builder" peak look by nationals. Anyway, I don't like seeing skaters too thin. There should be a holiday away from just eating salads and boneless chicken.

I though her thighs looked more muscular than usual. She might have gained some weight, but I don't think any of it was fat...Just solid muscle. It also seemed to me that her cleavage was a little deeper than normal, but that just might be because the costume had some underwiring in it...Ah, the things us guys notice!

I thought she looked slightly heavier, but in a healthy sort of way...definitely more muscular.........not yet at her "fighting weight", but I always thought that look was too thin on her....she looked great anyway you look at her.......42

Idle, *I* noticed Michelle's cleavage. I want to know how she achieved that look so that I can, um, copy it.....

Laura

PrincessLeppard said:

Idle, *I* noticed Michelle's cleavage. I want to know how she achieved that look so that I can, um, copy it.....

Laura

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GET IN LINE, HONEY! (I noticed the cleavage thing, too!)

I thought it was her costume. It made her look a little chunkier in the middle; plus as someone pointed out there was too much cleavage!

I did not see her whole program, but have seen her skate better. She did not seem a poised as she usually is.

Like any intelligent athlete, I think Michelle does not train to keep herself at 100% all year long nor for every competition. I noticed the "not totally lean around the waist" on TV, but when I saw Campbell's live, even from a third row seat, I didn't notice at all and thought Michelle looked absolutely gorgeous. I'm just guessing, but I wouldn't be surprised if Michelle's weight is exactly the same as it was at Worlds and that any changes in the way her body looks are do to changes in percent body fat. In other words, a bit of her lean mass was replaced by body fat. To me this is a good thing and a smart way to train. If Michelle kept herself training at the level to keep her at her peak condition of, say, 95 lbs. 10% body fat all year, IMO she'd be putting herself at risk for burnout. Since muscle is denser than adipose tissue (ie, fat), when your percent body fat increases, even if your weight stays the same, your body increases in size.

To put this in specific terms, a pound of average human muscle tissue takes up about 25 cubic inches of space. A pound of average human adipose tissue takes up about 31 cubic inches of space. So if just one pound of muscle converts to fat, your body will by six cubic inches larger. Depending on the person's genetics and gender, this increase will tend to show up in the abdomen and/or hips. I'd also like to emphasize that we're talking very small changes in percent body fat, as little as one-half of one percent. Also, I think the effect is magnified by TV, even though I know you're comparing TV at Campbell's to TV at Worlds. As I said before, seeing Campbell's live, I didn't notice it.

To me, Michelle looked very muscular (in a good way) and in virtually the exact same shape body-wise as she did at Campbell's last year. I think if you check tapes of Campbell's '02, you'll see that Michelle was not 100% Nats/Worlds svelte around the middle there either. But like I said, I think this is indicative of an intelligent training regimen, timing periods of intense training to correspond to important events (ie, Nats and Worlds); timing periods of relative rest so the body can recover to correspond with periods of time off; and timing periods of build-up in training to correspond with events of medium importance, such as Campbell's. Such an approach helps keep the athlete psychologically and physically fresh, and also helps reduce the risk of injury.

If this is so then why didn't all the ladies look a little bigger than they did at Worlds, not including Elena who did look like she had gained about 10 pounds? Different costumes, different genetics, different body types. Fumie's body, for example, always seems to have the same svelte proportions; so does Kristi Yamaguchi's. Some people can build up more muscle than others and those people tend to show more of a difference when their training regimen increases or decreases.

As to the breathing hard at the end of "Tosca," I didn't really notice it, but then I would expect a skater who is debuting a new program at the beginning of the season to not have his/her full endurance. For one thing, just having to think through the program uses more energy. Later, when Michelle has "Tosca" down to muscle memory and has timed her training to be in peak condition for Nats and Worlds, I'm sure you won't see that.
Rgirl

Thankyou Rgirl ... very informative, and right on target about Michelle!

And Ladskater ... you really should watch her entire performance ... you're missing something special.

MK gain weight or stonger?

I think it is the cut of the dress, which I love, that makes her look mature. Doesn't look like weight gain, her arms are still nice and well definded and her body is lovely. We are not looking at a teenager anymore we are watching a mature young woman. And to me, Michelle Kwan looks great.


diamond

Random question, Rgirl, but since you threw out the figures ...
If a pound of muscle takes up 25 cubic inches and a pound of fat takes up 31 cubic inches, I'm trying to figure out why by body doesn't take up significantly more space than it does? Is bone that much denser than other tissue?

Rgirl said:

If this is so then why didn't all the ladies look a little bigger than they did at Worlds, not including Elena who did look like she had gained about 10 pounds? Different costumes, different genetics, different body types. Fumie's body, for example, always seems to have the same svelte proportions; so does Kristi Yamaguchi's. Some people can build up more muscle than others and those people tend to show more of a difference when their training regimen increases or decreases.

As to the breathing hard at the end of "Tosca," I didn't really notice it, but then I would expect a skater who is debuting a new program at the beginning of the season to not have his/her full endurance. For one thing, just having to think through the program uses more energy. Later, when Michelle has "Tosca" down to muscle memory and has timed her training to be in peak condition for Nats and Worlds, I'm sure you won't see that.
Rgirl

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Thanks for the detail info. Rgirl.

Actually, I noticed except Kirk and Sasha all other woman looks bigger than last season. I like MK's form at 2001 to 2002 when most people here say she was too thin.

May be I didn't express well on the breath rate. What I mean was her breath rate (can't spell that asp????) did not increase at all after the Tosca. But she did looked a little out of her breath in 2003's Nats and Worlds. That's why I say may be I'm wrong at she is not fit. She just more muscular and strong.

Rgirl, that's why I read this board, for stuff like that.

Tharrtel, if you "do the math" it all works out:

Tharrtel, an iron-man triathlete, is 5 foot 7, 125 pounds of solid muscle. According to Rgirl's figure of 25 cubic inches per pound of muscle, this makes a predicted vaule of 125 x 25 = 3125 cubic inches of total volume.

Tharrtel's measurements are 36-24-34. Considering that she has a head, legs, etc., this averages out to be equivalent to a solid cylinder about 24.5 inches in circumference, or about 3.9 inches in radius.

Applying the formula for the volume of a cylinder, V = pi*r^2*h, we get an estimate of 3201 cubic inches for Tharrtel's total volume.

This is pretty close, 3125 versus 3201. The extra 76 cubic inches could be accounted for if Tharrtell has 10.1% body fat. ((3201-3125)/(31-25))/125 = .101

Yours truly,

Mathman

Mathman,

Welove it when you talk numbers!!

Speaking of numbers with3 and a half minutes left in the first quarter the score is:

WVU 7 VT 0

And we just recovered a fumble!!!!!!



Piel

Mathman,
Thanks for the great analysis of total body volume. Much, much more accurate than I could have done. And very interesting.

Tharrtel,
Of course there are bone, teeth, internal organs, tendons, ligaments, nerves, skin, the lympatic system, glands, the brain, and other anatomical structures I'm sure I've left out that would go into a precise calculation of total body volume. I haven't gone that deeply into it since it doesn't really apply to the work I do. However, precise calculations of total body volume are important to professionals such as coroners, especially in forensic work; archeaologists; anthropologists; and other various medical specialists. For an athlete who is trying to keep track of his/her body composition, I think the most pertinent thing is to get an accurate measurement of their percent body fat. There are various methods, ranging from skinfold calculations to getting weighed under water. Lately I've noticed that doctors who either have a general practice or whose speciality involves weight management, ie, endocrinologists, cardiologists, etc. have been using a "percent body fat scale." It works by sending an electircal signal through the body and calculating body fat based on the resistance it gets from water (it's based on the amount of water in muscle vs. fat). I don't know how accurate it is, but it is easy. If you're interested in more specifics, PM me. Thanks to Mathman, my PM system is working again.
Rgirl

I was just innocently looking at a ruler and thinking that 5 cubic inches seemed pretty big. Multiply that by the weight of an adult and that seemed REALLY big. Little did I know where my random thoughts would get me...

Don't I wish I were 5'7", 125, and 10.1% body fat ... I'd be faster!! Can a woman have 10.1% body fat?

Anyway, LMAO at that post, Mathman.

Rgirl - every so often, a group comes by a local sports store and offers body fat testing - water weight test which I believe is the most accurate - bring their tub with them. I haven't done it. Had the caliper test done years ago. I should probably do it again.

My pleasure, R.

Who won the game, P.L.?

Now a serious question. A little fat must be good for you, right? Why else do we have it? Or is it just there for us to live off if we ever starve to death?

Above, Rgirl says that Michelle is smart to let let body fat go up a little in the off-season, then try to work it off in order to "peak" at Nationals and Worlds. Is this a more healthy strategy than to maintain yourself in peak condition year round? Or is it just that that's too hard to do?

Mathman

PS. If you really want to measure your volume, just note how much water you displace when you take a bath. (Archimedes is credited with being the first person to think of that.)