StretchLearn Course

Understand Your Body Composition — and Actually Change It

Evidence-based methods for measuring fat, building lean mass, and escaping diet culture.

Beginner9 hrSelf PacedRegistered

Course Overview

What this course is designed to develop

Body composition — the ratio of fat mass to lean mass — is a far more meaningful health marker than bodyweight alone. This course unpacks the physiology behind fat tissue and muscle, walks you through validated measurement methods from DEXA to skinfold calipers, and explains exactly how resistance training, protein intake, and energy balance interact to shift that ratio. You will leave with a personalised assessment baseline, a sustainable change protocol, and the critical thinking tools to evaluate bold claims from the diet and supplement industry.

Learning Outcomes

What the learner should be able to understand, build, or execute.

Distinguish fat mass, lean mass, and visceral fat and explain their independent effects on metabolic health

Select and apply at least two validated body-composition measurement methods appropriate to your context

Calculate energy balance and protein targets to support a recomposition or fat-loss phase

Design a resistance-training structure that preserves or builds lean mass during a caloric deficit

Identify common diet-culture myths and evaluate supplement claims using an evidence-quality framework

Build a 12-week body-composition tracking protocol with defined check-in intervals and decision rules

Curriculum Preview

Inside the curriculum: a structured path from fundamentals to execution.

Preview the course structure, see how the modules build on one another, and understand the path this program is designed to take you through.

Module 1

Module 1: What Body Composition Actually Means

Establish a precise vocabulary for fat mass, lean mass, and body fat percentage, and understand why these metrics matter more than body weight for health and performance.

3 lessons

Fat Mass, Lean Mass, and Why Weight LiesContent · 45 min

Preview Enabled

Visceral Fat vs. Subcutaneous Fat — The Hidden RiskContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Setting a Realistic Baseline — Before You Change AnythingContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 2

Module 2: Measuring Body Composition — Tools, Accuracy, and Tradeoffs

Compare validated measurement methods from DEXA and hydrostatic weighing to BIA and skinfold calipers, understanding the accuracy, cost, and accessibility tradeoffs of each.

3 lessons

DEXA and Hydrostatic Weighing — The Reference MethodsContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Skinfold Calipers and BIA — Accessible Everyday MethodsContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Interpreting Your Data — Trends, Not SnapshotsContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 3

Module 3: The Science of Changing Body Composition

Understand the physiological mechanisms — energy balance, protein metabolism, hormonal signalling — that govern how fat is lost and muscle is built, and how to manipulate them effectively.

3 lessons

Energy Balance — The Foundational LeverContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Protein — The Most Important Macronutrient for Body CompositionContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Resistance Training for Body Composition — The Non-Negotiable StimulusContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 4

Module 4: Navigating Diet Culture and Building a Sustainable Protocol

Develop the critical thinking skills to evaluate diet claims, supplements, and rapid-transformation marketing, and build a personalised 12-week body-composition protocol you can actually sustain.

3 lessons

Reading Evidence — How to Evaluate Body-Composition ClaimsContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Diet Culture, Weight Stigma, and a Health-First FrameworkContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Building Your 12-Week Body-Composition ProtocolContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Built for Application

A complete learning path, not a one-off inspiration hit.

This program is designed around progression: focused lessons, structured modules, applied resources, assessments, and a course rhythm that turns information into usable capability.

body compositionfat losslean massDEXA scanbody fat measurementrecompositionnutrition scienceresistance training