Body Fat %

**Gmill13** · 01-22-2002, 05:35 PM

whats up Bros, how do you figure out what your body fat percentage is?
I dont understand this at all
please help guys.
Thanks
G

***Shredz*** · 01-22-2002, 05:53 PM

the best way is by getting hydrostaticaly tested...call up you local university i am sure they can help you out

**Billy Boy** · 01-23-2002, 04:18 AM

Using a caliper is the cheapest and quickest way

**Pete235** · 01-23-2002, 08:05 AM

If you want to regularly monitor your progress (BF lost or gained) follow Billy's advice...calipers are cheap and quick.

If you want an accurate assesment, follow Shredz advice...hydrostatic measurements...but it can be pricey.

**Terinox** · 01-23-2002, 03:44 PM

Hay pete, what is a caliper and how does it work. If you have a site with this info, even better.

Thnx
Terinox

**Tobey** · 01-24-2002, 01:16 PM

Originally posted by Terinox
Hay pete, what is a caliper and how does it work. If you have a site with this info, even better.

Thnx
Terinox

Terinox,
Most of your local gyms offer this service to there members. Ask you gym owner if they offer this service.
Tobey

***Shredz*** · 01-24-2002, 01:21 PM

you can get them at any workout type store...if yo just get the plastic ones they are like $10 you can get ones that are like $50 and are digtial..all they are are clamps that pinch fat and give you a number..you have a certain number of areas that you have to pinch..add them all together and divide by the number and then there you have it..a pretty close but not necessarily accurate measurement of your body fat %

**vinh** · 01-24-2002, 04:56 PM

just a question, if u clip ur belly withthe clipper then do a workout how much bodyfat u got.

thats for the bell, what if the belly has more fat then the arms or other way around? wouldnt this make calculations different

**bloodsweat&tears** · 01-25-2002, 01:36 PM

When you take your body fat measurements you pinch the fat in a number of places on the body... belly...tricep....back...glute...chest.

**beenie** · 01-25-2002, 03:30 PM

Stay away from callipers. Everbody tests it differently. I am very low body fat, but had a new trainer in my gym take it last week. He told me I was 26%. I asker him in a serious tome, "and you feel comfortable with that?" He responded "well its accurate to within 3%" I am 6' 5" weigh 185 and am pretty muscular: I know that I am really somewhere around 11%.

As shredz the bast way is the hydrostatic method, which is far and awy the most accurate. Alternatively you can buy a Tanita bf scale for about $75, cheaper if you look around on the Internet, and it will be more accurate than the callipers, in my opinion, but still not as good as being tested hydrostaticaly. The benefit of the Tanita is that you can monitor your progress over time.

**Tobey** · 01-25-2002, 05:25 PM

Chances are beenie that the trainer in question took a measurement out of sequence. The calipars at our gym require that a measurement be taken from the ( on a male) the chest, abdominal, and then the legs. Chances are he either tool these measurements out of sequences OR he did not properly calibrate the calipars before taking your measurements thus givening a false reading.

Vinh,
Yes you need to get in the habit of learning how to roll the muscle tissue away from the fat. This will be somthing that you will have to have someone show you as I do not think that it can be explained over a pm. Yes your abdoimal may hold more body fat say than your legs or your chest. THAT is the reason the measurements must be taken in the proper sequence as the calipars take in to consideration what part of the body it is measureing.
IC

**beenie** · 01-26-2002, 02:21 PM

Tobey,

It is interesting that you say that, because the cest legs and abs are where they have alway been measured b4. This guy did tricet, bicept and obliques. Low and hehold-26%. Hmmmm. I got some washboard action goin on these days too, so it was quite curious. I still say stick with the Tanita. Its more reliable, because there is less room for human errror.

***Shredz*** · 01-27-2002, 01:01 PM

Originally posted by vinh
just a question, if u clip ur belly withthe clipper then do a workout how much bodyfat u got.

thats for the bell, what if the belly has more fat then the arms or other way around? wouldnt this make calculations different

this is why you take a few measurements usually around 5 in different locations around you body..then you get the average.

I also have theTanita scale..it isn't really that accurate..if you take you BF and then hit the shower and then take it again it drops from .5 to 1%..but it is good to see if you are making any progress..but do not depend on it..

**beenie** · 01-27-2002, 01:22 PM

1% difference is better than the 3% margin of error reported by callipers. How close to the Tenita are the callpers coming for you in the overall reading.

Also the Tanita is good at showin trends over time.

**Anaballick** · 01-27-2002, 01:22 PM

Hydrostatic dump is the only accurate way to measure your bodyfat. I really question the effectiveness of calipers. What if the person has loose or pliable skin? The electric empedance scales are garbage, readings flucuate like crazy and are never very close to actual bodyfat %. Calipers and Electric Impedance scales are good for checking your progess as the level of error will be consistant and you get leaner, however if you truly want to know your bodyfat go Hydrostatic.

**Tobey** · 01-31-2002, 08:40 AM

Originally posted by beenie
Tobey,

It is interesting that you say that, because the cest legs and abs are where they have alway been measured b4. This guy did tricet, bicept and obliques. Low and hehold-26%. Hmmmm. I got some washboard action goin on these days too, so it was quite curious. I still say stick with the Tanita. Its more reliable, because there is less room for human errror.

Beenie,
I Guarrentee you that if you go back and look at the calipar that the traininer that you were referring to was useing, you will see that he took the measurements from your body in the wrong places. It is customary to take a tricep meaure in place of a chest measurement on a female only. There is a difference if this area is measured on a male. In other words basically the trainer you were referring to did not bother to even read the owners manual of the calipar that he is useing. I assure you that it is printed in the owners manul of the calipars somewhere. As far as him taking a bicep measurement for BF%???? I have never heard of any measurement being taken here at all. Unlesss there has recently been a breakthrough in measuring ones body fat with a new techinque or somthing that I have not heard of. Tell this guy he needs to re-read the owners manual to his calipars.

Vinh, If I understand your question way up the page about when is it a good time to measure? You should ALWAYS. ALWAYS. ALWAYS, measure your body fat % before you work out. Once you have preformed even 1 set, the blood flow to thatt particular part of your body has increased and you will get a inaccurate ( wrong) reading. This is as important as taking the measurements in the proper place.
Hydrostaitc measuring? At the local university here ( AUBURN UNIVERSITY) which by the way just happens to be the best university in the world! ( Ok I'm a little basis here) will check your BF hrdrolically for only $25. And if your lucky enough to catch one of the caoches already filling the tank for some of the atheletes you can have it checked for free. But that rarely happens to be honest as it is hard to catch them filling the tank.
IC

**beenie** · 01-31-2002, 09:11 AM

Tobey>

I made the reading in the gym a big joke and told people, "did you know that I am 26%bf?). The reading was soooo silly.

I got retested a couple days after that by a doctor. He said that I was coming in below 11 percent. he said "way under" (whatever that means). He said that he could not be more specific because that was as low as his chart went. 11% is what the Tanita has me at now.

I guess my point is that the callipers are only as good as the person taking the reading, and even then there is room for interpetation.

**superbeast** · 01-31-2002, 09:49 AM

I take a lot of clients' bodyfay measurements. Calipers are very accurate if the person using them has experience and follows a good formula. I use Parrilo Performance's formula. Nine different spots on the body. The more sites, the more accurate. Different people have tendencies to hold fat in different places.

Scales are junk. The last one I used told me I was 16% and I was really at 7%. Charts like a doctor would use that are based on height, weight, and frame size are also junk.

Hydrostatic weighing is considered to be the gold standard but it also becomes inaccurate at very low readings. (7% or less)

The most practical and dependable way is to find someone who performs measurements often and use that person excusively as different people will use different methods and get different results.

**beenie** · 01-31-2002, 11:11 AM

I am convinced. I am going to make an appointment to get hydrostatically tested (if it doesn't cost too much).

BTW, the Doctor I used emplyed the use of the calipers interestingly.

**superbeast** · 01-31-2002, 11:40 AM

Yeah, I'll find it and put in on this thread when I do.

**superbeast** · 02-01-2002, 10:25 AM

http://www.parrillo.com/programs/bod...95403517126622

If you go to this page, there is a free Adobe download that you can get. I'm pretty sure that it shows all the sites and gives the formula. If not, let me know.

**BullDogg20** · 02-02-2002, 09:10 AM

Calipers are a great wat to test body fate and they are extremly accurate in testing surface bodyfat. it does not test the fat that is withine the muscle tissue which is the hardest area to loose it from.

I have a few bodies who dont work out at all or rarley and they looked ripped, but their muscle are soft. their skin is thin and all and give an appearance of being lean and they are just not as lean a s they think. as for me my muscle are preatty dense but i carry a layer of noticable bf over my muscles. If y want an accurate reading of surface fat just do calipers if you want a total bodyfat reading get it htdrostaticaly done.

I have one of those tanita scales and it is supposed to measure similare to the hydrostaticaly, but it doesnt at all i have friends who are wayyyy fatter then me and their bodyfat % in only like 5 % off from mine. one time i steped on it it said i was 24% body fat, which in theory is preatty much impossible cuz i am 5'5 173 lbs

lets do the math boys and girls 173 - 24%bf = 132.5 lbs lol theirs no wy i am that light with no fat on me i would maybe belive 145 lbs no fat at all but nnot that low. i steppped on that same scale 15 minutes later its said 16 %
so u see i think they had a good idea when making it but i think its a piece of crap in measuring bodyfat.

**VEGETA990** · 02-04-2002, 06:34 PM

I have a caliper and every once in a while i will break out the formula and do the test. You don't need to go to some professional. If you do the test and it says that you are 25 percent bodyfat and you think that your 10%, so what. The bottom line is that now you have marked your progress. If you gain twenty pounds and you do the test the same way, and it now says that you are 27% BF, good job. Gaining 20 pounds and adding only 2% BF is good. If your looking to loose weight and the test says that you are 25% and you drop 20 pounds, do the test again. If it says that you are now 15% BF, then you significantly lowered your BF. I guess what I'm trying to say is that is doesn't matter what your BF is, just that you have something to chart your progress with.

**Fif the Great** · 02-06-2002, 08:01 PM

Hey, just use the online calculators... They vary; on one, I was at 28% on another, 14%... Depending on the site, you can get your body fat % down to 10%!! But seriously, use a caliper to get a quick, pretty accurate read.

**coroner** · 02-07-2002, 05:29 PM

I agree that the Tanita scales are absolute JUNK-- for a quantitative number. My scale has two modes: athletic and normal. The athletic measurement says I'm at 11%, the normal one says 24%!! Come on.

HOWEVER: the scale HAS proven worthwhile to see a trend: I can tell if I'm losing or gaining bf. The mirror is the best indicator, but the scale's a nice toy to have.

**Methuselah** · 02-09-2002, 07:38 PM

I use a calculator on the internet. It asks for height, weight, waist in inches around belly button, and inches around wrist bone. Says I'm 22%

How accurate would anyone say this is. I don't feel very fat.

**VEGETA990** · 02-09-2002, 07:50 PM

Well, In highschool (to good ole days) we tested our bodyfat with very very accurate calipers and this one kid came out to 22%. Hes fat. He was also one of the lineman on the football team, if that gives you any idea of what he looked like.

**solid90062** · 02-10-2002, 06:35 AM

beenie, the guy did the test wrong...there is no way he coul be THAT far off if he knew what he was doing...Oh and those Tanita scales are fricking useless for US! right there on the box it says NOT FOR BODYBUILDERS. It designed to work on JOE SCHMOE not some one with alot of muscle mass.

**beenie** · 02-11-2002, 06:29 AM

solid90062>

Yea, I know the first guy did the test wrong. I have heard a lot of people really knockwing the Tanita. All I can say is that mine has been pretty accurate for me and there is little variation in the readings I get, exept over time. Maybe thier accuracy depends on the person. I really just don't know how to respond and was frankly surprised by what I have heard in this thread. It hasn't been consitent with my experience, but I am sure that no one whold lie here. I also assume that they are entering all of the appropriate input each time such as gender, height and age. A mistaken input would yeild a faulty reading. And, a lot of guys here are REALLY big, and I am not. That might have something to do with it too, as I am not really big.

**Tobey** · 02-11-2002, 08:54 AM

Beenie, beenie, beenie,
Your as big as you dare dream to be. Just take it one day at a time.
IC

And of course, there is something to be said about being ripped up liked a anatomy chart as well. There have been many comps that I have been to in which the smaller competitor won out over the heavyweights, and it certainly was not due to meer mass, but rather better cuts and overall better sysmetry.
IC

Originally posted by beenie
solid90062>

Yea, I know the first guy did the test wrong. I have heard a lot of people really knockwing the Tanita. All I can say is that mine has been pretty accurate for me and there is little variation in the readings I get, exept over time. Maybe thier accuracy depends on the person. I really just don't know how to respond and was frankly surprised by what I have heard in this thread. It hasn't been consitent with my experience, but I am sure that no one whold lie here. I also assume that they are entering all of the appropriate input each time such as gender, height and age. A mistaken input would yeild a faulty reading. And, a lot of guys here are REALLY big, and I am not. That might have something to do with it too, as I am not really big.