BF measurement question

[yosshimura]

Ok, another question . I finally took my digital bf measuring device out last night (forgot the brand, it was from dpnutrition - digital w/the blue button ).

I did the measurement 6 different times and got 6 answers. 3 where pressing the blue button as I pressed, and 3 where pressing the blue button once I was pressing the skinfold.

Basically the two numbers that I came up with were
23% BF
29.2%.

I am 5 8", 190, and have fat to loose in the stomach / waist area, so I am confident the 29.2% is closer to my #. The docs say for a "good-avg" body for my size bf should be 20%, so I know I am not only 3% off. Does that sound right, 20 for an "ideal" body? or is that still fat?

thanks

 

[gymtime]

Skinfold calipers, which I assume you're using, are obviously inaccurate. However, they will give you an idea of where you're at within say five or six percentage points. I'd split the difference and consider yourself around 25 or 26, go from there.

20% is about as high as you can go and still be healthy, according to American standards anyway. But by most bodybuilding standards, 14% is considered fat. An "ideal" body, a relative term of course, will have somewhere around 8%, give or take.