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how do you measure your body fat?
- Thread starter ManOfArms
- Start date
There are several mehods... ask someone at your gym if they offer it there. My school has several methods, the most accurate of which submerges you in water (I always forget the technicl name of the test) and costs $20. All other methods that I know of have a fairly high margin of error.
-X
-X
I have calipers. XXXGod is right, it is not the most accurate method but I can do it myself at home. Just easier for me.
Hydrostatic weighing is the best. Calipers and the electrode ones are alot cheaper, but have a wider error of margin. You might find someone who has no idea how to use the calipers correctly, and it seems that NASM, ACE, and gyms all have different ways to calculate it. NASM's sites are probably the best. The electrode one (I forget what it's called) can be skewed by hydrated you are.
I have the calipers done or just guesstimate. I think most people in here guess, and they're probably within a couple percent.
I have the calipers done or just guesstimate. I think most people in here guess, and they're probably within a couple percent.
The electro method isn't worth its weight in dog shit! They were doing tests electronically (for free) at my gym a couple weeks ago. I had done the hydrostatic method 2 weeks prior and was at 12%. I got on the electric one to see how accurate it was and it told me that I was at 26%! That thing is fucking shit! Waste of time IMO.
Lift Chief
New member
XXXGod said:
I have one of those electric bodyfat scales at home and it does kind of suck... it way over-estimates your bodyfat. The only good hting about it is that it's consistent, so you can tell if you're gaining or losing bf.
.chronic2371
New member
All bodyfat protocals (hydrostatic weighing, calipers, bioelectrical impedence, bod pod) will have their drawbacks. They are all just an estimation of your bodyfat.
The best thing to do is be tested with calipers by a reliable tester. The trick is to find someone that is reliable (not easy to do). Just go by the mm readings to keep track of you change. Change is what is important not what percent you are.
And I think most people on the board who guesstimate are wrong. Something about being on the internet makes people's bodyfat percentage go down.
The best thing to do is be tested with calipers by a reliable tester. The trick is to find someone that is reliable (not easy to do). Just go by the mm readings to keep track of you change. Change is what is important not what percent you are.
And I think most people on the board who guesstimate are wrong. Something about being on the internet makes people's bodyfat percentage go down.
