Major discrepency's in bodyfat measurement tools?!?!?!

[CobraUTAH]

About 1-1/2 months ago I had my bodyfat percentage checked, and I was at 13% weighing 219.4 pounds. So this came out to be 28.53 pounds of fat and left 190.87 lean mass. Now this first bodyfat measurement was done with calipers. Then just this past Saturday the 31st of May I weighed in at 232 pounds and the guy that did the caliper check last time wasn't there. So I used the gym digital bodyfat tool. It gave results of 18.3% bodyfat. Now I have been eating a ton of shit every single day is it possible that even while still maintaining a serious training routine that I could have gained over 5% bodyfat? Also this machine calculated 18.3% bodyfat and said that I had only 29 pounds of fat, but at 232 pounds 18.3% equals 42.46 pounds of bodyfat. So with the machine percentage and my 232 pounds weight I would have 42.46 pounds of fat and be 189.54 pounds lean. Results in 3 months I lost lean mass yet got bigger and stronger. So are the digital machines absolute horse shit or what? Very inconsistent results, and it bugs the shit out of me. Any ideas???

 

[spatts]

Cobra...really....those handheld things aren't accurate AT ALL. Hydration throws them off, and the leaner you are the less accurate they are. You are taking two of the LEAST accurate measurements possible and comparing them to eachother. The standard deviation is GINORMOUS (hahaha...word of the week).

A caliper can be ok if it's done by the same person every time and under the same conditions, but it's really the CHANGE in the actual mm measurements from time to time that's helpful. I have the same person do mine about every 12 weeks at the old University Physiology Lab I used to work in. He does a 7 site caliper and a hydro. They are almost always within 1/10 of eachother, so I am comfortable with the results.

Everything you ever wanted to know about body composition PART I

Everything you ever wanted know about body composition PART II

 

[bigstve12]

those handheld things suck ass...i got on one of those scales that work thru the same principle..it said 32%....Calipers are pretty efficient and easier to come by. If you have the opttion though, go for hydrosatatic weighing..its worht the 50bucks IMO

 

[Devastation]

I agree with most everything here. I used to use the calipers to check bodyfat at the gym I worked at. Consistency in checking is the key there. We later got the digital reader later. Usually always about 3-5% too high when compared immediately after the caliper test. It also depends on your bodytype and where you store your fat. I keep the most fat in my lower back around my kidneys (a heavily weighted area in the caliper test). other people are different. The only accurate way to test that is to get a hydrostatic bodyfat test.

 

[CobraUTAH]

Devastation is that your last name on that quote in your sig?

 

[Devastation]

Devastation is that your last name on that quote in your sig?

No it's not. If you know who it is, props to you. He is what I aspire to achieve.

 

[CobraUTAH]

Well I had my bodyfat taken with the calipers again and by the same guy. The outcome was much more pleasant. As of 6/2/03 weighing in at 229 pounds I was 13.3% BF. That was much more realistic and what I expected to see. Anyway I feel better and can begin to cut until that 13 is a 5 or 6, I hope to keep most if not all the lean muscle I gained in that 3 month bulk.

 

[BodybuildingUniverse]

jake0601.jpg

I just got measured at 13 myself, thought I was lower but who knows. a recent pic

 

[pwr_machine]

I've heard many say, "the only accurate way to test is underwater weighing." However, dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) is becoming increasingly popular. It not only gives fat and lean body mass, but bone density measurements as well.

 

[IronLion]

who is doing those, Universitys?