Interesting scales - Innerscan Monitors

[Dontrunwithknives]

These scales sound really cool.

Innerscan Monitors use Bioelectric Impedance Analysis (BIA) to monitor multiple components of overall health. The results are analyzed along with gender, age, height and weight for the most accurate and comprehensive at-home reading ever available. Measurements include Weight, Body Fat %, Body Water %, Daily Caloric Intake, Metabolic Age, Bone Mass, Muscle Mass, Physique Rating, and Visceral Fat Rating.

I think it means you stand on the scales and it uses some invisible magic beam things to calculate heaps of information on your body.

I want one :pray:

Link to their site:

http://www.tanita.com/en/innerscan-monitors/

[teamfatboy]

I think it means you stand on the scales and it uses some invisible magic beam things to calculate heaps of information on your body.

If only they DID use magic beams.... sadly, it's much more simple than that... you put in your age, gender, height - it uses a very small electrical current (which is why you have to stand barefoot on the pads), and then does the calculations based on those figures and its own measurements of weight and electrical resistance. It puts the results into a simple table, which gives you some figures.

Accurate ? to a point, but really only as a rough gauge for bb'ers. The best way to calculate % bodyfat is still with skinfolds and calipers :oops:

[runveerun]

I have one it is invariably inaccurate as scales are, depends how much water I have drunk, time of the day etc I thought it would be better than it is at the moment it has me at 30% bf but calipers tell me I'm 24%.

[Chillicat]

I have one it is invariably inaccurate as scales are, depends how much water I have drunk, time of the day etc I thought it would be better than it is at the moment it has me at 30% bf but calipers tell me I'm 24%.

I have one too, but I haven't had calipers done - so I hope that the difference is a great as it is for you!

[witchazel]

we have them but have found that once you get down to around 15% or lower they are just total crap...

Hubby's was reading 12% when he was 7% (by Calipers) mine was reading 15% when I was 8%.. The fine print in the instuctions say they do not work well for "athletes with low bf"

You can fool them and lower your body fat by having damp feet as tey use water % to work out the fat%, and since you set them up with your age etc and have to select which user is about to step on, after a few months they actually remember what you weighed last time and go straight to that number!!! If we are desperate to know what we weigh we actually get on with 2 Brisbane telephone books to fool it, then when we get on without them they read correctly.. bizaree!!!!

Definitely not worth the money

[Chillicat]

I think they are worth the money for someone like me who is just starting out, and who still has a long way to go in losing body fat. Although I accept that they are not exactly accurate, and that calipers would (I hope!) measure me with a lower bf%, it's good for monitoring the fact that I am actually losing body fat on a weekly basis. Unfortunately I don't have the money for a PT right now, and I'm not sure where else I could go to get a freebie caliper measurement on a weekly basis - so as far as I'm concerned my scales have already paid for themselves when I consider how much I'd have to pay someone to do it for me with calipers.

Perhaps once I get to a point where I'm a genuine contender, it'll be worth doing things properly - but I'm a very very long way off that point right now

[autechre]

Unfortunately I don't have the money for a PT right now, and I'm not sure where else I could go to get a freebie caliper measurement on a weekly basis

You shouldn't have to pay for a PT just to get your bf measured. At LMs you can get one of the other trainers/staff to do it - surely some of the other gyms would be the same?

While the scales won't necessarily be accurate, provided you're consistent on when you do your measurements they should show the drop in bf%.

[Chillicat]

Unfortunately I don't have the money for a PT right now, and I'm not sure where else I could go to get a freebie caliper measurement on a weekly basis

You shouldn't have to pay for a PT just to get your bf measured. At LMs you can get one of the other trainers/staff to do it - surely some of the other gyms would be the same?

I really wouldn't know if you can get it done for free at my gym. Until this year it never even occurred to me to have bf measured. Since it seems to be one of those things that people have their PTs do, I just figured that you needed to get it done by a PT, since they don't seem to have calipers just lying about for people to use (like regular scales).

[teamfatboy]

I'm sure that even if you were just a passing acquaintance of some of the PTs, or maybe the fitness consultants on the Helpdesk, they could do the actual measurements in a heartbeat - then you can plug them into one of the on-line sites in the privacy of your own home/office/ internet cafe...

[Chillicat]

I'm sure that even if you were just a passing acquaintance of some of the PTs, or maybe the fitness consultants on the Helpdesk, they could do the actual measurements in a heartbeat - then you can plug them into one of the on-line sites in the privacy of your own home/office/ internet cafe...

I could maybe ask AJ sometime, or Adrian (but he seems to have disappeared - haven't seen him in ages). I have to say I don't really find the helpdesk all that helpful - but that's probably due to a couple of times where they weren't helpful at all - I've asked a couple of times for they guys that were on at the time to show me how to use something, and I just got these blank neanderthal stares and 'I dunno how' as a response :roll: So I haven't bothered with them since and just muddle through on my own.

[Specter]

I'm sure that even if you were just a passing acquaintance of some of the PTs, or maybe the fitness consultants on the Helpdesk, they could do the actual measurements in a heartbeat - then you can plug them into one of the on-line sites in the privacy of your own home/office/ internet cafe...

I could maybe ask AJ sometime, or Adrian (but he seems to have disappeared - haven't seen him in ages). I have to say I don't really find the helpdesk all that helpful - but that's probably due to a couple of times where they weren't helpful at all - I've asked a couple of times for they guys that were on at the time to show me how to use something, and I just got these blank neanderthal stares and 'I dunno how' as a response :roll: So I haven't bothered with them since and just muddle through on my own.

Hey chillicat..you want me to sort it out for you today and post back?

[runveerun]

I'm sure that even if you were just a passing acquaintance of some of the PTs, or maybe the fitness consultants on the Helpdesk, they could do the actual measurements in a heartbeat - then you can plug them into one of the on-line sites in the privacy of your own home/office/ internet cafe...

I could maybe ask AJ sometime, or Adrian (but he seems to have disappeared - haven't seen him in ages). I have to say I don't really find the helpdesk all that helpful - but that's probably due to a couple of times where they weren't helpful at all - I've asked a couple of times for they guys that were on at the time to show me how to use something, and I just got these blank neanderthal stares and 'I dunno how' as a response :roll: So I haven't bothered with them since and just muddle through on my own.

That's terrible which gym to you go to?

At my gym they are dying to help you in any way even putting dumbells back for you!

[teamfatboy]

Sadly, that ain't Bodyworks... "most" of the PT's will clean up after their clients, but not all of them. The helpdesk staff will occasionally go gather up the plates and put them back on the stands, but not often. It actually got worse after the helpdesk staff got sent to "help" the cardio classes during the lunchtime and evening peaktimes.

The trouble with the PT's is, if they don't have clients at the time, they're often nowhere to be seen... I guess I know enough of them that if I really wanted something like that, I'd pick one and see if they'd help.

[Chillicat]

Sadly, that ain't Bodyworks... "most" of the PT's will clean up after their clients, but not all of them. The helpdesk staff will occasionally go gather up the plates and put them back on the stands, but not often. It actually got worse after the helpdesk staff got sent to "help" the cardio classes during the lunchtime and evening peaktimes.

The trouble with the PT's is, if they don't have clients at the time, they're often nowhere to be seen... I guess I know enough of them that if I really wanted something like that, I'd pick one and see if they'd help.

I thought they were only helping out with the pump classes? But then that stopped this year anyway.

Despite the fact that I've been at BW for almost 3 years now, I've only started working out upstairs this year on a regular basis (though used to go up and do cardio a couple of times a week), but don't feel that I know any of them enough to feel comfortable to ask for help (after my previous experiences with help desk), except maybe Angelo, AJ and Adrian who are the only 3 that have ever given me the time of day.

I'd actually feel more comfortable asking a PT a question (about anything) at J'ville City Fitness - even though I've only been there for a week's trial and a total of 11 casual visits. Despite that, I've spoken more with PTs there than at BW. Smaller and less equipment, but definitely friendlier.