Testing Body Fat

[Draft]

Ok, so I can set some proepr goals I want to measure my body fat %.

At my gym the just use that Tanita thing - is that generally accepted as being correct or should I get a proper test thing done with pincers and shit?

Sorry if this is a dumb question - I've never tested body fat before?

[nate225]

Calipers are the way to go on a cost, availability & accuracy basis. (DEXA scanner or dunk tank more accurate but not readily available).

Use the same person measuring at the same time and same trained state (preferably untrained), basically to try to standardised conditions and minimise variation. Recommend full ISAK Anthropometry if you can find someone (try through Academy of Sport providers?).

[tonyb]

I just use my hands. I grab the fat around my gut and see how much I can get a hold of :pfft:

[roadie]

i reckon the tanita scales are ok....

they have settings which you need to make sure are the same each time you use them....athlete mode, height, sex.....the athlete mode will effect results a few %.....the good ones give a print out so you can check

also time of day and exercise youve been doing effect them also....i can get 3-4% variation from morning to night......and was fattest on a tuesday lol

[two_phat]

anybody know where I can get some calipers from??

[Johnboy007]

All the BIA scales are fine if you want to show progress / differences but there are too many factors that influence the results for my liking. I personally have some of those cheap bodybuilding.com plastic calipers from accu-measure and do a single site test (suprailliac) to gauge where I am at, between that and what I look like in the mirror seems pretty reliable to me. Granted it won't give you an accurate measure of the exact fat percentage but it is fine for determining loss or gain and the waist area is always the most problematic area for me.

[two_phat]

i know, and i'd prefer to just get calipers...

other than international sites (and local ones that cost more that $85+) is there anywhere? or do i just have to bite the bullet and shell out a bit more?

[nate225]

i know, and i'd prefer to just get calipers...

other than international sites (and local ones that cost more that $85+) is there anywhere? or do i just have to bite the bullet and shell out a bit more?

LOL $85 is cheap!

Harpingers are $600 plus! :grin:

[roadie]

hi,

hey im no expert on these scales but they do provide more info than just fat and most of the variation i think your talking is not completely removed by using calipers.

you can see body water % and this does help to explain some of the variation in body fat.....so maybe youve been doing a lot of exercise and lost a kg in water.....this makes you seem fatter cos youve got less mass....variations in carbs i believe can also affect the water % reading

having that info can help in other ways.....

also the scales are real fast, its no prob to be standing on them morning and night and getting the info in 10secs

[biggurl27]

From expereince I found the Tanita are a bit off, usually find you will be around 5% less BF by using calipers, for instance you could be 15% on the tanita and then have a trainer do calipers every week and each time the capiler reading would be 10%. Doing both is cool to see the difference each 1-4 weeks. Cheap option is to buy a tape measure for a couple of bucks and monitor your progress that way and record weekly.

[roadie]

biggirl do you know if you where using 'athlete' mode or not on the tanita scales? the info says to use this if you have a resting heart rate <80 i think

[biggurl27]

Yep athlete, I still have some of the print outs

[steak]

We use the calipers (jackson-pollock measures) and do it same time and untrained state each time about once a month. Run the tape at the same time too. Seems consistent enough

this site here is very helpful in making sure you get the measurements right and more importantly in the right place time after time.

http://www.linear-software.com/online.html

[nate225]

We use the calipers (jackson-pollock measures) and do it same time and untrained state each time about once a month. Run the tape at the same time too. Seems consistent enough

this site here is very helpful in making sure you get the measurements right and more importantly in the right place time after time.

http://www.linear-software.com/online.html

^^Good advice, although I'd suggest focusing on a sum of 7 (or sum of 8) rather than the calculations, as these are all over the show dependant on formula used (might be a hard paradigm shift for many BBers who seem hung up on %BF). Important part though is to try and achieve consistency and watch the trends (i.e are you getting leaner!).

A good practice used by those doing the ISAK athropometry is to measure (with a tape) from anatomical reference points (usually set point on bones), hence ensuring more accurate / consistent site selection.

[biggurl27]

Cool site Steak fanks

[Chillicat]

biggirl do you know if you where using 'athlete' mode or not on the tanita scales? the info says to use this if you have a resting heart rate <80 i think

Hmmm, I'd better read my instructions when I get home. I don't have mine set to athlete mode but I do have a resting heart rate below 80, so perhaps mine should be set at athlete? That just seemed too hardcore so I didn't even consider using that setting.

Do you think that'll make me instantly lose some bodyfat??!! Jeez I hope so!

[biggurl27]

hmmmmm can't remember if it makes much of a difference, I did muck about with it and check one day but I can't remember the outcome. I guess is is a bit like BMI, which doesn't take into account that BB'rs are heavier and not infact overweight or obese so possibly will record higher muscle/lower fat reading, you fellas should check it out and revert

[teamfatboy]

Yep, the setting does make a difference, it force the scales to use a different internal table...

Consistency is the thing with the Tanitas - same day of week/time of day/ place between meals, etc. The number may not resemble what you'd get with calipers, but it will clearly show trends, and you can do it without help...

I get a four-point skinfold done, but I defy anyone to measure their own scapular skinfold, bicep or tricep, consistently and accurately! :grin:

What it won't account for is where a person differs from the average in eg bone mass... it's an overall bodycomp thing based on a set of averages, so if you were a lightweight who's been bulking up you'd get a different result to someone who's been overweight (and has grown a heavier skeleton as a result) and who has shed bodyfat.

[Chillicat]

Switched to athlete mode, and my body fat reading this morning was 22.6 \:D/ That's a big change from the 27 - 28 readings I've been getting, and which I knew couldn't be right.

This seems much more likely, and I'm now in love with my Tanita :dancing:

[nate225]

Switched to athlete mode, and my body fat reading this morning was 22.6 \:D/ That's a big change from the 27 - 28 readings I've been getting, and which I knew couldn't be right.

This seems much more likely, and I'm now in love with my Tanita :dancing:

LMAO - huge improvement...... on paper! :grin:

%BF is misleading IMHO, as stated earlier using calipers then calcuating gives different % using different calcuations (now there's an easy way of getting leaner!), impedance scales are plain inaccurate.

I still prefer sum of 8 or some other summed measure of BF (unless the $1000,000 DEXA Scanner's free! Or you've got a dunk tank).

Whatever you chose, just look for trends.

But at the end of the day the mirror (or better still the video camera) shows if you are in shape, remembering of course some can compete well at 3-4% higher BF than others.

As Arnold said: Jump, if it jiggles it's fat. I'll add to this that I've never seen a judge pull out calipers (or Tanita's) when people are on stage! :grin:

[Mr_Krabs]

biggirl do you know if you where using 'athlete' mode or not on the tanita scales? the info says to use this if you have a resting heart rate <80 i think

Thats an interesting definition for athlete... I would have thought anyone with a resting heart rate 80 or above would be pretty damn unfit/overweight or sick not "normal"?!!!! :shock:

Edit: Also my BF% changes by 5-6% between the two settings (athlete reading alot more believable based on appearance)

[roadie]

woohoo chillicat!!

hey im no expert on measuring fat, and i do appreciate the daily and weekly variation in the tanita can lead to yoyo in emotions!!

make sure you try to figure out where your body water is at normally.....for me at nearly 100kg.....1% change in water is a kg.....and this alters the fat reading. also any significant change in weight...ie a missed meal or cheat day alters your mass and affects the fat reading

normally i can sit at 60% and some days i come in at say 58.5 and the fat reading is always high when that happens....it does go the other way also but i find its not very often i can get to 61%

the other thing is that on leg day tuesday....when not doing any cardio the reading was always high....but this could have been also cos it is 48hrs after 'cheat sunday' lol