Measuring Body Fat
One of the most important tools in monitoring your progress is tracking the change in your body fat percentage. Far too often we only look at the scale, but fixating on body weight is not necessarily the right thing to do. When we start a rigorous workout program, we not only lose body fat, but we build muscle. Our fluid balance and hydration levels will also change as our muscles get sore and as we change our diets and sodium intake. These all play into a more complicated picture than just what the scale says in pounds.
So I encourage all of you to start monitoring your body fat. It is actually quite easy, and once you get used to doing it, it only takes a few seconds and it gives you a much more accurate picture of how you are doing with your true transformation and body composition.
One way people can measure body fat is to get a scale that does it for them. These work by sending a pulse through your lower body and measuring the resistance. A standard formula is used (based on your age and height) to GUESTIMATE your body fat. As you can see by the way I said that, I don’t particularly like the scales as a way to accurately measure your body fat. So many things are not taken into account with their formulas, like the amount of muscle mass you have, your muscle distribution, your fitness level, etc. They also can give erroneous readings depending on if your feet are dry or damp. For instance, I am a big, muscular guy, and on these types of scales I will register a body fat of about 17%. That’s rediculous! It isn’t even in the remote ballpark of being accurate.
The much more accurate method of measuring body fat, and the one I highly recommend, is using body fat calipers. You can get fancy ones or cheap ones. They all work well! You can find them from about $10 on Amazon.com. Once you get a set of calipers, then all you need is a way to plug in your measurements to a calculation method to see where your body fat percentage falls.
I like to use the software by www.linearsoftware.com. Click HERE to access their body fat calculator page. There are separate calculation methods for men and women, and there are multiple methods to use. You can experiment with them to determine which one you find most predictable and repeatable. It’s a good idea the first time to measure your body fat with multiple methods to be sure you are doing it correctly.
Once you get used to the caliper method, you can be sure that your changes in body fat are very accurate. While operator error may lead to a slight variation in the body fat reading, any changes will be very precise (as long as you measure the same way each time). For instance, if you measure 10% body fat, you can assume that you are anywhere from 9% to 11% depending on operator error. But if the next time you measure, you measure 9.5%, you know for certain that you lost .5% body fat (even though you still could be in a range from 8.5% to 10.5% of actual body fat depending on operator error).
I prefer the Jackson/Pollack 3 site method because it’s quick, easy, and accurate. It requires measuring sites on the chest, the abdomen, and the thigh. When I take these measurements, my readings are 5mm for the chest, 7mm for the abdomen, and 9mm for the thigh. By plugging in my age and weight, it calculates my body fat at 6.98%, with a lean body weight of 202 and 15 lbs of body fat. This is a handy thing to know as we work to build muscle and lose body fat.
So many times we get frustrated if the scale isn’t moving down, but what we all should care about more is what is happening with our body fat percentage. Building muscle is a good thing, and it makes us more fit, more healthy, and able to burn more calories all day long. Often people burn up their precious muscle mass in an effort to crash diet and lose weight. This sets them up for failure because they have less muscle mass to burn calories and when they fall off the wagon, they gain back all the weight and then some.
Do yourself a favor and stop weighing yourself all the time! Instead, get some calipers, get comfortable with a measurement method, and check your body fat every week or 2 weeks. Write it down so you can monitor your progress. I started Round 1 at 23% body fat. By day 90, I was at 8%. And over round 2 and 3, I was down to 5.5% body fat even though my weight didn’t change (I was building some muscle). And now my body fat is back up to almost 7% from my mass“>bulking round, but by calculating my lean body weight I know that of the 9 lbs I gained during these last 60 days, 7 of them are muscle!
I hope this review of body fat calculation helps you monitor your progress more accurately!
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56 Responses to “Measuring Body Fat”
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Hi Coach,
Sorry for the barrage of questions over the past couple days. I mentioned in a question last night that I am now at 7.5% body fat. This is according to the slim guide calipers that you recently recommended (the spring-loaded ones).
After doing some reading online, it seems that these calipers can still be fairly inaccurate. The consensus seems to be that if you can’t see all your ab muscles without flexing, there’s no way body fat is lower than 10%. Is it possible that my measurements are that far off? Should I base my progress purely on the “mirror test?”
If so, I guess I should stick to my fat shredder diet of 1,600 calories for the foreseeable future until my abs are popping.
Again, thanks for the ongoing help!
- J
All forms of measuring body fat are limited and inaccurate. Calipers are the best method for us to use practically. And like I mentioned in the article above, you may be off a couple % one way or the other, but with calipers you can be sure that any progress you monitor is real change in body fat.
As for the “unflexed abs” thing, I disagree. If you can see a 6 pack when flexing, you are at 8% or less. The appearance of unflexed muscles depends on the shape of the muscles.
If you want to send me a pic, I can give you my opinion on your body fat.
Coach, I am very similar to J above. What I have paid attention to are those millimeters instead of the percentage. Percentage wise I am 7.5% or so but I can’t hardly see any abs. If you look at my measurements… 4-chest, 8-leg and 12-abs, it is clear there is substantial fat on my abs. Just gotta try and lower that abs measurement and forget the rest. 28 years old, 195 lbs, typical male stomach flub.
Yep, most guys store the fat most in the lower gut, so that’s typical. It will go away as you continue to lower the body fat, but it just takes time and 100% consistency on the nutrition. You aren’t far away though Kyle. Keep it up!
How big is the pinch from the thumb to index finger? Do you pinch the same amount on the different parts of the body your gona measure? i have been looking for this information everywhere but cannot find it. thanks for your help
Hey Christian, the best way to see correct technique is to watch instructional videos on YouTube. Search “skin fold body fat technique” and you’ll see many good videos demonstrating how to pinch correctly.