Body fat measured, did the guy do it wrong?

rainglow · 20-06-2005 12:17PM #1

I got my bf% measured at the weekend in my gym. The guy took five measurements: bicep, tricep, just above my hip, on my abdomen (above bellybutton) and on my back near my shoulder blade. It came to 16% which I found quite hard to believe since I'm nowhere near skinny (5'3 and 59.5kgs). I asked him why he wasn't taking any measurements on my bottom half and he said that they were told not to as you can't be grabbing your clients ass and thighs

My question is - since I carry most of my weight from my bellybutton down, is this reading inaccurate? I'm not asking about calipers vs underwater weighing accuracy, just the use of the top half of the body only.

Also, why so they just pinch the tiny little bit of skin when you can actually grab a good bit of flesh in some areas??

LiamONeill · 20-06-2005 12:22PM

Yes he could be of by as much as 10%. You see people's hormones govern where bodyfat is stored - you could have higher levels of estrogen resulting in more fat on your lower half and pectoral region. He would be using equations which don't take this into account. I suggest you get him to use the jackson-pollack bodyfat equations and pinch you diagonally at your chest, vertically at your lower abdomen and vertically at you mid-quadracep.

ergo · 20-06-2005 12:37PM

rainglow wrote:

My question is - since I carry most of my weight from my bellybutton down, is this reading inaccurate?

Also, why so they just pinch the tiny little bit of skin when you can actually grab a good bit of flesh in some areas??

from having seen what they do in a lab which does a lot of fitness tests and bf% measurements each time what they did sounds about right

in the lab I know (where they are very scientific) they take 4 measurements, biceps, triceps, below the shoulder blade (subscapular) and from the suprailiac region (just above the hip bone, where usually there is plenty of flesh to grab, well, in most people)

I think the more measurements you take the more accurate it may be,
they are all calculated from tables and according to your age

must look this up but I think if you had to choose 1 measurement to represent overall body fat% it would be the tricep one, I think

they sometimes use the skinfold in the front of the thigh 2/3 the way up from the knee cap, maybe that might be more representative for someone like yourself, will try and look it up,

not sure if I've answered your questions though

DAEDULUS · 20-06-2005 04:44PM

are bf% measurer's on weighing scales accurate?,the ones that send a little electric shock through your body measuring how long it takes to get back.

hacktavist · 20-06-2005 07:24PM

I just joined the gym today and in the bodyfat test i got 8.31% mesurements from sholderblades biceps triceps and above hip. Doesnt sound right at all.

Easygainer · 20-06-2005 11:11PM

hacktavist wrote:

I just joined the gym today and in the bodyfat test i got 8.31% mesurements from sholderblades biceps triceps and above hip. Doesnt sound right at all.

If that were true the only plae you could grab fat, and at that a pinch, would be lower ass, not even any on stomach. I keep coming up sub 5% on an electric one I have so it's obviously ****. I'm actually in the 9-10% region.

hacktavist · 21-06-2005 12:16AM

Yeah I know im thinking he foregot to do my abs maybe. I dont even have a six pack so it must be off. Can anyone tell me how long it would take to loose enough fat to see a six pack when the top 2 are sorta visable? Rough estamate would do, weeks? months?

kjt · 21-06-2005 05:04PM

How long is that piece of string over there??

lol, only messing. It all depends on what your
eating and how much excercise your doing and
how often.. too many things to say really.

hacktavist · 21-06-2005 06:35PM

Yeah I only realised how badly I phrased that. Lets say with a good diet. How much cardio and how many days would I need to do? I only got access to a gym so I never done cardio before, so I think that was limiting me for ages! Still too vague?

Trotter · 22-06-2005 12:23AM

Are the weighing scales that do body fat with the electronic pulse accurate??
Im thinking of buying one.. but only if its going to be accurate.

Body fat measured, did the guy do it wrong?

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