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What's the most accurate way to measure bodyfat% at home?

  1.  05-21-2008  11:07 AM
    Registered User Im Pretty Big's Avatar
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    What's the most accurate way to measure bodyfat% at home?


    Didnt know where to put this one.

    Ive got a scale thats supposed to do it but it tells me I'm 20% when I have visible abs and barely any fat. How accurate are calipers? What about those electronic calipers?



  2.  05-21-2008  11:09 AM
    Never enough EasyEJL's Avatar
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    calipers are your most accurate home available test. There are water devices, and an air device

    www.bodpod.com

    that are near 100% accuracy, but its a good $40+ to get tested.
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    Agmatine - Cor CLA Caps - Citrulline Malate - Green Tea Caps- Cissus - Creatine Mono - DivaMax

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  3.  05-21-2008  11:59 AM
    Registered User OCCFan023's Avatar
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    IMO home tests are pretty uneliable as far as true body fat. If take them for what there worth there valuable in that you can still compare results however skewed they are.

    BF% is just a number (I know its a big factor of progress though). I prefer to just go by the mirror (most important to me) and tape measurements.

  4.  05-21-2008  12:19 PM
    Gold Member Big BAMA's Avatar
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    1) Get naked
    2) Stand in front of full length mirror
    3) Realize you are fat

  5.  05-21-2008  12:25 PM
    Registered User sethroberts's Avatar
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    If you want to track your progress then precision is more important than accuracy (precision being the repeatability of measurment, accuracy being how "true" the number is). Body fat scales may not be the most accurate but they can be pretty precise provided you measure yourself under the same conditions each day. Calipers are ok, but can be time consuming to take enough points to be meaningful and are subject to user bias (you want your fat to be lower so your squeeze the calipers a little more than you should or you keep retesting to get a lower number).

  6.  05-21-2008  12:34 PM
    Registered User MM11's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by Im Pretty Big View Post
    Didnt know where to put this one.

    Ive got a scale thats supposed to do it but it tells me I'm 20% when I have visible abs and barely any fat. How accurate are calipers? What about those electronic calipers?
    i use a electronic scale sometimes. i once took a long piss, dropped 2% on the scale. i would say that (mine at least) is less then accurate. try tape measures, mirror, calipers.

  7.  05-22-2008  09:25 AM
    Registered User Hank Vangut's Avatar
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    take progress picutres and measurements.

  8.  05-22-2008  09:26 AM
    Registered User methodice's Avatar
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    just guess. between 10-15% is always plausible but make sure they don't ask for pics

  9.  05-22-2008  09:57 AM
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    ive found the army tape method to be nearly identical to bioelectric impedance testing.

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