ahhh ok thanx a bunch, so what would i use or what is the most accurate way to get the best reading? if its a tool where do i get it?
You can't really get a "tool" to get a best reading. Especially not to do YOURSELF.
The golden standard for measuring body composition is underwater weighting. However, this is impractical and expensive for the general person (ACSM, 2005).
The next best thing is to have skinfolds done. Make sure that you get at LEAST 6-8 skinfolds done, and by a QUALIFIED anthropometrist (i.e. ISAK), as it IS a precise thing. Once skinfolds are taken, there are equations that are used based on sex, that will give you a fairly accurate (I say fairly accurate, because, depending on who does it, the error of estimate can be out by up to 3% BF) idea of where you are at re body composition. Skinfolds should be taken from: biceps brachii, subscapular, triceps brachii, iliac crest, supraspinale, abdominal, thigh, and calf. Before any skinfolds are taken you should be measured and marked, and when they are taken, at least TWO readings should be done (taken in order of skinfolds (i.e. biceps to calf), not one after the other on the same site); if whomever is doing it does NOT do any of that, and just picks up skin at a site and takes a measurement, then that measurement is going to be wrong and their final "reading" of your body composition will be far from accurate. As with any other measurements, you should be measured in as close to the same condition (i.e. time of day, before training (never after training, as when you're training your temperature increases, and thus increases the thickness of the skinfolds), at least 2 hours after food, and in the same hydrated condition, etc.), so that comparisons can be made accurately between measurements (ACSM, 2005).
