Question for all you Personal Trainers!!!

[lpbizkit2000]

I'm too cheap but mostly lazy to go get my Body/Fat tested at my local gym and was wondering a couple things:

what would be the common procedure of testing it on my own?

are my love handles part of my waist or hips?

are online calculators accurate?

how much is it usually for a test?

if there's anything else I should know please tell me!

thanks

[carl.c]

Loosen up the purse strings and pay to get meassured. Your local nivercity may offer hydrostatic weighting for a resonable price or 24 hr fitness has a truck come around to do hydro weight.
Hydrostatic weighting is about the best you can get for a resonable price, there are more accurate ways but they are very expencive if you are not in study.

[Mantra]

I'm too cheap but mostly lazy to go get my Body/Fat tested at my local gym and was wondering a couple things:

what would be the common procedure of testing it on my own?

are my love handles part of my waist or hips?

are online calculators accurate?

how much is it usually for a test?

if there's anything else I should know please tell me!

thanks

or just go to a doc, have them use skinfold calipers that is the 2nd most accurate way to get tested. The first is hydrostatic bodyfat testing

[lpbizkit2000]

look s like im ganna be paying money which is perfectly fine, thanks alot il lgo to my 24 hour and get the hydro test

[willldabeast]

my 24 hour fitness will do it with calipers for free, just try asking a trainer.

[Maximum]

you're telling me that you're too busy/lazy to spare 2 minutes of your time in the gym to borrow a hand held bf analyzer? It's not the best, but at least all you have to do is punch in your info. Most commercial gyms carry them.

[lpbizkit2000]

i guess i am saying that yes.I work construction 8 hours a day, workout right after, and have someone to get home to... "me" time is limited to working out. Not meaning to be a **** but it is hard to find time but i would like to do it soon.

and i used those Electronic Bodyfat Analyzer's in my nutrition class and it nearly took 10 minutes and i had to be in a controlled environment and yata yata.

I'm going with the calipers, my buddy has some and now i just have to find an experienced person to do it so that their measuring the right skinfold location. A good caliper test required around 12 different test locations and needs to be checked three times for the best results, and even after that their within 4% either way of being accurate.

[HardGainer82]

You can buy a scale that estimates BF% at most department stores for like 30 bucks...

[carl.c]

hardgainer: Sorry but the scales are junk. The use of dioimpedance is mostly a sales gimik.

[HardGainer82]

hardgainer: Sorry but the scales are junk. The use of dioimpedance is mostly a sales gimik.

I know, that's why I said "estimate." If the guy's too lazy to walk into his local gym and take ten minutes to get it tested, he's gonna have to deal with some amount of inacuraccy.

[lpbizkit2000]

well obviously you "dont know" seeing how I corrected myself by saying I was too busy and not lazy, go ahead read a thread before calling somone lazy... I also reiterated the fact that it is an estimate so I hardly know what you're post were evem for besidrs trying to tell someone their "lazy"

[nickmanzoni]

I disagree.

bioelectricalimpedence can be accurate up to 3% and I'll tell you how:


If done first thing in the morning after voiding bowel/bladder, nothing in your stomach and an accurate scale at home. Those things are 30 bucks.

I tell all my clients they won't be as accurate at the end of the day, after eating/drinking al day, and shifting of fluid through your body. The closer you can get to the above requirements, the more accurate the reading.

[HardGainer82]

well obviously you "dont know" seeing how I corrected myself by saying I was too busy and not lazy, go ahead read a thread before calling somone lazy... I also reiterated the fact that it is an estimate so I hardly know what you're post were evem for besidrs trying to tell someone their "lazy"

Deep breath. Let it out.

I saw your post, but I don't think anyone is really too busy to do something that would take twenty minutes out of their day. Plus you said yourself that you were lazy initially, so don't get quite so defensive about it. Didn't mean to hurt your feelings, but why should what some random guy on the internet says bother you so much?

Deep breath. Let it out.

There you go. :)

[lpbizkit2000]

which I corrected myself, and yes 20minutes is a lot of time but hey
who cares

I got offensive just the way someon would if some random guy walking down the street said something that pisses you off, yeah you could say nothing or you could say something back, I usually don't say anything but I was having a ****ty day and I apologize. but I don't think it matters whether its over the internet or in public

[carl.c]

Nickmanzoni: Problem with your idea is hydration or lack of hydration are major factors. First thing in the morning you are dehydrated.
Second problem is most store machines are hand held or step on. By holding or stepping on the machine you are not accuratly measuring the whole body since the path of least resistance comes into play, I.E. hand to hand missing the lower body, stand on leg to leg measurment..
IF you are not doing the measurments from toe to thumb or ear lobe on a fully hydrated nonmorbity obease person it is impossable to get consistant measurements. The maker of the machines will claim highly accurate readings but they are using lab quality tests and making the claim on their machines.

[nickmanzoni]

Nickmanzoni: Problem with your idea is hydration or lack of hydration are major factors. First thing in the morning you are dehydrated.
Second problem is most store machines are hand held or step on. By holding or stepping on the machine you are not accuratly measuring the whole body since the path of least resistance comes into play, I.E. hand to hand missing the lower body, stand on leg to leg measurment..
IF you are not doing the measurments from toe to thumb or ear lobe on a fully hydrated nonmorbity obease person it is impossable to get consistant measurements. The maker of the machines will claim highly accurate readings but they are using lab quality tests and making the claim on their machines.
I agree to an extent.


I find it's at least consistent if you follow the same pattern every time you measure your b.f.

Every client I test with bio impedence who have lost weight have lost a very close proximity of fat. I always test and re-test, and after 2-4 weeks will test again, and the numbers do to a respectable degree follow suit.

Do I think it is the most accurate device divised to check b.f.? No. It is however fast and relatively accurate if done consistently within given parameters.

der'es my two cents.

[lpbizkit2000]

well I'm getting my bf test today. I got this guy from my gym testing me this afternoon. Ganna be using the calipers on 7 different locations which he said was a good number.

These are the general locations:
Rear Delt
Stomach
Thigh
Armpit
Love Handles
2 other places

[carl.c]

If these are the sights then you are wasting your time. Did he tell you these spots or are they your description of them??
I ask because the rear delt and love handles, and arm pit make no sence.

[lpbizkit2000]

no man they were specific locations that he was pointing to I just didn't get the names and put down the general areas... does that help?

[carl.c]

Migth be alrigtht
Rear delt= Tri cepts?
arm pit = pect area making up the front part of the arm pit?
Love handles= The illeack (sp) crest?
Sounds like you just used general terms for the sights. You should be fine.

[lpbizkit2000]

7 site body composition:
tricep 17
subscap 13
midax 12
chest 9
abdoman 21
iliac 22
thigh 22

Total 116
15.2 pecent bf

that didn't take long at all either maybe like 5 min