Bf %

[donny453]

hey ,

just wanted to to know what would be a good iteam that i can purchase in order to test my BF % regularly. I want something somewhat accurate. I have the digital one at the gym, but its broken (trainer dropped it) + people say it sucks.

thanks.

[kelt_22]

hey ,

just wanted to to know what would be a good iteam that i can purchase in order to test my BF % regularly. I want something somewhat accurate. I have the digital one at the gym, but its broken (trainer dropped it) + people say it sucks.

thanks.

That is the only way to do it without a second person to pinch test with calipers or a dunk tank.

[Wildtim]

These:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/acc/accu.html

Are about as accurate as you can get. It takes practice and multiple measurement sites in order to get consistant results.

[Kodokan]

http://www.amazon.com/Omron-HBF-306-Body-Fat-Analyzer/dp/B00006WNPU

I use the digital ones you can get from GNC...and I can tell you they are influenced by several things which could be confusing/frustrating.

For example, for me the reading is less after the morning shower rather than before. I believe they're supposed to work by shocking you at low levels (not dangerous) and then detecting how good your fat self conducts electricity. The theory is you will have more water in muscle and thus conduct better than if you have more fat...

At any rate, that's how I understand it. If I take my own reading at different times of the day I get all kinds of different results...so for me the tool is just "semi" useful if I use it right when I wake up, before shower, food, water, or anything else.

Even then...I still can jump 1% day-to-day on it back and forth. After tracking myself for some weeks, though, I feel its ability to detect my fatness definitely correlates with my actual fatness, so while I wouldn't accuse them of being "accurate", I think it can help show you the trend.

...of course, so can the tightness of your pants, and probably to the same degree of effectiveness. I like spreadsheets, though, so I use it anyway. I would only recommend using it if you consistently use it at the same time each day, and preferably right when you wake up. Then it sucks a little less.

[kelt_22]

http://www.amazon.com/Omron-HBF-306-Body-Fat-Analyzer/dp/B00006WNPU

I use the digital ones you can get from GNC...and I can tell you they are influenced by several things which could be confusing/frustrating.

For example, for me the reading is less after the morning shower rather than before. I believe they're supposed to work by shocking you at low levels (not dangerous) and then detecting how good your fat self conducts electricity. The theory is you will have more water in muscle and thus conduct better than if you have more fat...

At any rate, that's how I understand it. If I take my own reading at different times of the day I get all kinds of different results...so for me the tool is just "semi" useful if I use it right when I wake up, before shower, food, water, or anything else.

Even then...I still can jump 1% day-to-day on it back and forth. After tracking myself for some weeks, though, I feel its ability to detect my fatness definitely correlates with my actual fatness, so while I wouldn't accuse them of being "accurate", I think it can help show you the trend.

...of course, so can the tightness of your pants, and probably to the same degree of effectiveness. I like spreadsheets, though, so I use it anyway. I would only recommend using it if you consistently use it at the same time each day, and preferably right when you wake up. Then it sucks a little less.

this.

NO system is perfect and the variance is +/- 6% on an them. The Idea is if you control the variables you will always be the same amount wrong so if your BF goes down over time you are doing good.
Pinch calipers are +/-4% If I remember so it is not that much better

[donny453]

cool, thanks guys