Body fat Calculation
dalerst
Posts: 174 Member
Whats the best way to calculate your body fat accurately, online calculators are putting me at 12% but I'm not so sure.
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Replies
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Dexa scan most likely2
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If you want accurate it's dexa scan or hydrostatic/bodpod1
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Nice article on pros and cons of different methods in this link:
https://www.builtlean.com/2010/07/13/5-ways-to-measure-body-fat-percentage/?inf_contact_key=dc351cbdd0761915831ff5d1bca31475f42e73b45daa73aa04b00781e22533fb0 -
Besides spending all that money on DEXA. The best way is just how you've described, your own investigation, with multiple methods. If some online calculators (involving tape measurements I'm assuming) have put you in a range, and you've had a look at some photos of others at the same height weight, and a good look in the mirror. Then your guess is going to be pretty accurate.0
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Besides spending all that money on DEXA. The best way is just how you've described, your own investigation, with multiple methods. If some online calculators (involving tape measurements I'm assuming) have put you in a range, and you've had a look at some photos of others at the same height weight, and a good look in the mirror. Then your guess is going to be pretty accurate.
Looking around on the internet at other photos of 12% and the measurement I've been taking I would probably say between 11-13%0 -
Besides spending all that money on DEXA. The best way is just how you've described, your own investigation, with multiple methods. If some online calculators (involving tape measurements I'm assuming) have put you in a range, and you've had a look at some photos of others at the same height weight, and a good look in the mirror. Then your guess is going to be pretty accurate.
Looking around on the internet at other photos of 12% and the measurement I've been taking I would probably say between 11-13%
I'd say if your comfortable with some uncertainty, just go with 12% for any calculations you need to make. or grab a BF scale and when it says 9.3% or something, just add 2.7% to every measurement from now on. You'll be able to track well enough with a method like that.2 -
12% on different people looks completely different. Main thing is to use the same method to track your progress.2
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I don't thnk comparing photos with other people would be accurate because as someone else said earlier, everyone's body composition differs, I mean yes 10% vs 20% is a similar comparison but when you're talking about 10-15% or15-20 you need to measure and if you're decreasing in body fat while keeping your weight, you're doing it right my friend!0
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Whats the best way to calculate your body fat accurately, online calculators are putting me at 12% but I'm not so sure.
Also, my personal opinion I think you could put more size on. You're lean and have a good physique you could build more muscle overall so I think you should bulk up, gain more size, and then slowly cut back down again, but this is my opinion.0 -
There's no truly accurate way. DEXA and BODPOD are found to be off by 2 to 10 points. So it's really not worth the money.
Pinching, measurements, and calculation are cheaper and about as "off" as any other method.0 -
Whats the best way to calculate your body fat accurately, online calculators are putting me at 12% but I'm not so sure.
Also, my personal opinion I think you could put more size on. You're lean and have a good physique you could build more muscle overall so I think you should bulk up, gain more size, and then slowly cut back down again, but this is my opinion.
That's what I'm currently don't on a lean bulk. What to gain 8lb then reassess then. I was only asking because a lot of people say not to bulk until your down to 10% which I'm not that low I don't think.0 -
Oh ok gotya. You can start bulking above 10%, I started bulking at 12-13%, some even start bulking at 15%.0
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WendyLeigh1119 wrote: »There's no truly accurate way. DEXA and BODPOD are found to be off by 2 to 10 points. So it's really not worth the money.
Pinching, measurements, and calculation are cheaper and about as "off" as any other method.
Autopsy haha1 -
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Thanks for the help! for now I will just stick with my scales and monitor it over the next 2 months. They are pretty much giving me the same reading as all the measurement calculator online.0
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I don't thnk comparing photos with other people would be accurate because as someone else said earlier, everyone's body composition differs, I mean yes 10% vs 20% is a similar comparison but when you're talking about 10-15% or15-20 you need to measure and if you're decreasing in body fat while keeping your weight, you're doing it right my friend!
I never said it was accurate, I just said it gives me a good idea where i estimate to be....for sure I would agree with everyone else that Dexa scan is probably the most accurate, but it costs money.
I managed to get a deal at my local dexa place for 5 measurements for 50 bucks a piece, so I'll do them every 6 months or so.0 -
I get a DXA scan and get weighed hydrostatically every 3 months. Costs $45 for DXA and $39 for hydro.
DXA provides more data but always gives a result 3-4% higher than hydro. Online calculators give me a result higher than both.
All methods are subject to error but DXA and hydro are the best of the bunch. You just need to use the same method over time to make reliable comparisons in results and trends.
I prefer DXA for the data and hydro for the results. Next hydro weigh-in is in a week.
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Post a pic in this thread and I can tell you pretty close to what percent you are. keep in mind ~4% bf is stored inside your body around your organs.0
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You look.around 10-12% in your profile pic0
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Besides spending all that money on DEXA. The best way is just how you've described, your own investigation, with multiple methods. If some online calculators (involving tape measurements I'm assuming) have put you in a range, and you've had a look at some photos of others at the same height weight, and a good look in the mirror. Then your guess is going to be pretty accurate.
Looking around on the internet at other photos of 12% and the measurement I've been taking I would probably say between 11-13%
12% is between 11% and 13% ... just saying.0 -
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That's the stage I'm at now. Just in to my third week of bulking hoping to gain 10lb by December then do a cut in the new year.0 -
That's the stage I'm at now. Just in to my third week of bulking hoping to gain 10lb by December then do a cut in the new year.
I highly highly recommend you go by the mirror/pictures and not set an arbitrary goal. Especially when in a gaining phase!0 -
I'm guessing you're 11.2758%
Seriously, for those who think they can look at a picture and get the %BF anywhere near true value, what are you basing that on?
This?
Do you think that someone ran a DEXA or immersion test on each person in that image and then got their permission to create the graphic? Or, is it more likely that someone just pulled a bunch of pics off Google images and guessed the %BF of each person?
Then, in discussion forums all over the internet (yes, bodybuilding.com I'm looking at you) people load up pictures, in various states of lighting, clothing, posing, tanning, hydration, bloating, and flexing and we all squint a bit and compare their pics to this graphic (or similar) and proclaim the result to the nearest whole percent.
This behavior is basically making a guesstimate, in non-ideal and non-controlled conditions, by comparing against a guesstimate, in non-ideal and non-controlled conditions and it gets worse with every echo-chamber, BS spinning iteration.
OP - if you need this information, don't mess about - go get tested by the best way you can afford. If it's just "out of interest" who cares? Is the %BF number your primary goal - If not, measure your primary goal (strength, aesthetics, waistline, whatever).4 -
StealthHealth wrote: »I'm guessing you're 11.2758%
Seriously, for those who think they can look at a picture and get the %BF anywhere near true value, what are you basing that on?
This?
Do you think that someone ran a DEXA or immersion test on each person in that image and then got their permission to create the graphic? Or, is it more likely that someone just pulled a bunch of pics off Google images and guessed the %BF of each person?
Then, in discussion forums all over the internet (yes, bodybuilding.com I'm looking at you) people load up pictures, in various states of lighting, clothing, posing, tanning, hydration, bloating, and flexing and we all squint a bit and compare their pics to this graphic (or similar) and proclaim the result to the nearest whole percent.
This behavior is basically making a guesstimate, in non-ideal and non-controlled conditions, by comparing against a guesstimate, in non-ideal and non-controlled conditions and it gets worse with every echo-chamber, BS spinning iteration.
OP - if you need this information, don't mess about - go get tested by the best way you can afford. If it's just "out of interest" who cares? Is the %BF number your primary goal - If not, measure your primary goal (strength, aesthetics, waistline, whatever).
Body fat is not my final goal, strength and a decent look. My only reason for asking is because not say to start bulking when you get to 10% ish. I have no ambition to pay money to have it measured.0 -
But, the "get to 10% BF" is based as much on eyeballed guesstimate as everything else - I assume that that figure came from bodybuilding.com or T-nation.com or some other such forum and has the same issues as my comments above.
My take on the whole how lean before bulk concept is you need to be able to stand your "look" when at the peak of the bulk, so if an individual is only just happy with fat levels at the start they are going to feel like a whale by the end. So, it makes sense to start the bulk at a pretty low %BF.
There is an argument that nutrient partitioning also means that lean individuals will preferentially gain muscle on a bulk- but I suspect that there is much more complexity/subtlety to that concept that a simple low BF = more muscle (otherwise fitness competitors returning to cal surplus after a show would see their best gains immediately, but that does not seem to be the observation, in fact quite the opposite - most seem to be primed for fat rather than muscle gain.2 -
I want to figure out how to post a picture because I'd like to hear an honest idea of what people think my Bf%would be.
Edit, I changed my profile picture, only way I could think to do it. My guess is 15 or 16 percent, but I'm not great at guessing.0
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