Body fat percentage.

Barrera1010

Whats a good method to calculate?

TavistockToad

Post pictures on here, there's knowledgeable people on here who will give you a decent estimate

AnvilHead

Autopsy, but it's rather invasive and the repeatability is problematic.

Short of that, there are a lot of methods, all of which have inherent error. DEXA, hydrostatic weighing, BodPod, skinfold, bioelectric impedance analysis, anthropometric measurement, visual estimation.

Good 7-part series about the topic, starting here: https://weightology.net/the-pitfalls-of-body-fat-measurement-part-1/

mmapags

AnvilHead wrote: »

Autopsy, but it's rather invasive and the repeatability is problematic.

Short of that, there are a lot of methods, all of which have inherent error. DEXA, hydrostatic weighing, BodPod, skinfold, bioelectric impedance analysis, anthropometric measurement, visual estimation.

Good 7-part series about the topic, starting here: https://weightology.net/the-pitfalls-of-body-fat-measurement-part-1/

This^. Especially the first line. Honestly, there is no exact way and a visual estimate is just as good as most. TavistockToad is right. There are quite a few people here with an experienced eye. Post 4 pics. Front, flexed and unflexed. Side, flexed and unflexed. You'll get some reasonably good answers and it won't cost a thing other than a few minutes time.

rhauser44

All the previous posters give great advice. While a precise measurement is always great, maybe even more valuable is tracking how you are trending and the rate of change. That you can do with any method.
I use the three-site caliper skin-fold test myself. If I’m carefully measuring the same locations the same way ever time, you can track the trend + or -. I also compare that percentage and my build against the many photo examples you can Google online;

body fat percentage men

fb47

I just estimate visually. It's not precise, but I look for ballpark numbers, not precision.

SummerSkier

I have a little hand held machine. It's not going to be exact but over time I do think it tells you if you are improving or getting worse. About $30 on Amazon. I have used it for a few years and seen it go from 29% to 19% so I know it does register changes. I like it because I am in control of the variables from measurement to measurement.

mmapags

SummerSkier wrote: »

I have a little hand held machine. It's not going to be exact but over time I do think it tells you if you are improving or getting worse. About $30 on Amazon. I have used it for a few years and seen it go from 29% to 19% so I know it does register changes. I like it because I am in control of the variables from measurement to measurement.

I had one of those but it didn't track changes much for me. I carry fat over my hips and the lower your fat is on your body, the less accurate those seem to be. Unless it has both hand and feet sensors.

Johnd2000

I use a cheap pair of calipers (7 point method) and slightly more expensive scales. There tends to be 1-2% difference between the two readings, which is close enough to give me a rough idea.

As with all measurements, it’s the trend that matters, not the individual data points.

feisty_bucket

The US Navy method is the easiest I know of. Takes maybe two minutes and you just need a scale and a measuring tape. Like every other technique, use it to track change over time.

http://fitness.bizcalcs.com/Calculator.asp?Calc=Body-Fat-Navy

rhauser44

feisty_bucket wrote: »

The US Navy method is the easiest I know of. Takes maybe two minutes and you just need a scale and a measuring tape. Like every other technique, use it to track change over time.

http://fitness.bizcalcs.com/Calculator.asp?Calc=Body-Fat-Navy

I use the Navy method along with the three site caliper method and average them together. And again, I’m following the trend.