Skin fold test

cookey71
cookey71 Posts: 12 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Body fat/ skin fold measurement. Has anyone had any experience of this? After losing a lot of weight and now being at a healthy weight I am considering having the 3 point skin fold measurement done in order for my body fat to be measured (using calipers). However I do have some excess skin and wondered how person carrying out test will distinguish between excess skin and body fat.
Also, just how intrusive and embarrassing is the test?

Replies

  • Sumiblue
    Sumiblue Posts: 1,597 Member
    Skin is very thin. The pinch grabs fat & skin and even if your skin is loose it's not going to alter the reading. Normally you wear regular workout gear and it shouldn't be embarrassing. Whenever I've had it done at a gym it was done in an office or somewhere more private than the main work out area.
  • kettiecat
    kettiecat Posts: 159 Member
    I bought a pair, watched some utube videos and had my husband measure me.
  • seiffertrk
    seiffertrk Posts: 49 Member
    I just got cheap plastic calipers and I do it myself. I may not be measuring in the perfect spots, but I do measure the same spots every time consistently. The numbers are going down, so I'm happy with that. I calculate out the BF% from the measurements just for fun, but I don't know how accurate it is. For me, it doesn't matter. The measurements are going down, thus the fat is going away. I'm only concerned with the change from week to week.
  • cookey71
    cookey71 Posts: 12 Member
    Thanks everyone x good tips, ideas and experience!

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