Measuring body fat and calculate body fat percentage is the most accurate way to determine the outcome of your chosen strategy. Is your main objective to lose body fat or gain lean muscle mass? Then knowing your body fat percentage will allow you to progress faster than if you just went by your body weight alone.  In this post I will explain why it’s important to keep track of your body fat, measuring body fat, calculate body fat percentage and finally how you can use the actual numbers to speed up your results.

Why measuring body fat and calculate body fat percentage is important.

Weighing yourself will give you a rough indication of your progress or lack off. But the scale doesn’t differentiate between body fat and lean muscle mass. So if you lose weight you have no clear indication of what you are actually losing. The scale only shows that you are getting lighter. The same scenario is present if you want to gain muscle mass. The scale only shows that your weight goes up – but not if the weight gained are lean muscle or just pure body fat.

Many people only care about their weight. But this is a huge mistake. By measuring body fat and calculate body fat percentage will determine if you are getting the results for your effort or reveal if you need to adjust your approach.

Measuring body fat and how to calculate body fat percentage.

There are many different ways to measure body fat and they all have their advantages and disadvantages. The most popular and easy way to calculate body fat is by stepping on a scale which measure body fat through a technique called Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis. A small and harmless electrical current is passed through your body. The electrical current passes more quickly through fat free tissue like muscle than it does through fat or bone tissue. The amount of resistance to the electrical current relates to how much fat-free mass a person has and their body density.

Although easy, this method to measure body fat and calculate body fat percentage is not very accurate and there can be huge fluctuations in the results from day to day.  This is due to the fluid fluctuations in the body which can be affected by hormonal changes, diet, exercise, stress etc. To make this method of measuring body fat work, all these parameters have to be the same each time you calculate body fat percentage.

Measuring body fat – A better way.

A far better way measuring body fat is to use calipers. With calipers you measure the thickness of skin folds across the body to calculate how much subcutaneous fat (fat under the skin) a person has. The numbers are put into an equation to predict body density and body fat percentage.

The measurements to calculate body fat percentage are usually done by a professional, but with some practice you can easily do this yourself. Some find it intimidating to have another person pinch their skin folds. If you are such a person you can measure at home in your own privacy.

A caliper doesn’t have to be expensive.  For only 5$ you can get a good caliper that will be one of the most important tools you will have in your arsenal. Here are examples of good calipers in different price categories to calculate body fat percentage.

Harpenden Skinfold Caliper
The Harpenden is the most accurate skinfold caliper made. It has been the standard research caliper for many years.

Lange Caliper
This is the best selling of the higher priced body fat calipers. It has been manufactured since 1962 and is widely used in schools, colleges and fitness centers. The Lange is one of the lower cost professional calipers.

Accu-Measure Body Fat Caliper
At the moment these are the only body fat calipers that reliably let you test yourself. They are extremely simple to use and a recent study has shown very positive results for accuracy.

Slim Guide Skinfold Caliper
Much lower priced than any of the above body fat calipers yet will produce results that are almost as accurate. This is the only low cost caliper accurate enough to be used for professional measurements and is the most widely used professional caliper in the world.

Instructions on measuring body fat and charts to calculate body fat percentage is included with all the calipers.

Break time! Rest is important in training and when reading

This is your free time to take a short break before reading on and my opportunity to show you a little bit about Denmark, who i am or just some fun.

Kashmir – “Splittet til atomer” A danish band normally performing in english. Simply beautiful.

Calculate body fat percentage – What to do with the result.

Knowing your body fat percentage and the thickness of the skin folds gives you vital feedback to use in your planning.  It’s mandatory that you keep record of every measurement to future reference. Plugging the results into a chart makes it easy to track your progress.

The actual body fat percentage is not the most important thing to know. It’s the thickness of the skin folds. When you monitor changes in skin fold measurements rather than converting them into a body fat percentage you can quickly analyze how you have progressed since the last time you measured. With this method you can record measurements from anywhere on the body and not only where the formulas suggest.

If you are in a fat loss phase the skin folds should obviously go down. If your goal is to build muscle measuring the skin folds will give you a clear indication of how you are progressing. If the weight goes up and the skin folds don’t increase you are on the right track.

By measuring body fat and calculate body fat percentage or skin folds and hold it up against your weight it’s easy to correct or make adjustment to your plan. There’s no guesswork. You can quickly determine if you are losing or gaining body fat or muscle mass.

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Measuring body fat and calculate body fat percentage is by far the most important tools to determine the outcome of your fat loss or muscle building strategy – correct nutrition, training and mindset lays the foundation to get the results.

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