How To Assess Your Levels Of Body Fatness

by Katherine Crawford


Finding a consistent method of measuring your body fat is critical if you are serious about reaching your goals. Sadly, many people fall into the trap of using the weight scale as the end all be all to their progress.

What is the big deal with weight scales? They do NOT take into account all the positive variables that can change while weight stays the same or even increases. So if you are serious about staying on track please do not use a weight scale as the end all be all to your success.

Also, not all methods for measuring fat are the same.

Thus, here is a primer on how to measure your body fat levels:

1. Skin calipers. Ever see a trainer pinch a client with that claw-like contraption? Well, he is taking some skin fold measurements. The biggest benefit here is ease of implementation and fairly accurate results. The key here is to make sure that you use the same person over and over again for taking the measurements.

2. Underwater weighing. You have to get wet with this one, and some people are not up for the inconvenience. This measurement basically estimates how dense your body is. The more density the more lean tissue. Remember that muscle is much more dense than fat. Unfortunately, the preparation and requirements for this type of testing leaves little to be desired?

3. Bioelectrical impedance. I am sure you have seen the little gadgets with handles that you hold in your hands to get an almost immediate reading of your body fat levels. What's the major drawback here? They are usually extremely inaccurate because they send an electrical signal through your body and too many things can interrupt the signals path.

4. DEXA. Also known as dual energy x-ray absorptiometry, this technique sends a couple harmless x-rays through your body to measure levels of lean tissue. It is very accurate and requires little, if any preparation. The only drawback here is cost.

Each method for measuring body fat has its pros and cons. For the most part, the biggest factor affecting accuracy will be the professionals skill and experience with taking the measurements. Having said that, you should pick a method and use it consistently so that you can know whether or not your program is working.

More Information:

Writer Katherine Crawford, a fitness expert and former flabby arms sufferer, instructs on how to get rid of arm fat. Figure out how to get sexy arms by visiting her blog with shake weight reviews right now!



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