I am a big nerd and love learning about the human body. Even more exciting for me, is learning about my body and what it is currently doing and where are areas that I can improve upon. I was curious about my current body fat percentage and asked to have my measurements taken by a local personal trainer at my gym.
When we met I gave him my stats: height, weight, current health issues and more. The trainer said that he would be able to administer three different type of tests to measure my body fat. They each had a margin of error, but it would be a good baseline to recognize where I currently am with my health and fitness goals.
Your body fat percentage is a measure of how much fat you have on your body compared to lean mass in form of muscle, bone, organs, etc. For example, if you weigh 200 pounds at 10% body fat, you are carrying 20 pounds of fat on you. The more muscle you have… the better!
The three different methods my body fat was measured:
Handheld device. This was by far the simplest way I had my body fat percentage measured. I simply gave the trainer my height, weight and age. He pressed a button and I held on to the handheld with my arms extended. My trainer told me that the results yielded a 3-5% margin of error.
Calipers hurt. Kidding. Well, it does pinch. My trainer and I met in his office of some sort of privacy. There he measured 7 points to pinch my skin/fat to measure my body fat percentage with this technique. My trainer told me that this yielded a 1-3% margin of error. The more points of origin you measure the lower error rate. Coincidently enough this method gave me the highest percentage of body fat.
Hydrostatic Body Fat Testing . This method is claimed to have a 1% margin of error. It is supposed to be the most accurate for recording body fat percentage.I was super jazzed to find out that my local gym has this underwater weighing scale available to use. I had my fee waved ($50) with a promise to share my experience with you.
This was super exciting for me because I have read and seen on television people doing this test. I have always been curious and was jazzed to try it. I had to come back the following morning after fasting for 12 hours. When I returned the following morning, I simply had to hop in the warm tub and exhale all my air to get my measurement.
I am not going to sugar coat this test, it was challenging… mentally and physically. There I was lying face down in a warm tub… exhaling all my air out of my body and holding it under water for as long as possible. It was a hard thing to get used to. I had to make sure my body was completely submerged as well as all the air was out of my system. It took a few tries to get an average result.
My results to the three different methods were pretty close in number to each other. It didn’t tell me anything new regarding my body fat percentage. I know that I need to focus more on portion control and really really need to add in strength training.
In order for me (or you if you are wanting to have a similar goal) to lower body fat percentage, it would be wise to pay close attention to your nutrition, make movement a priority during your day (sweat!) and add strength training to your daily routine.
10 Ways To Reduce Body Fat
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Reduce sugar and processed foods
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Consume healthy fats
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No white stuff
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Drink 2-3 liters of water a day
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Manage your stress & get your sleep!
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Eat your green vegetables
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Eat lean protein
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MOVE your body
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Drink fresh lemon in room temperature water
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Love the body you have while you are working for the body you want!
Here are some amazing fitness articles on the topic that I have found across the web and found super useful.
How to Reduce Body Fat | Ways to Measure Body Fat Percentage | Ways to Measure Body Fat
Fun workouts to add strength training to your fitness routine:
Countdown Circuit | 30-Minute Lower Body Workout | Time Crunch Body Blaster
Check out my Fitness Workout Fun board on Pinterest for more workouts!
I love learning about my body and how it works. I found it super fascinating (and humbling) to hear my body fat percentage. I am learning the many different ways that I can (and need to) lower that number.
Interesting that all three methods were pretty close. In general, I have found that handheld devices are not very accurate at all. Calipers are great, as long as the person using them knows what they’re doing.
HUGE exercise science nerd here too!!! I worked in an exercise science lab at my University for years, and did what feels now like THOUSANDS of body fat analysis tests on students and athletes. Our preferred method was calipers and if we had time, the Bod Pod (air displacement plethysmography). Like Debbie said above, I’m surprised your results were all so close! That’s a good thing! Usually the bioelectric impedance (hand helds) are wildly inaccurate, as they estimate fat based upon an estimation of your body’s hydration levels; so essentially it’s an estimate on top of another estimate. Lastly, and I’m putting on my stern mom voice….START WEIGHT TRAINING! It’s 100% necessary for your health! I promise you will learn to love it 🙂 Great post!
Yes. Shockingly enough my calipers were the highest. He only measured using 7 points, and they could have been my ‘fattiest’ sections of my body. My lowest BF% was the hydrostatic test. The difference in hydrostatic test and the calipers was 7%.
and your total % was???? (what?)
A starting point for me to work on. 😉
I had mine tested years ago-I’d love to do it again now as I’m sure the age thing affects it quite a bit. I was drinking the lemon water everyday during the winter but for some reason stopped. Thanks for the reminder.
I didn’t realize there were multiple ways to measure body fat.
This is so interesting to me. I am always curious about this topic and how these different devices and methods work. Your list is helpful… thanks so much for sharing.
That’s really cool- I’d be so curious about the underwater test, too! Great tips, Rachel… it takes consistency and some work, neither of which I’ve been very good about post baby. 🙂
Thanks. I am guilty of not being very good about consistency and hard work post baby… and my baby is 4 😉 j/k
I’ve always wanted to do the tank thing! Just to see. I have a handheld analyzer that I use.
Great post! It’s good to know they’re all pretty similar!
I’ve done the handheld device before and was surprised at my reading. I have been trying to add more strength training to my workouts over the past few months – I really love the Shaun T. Focus T25 Beta workouts as they incorporate dumbbells into the circuit
Surprised the hydrostatic is that cheap..Awesome! It is super accurate. I did over 500 of these in grad school ahhhh. Also, if you can find a bodpod in your area it very accurate and less invasive than hydrostatic!
The underwater test sounds kind of nuts but how cool to be able to compare to the other three methods. I love strength training. My favorite moves are lunges and shoulder press.
I did the hand held one at a physical one time… that was depressing. I’ll take a 3% error 🙂
Great post! I have a question. What do you mean about not eating “white stuff” in the ways to reduce body fat? Do you mean white rice, white potatoes, etc?
White stuff = white sugars, processed/refined flour, etc 😉
I’m on a cleanse now but I plan to do it again when it’s over. I’m glad my scale measures it as well.
My gym just posted an announcement about a Bod Pod this morning and I was wondering if the $45 was worth it. If your results were around the same and you didn’t have any noticeable differences would you say it is worth the $45 – $50?
I get mine measured with calipers once a month by my trainer. Like you said, not 100% accurate, but it’s relatively close (and it’s about progress or maintenance, not the number).
I have always wanted to do the underwater way of measuring. My crossfit actually utilizes a doppler type instrument connected to their computer. The margin of error for this type is pretty low and finding out my percentage was enlightening to say the least.
I think it would be interesting to try the underwater method, but it would probably take me a few tries as well. Might be easier to do the calipers pinch, lol.
yes, underwater way back in the early 80s. It was low…probably higher now at 61, but I feel just as strong if not stronger. Intensity helps burn…sprint/run vs. walking- guess which one burns more?
I’ve had it measured many different ways, right now I wouldn’t want it measured I have too much.
I totally get the nerdiness! Great info Rachel.
I love exercise physiology! I actually scored 100% on my 4th year University Exercise Physiology final. I think it’s an important class that although complicated, should be taught in 4th year highschool along with nutrition. If we understood better how the body processes food as energy substrates we would likely make different lifestyle choices. The biggest take away with body composition estimates is that to measure progress, the method of estimating body fat percentage must remain the same. Comparing one method versus another will not tell the true story because they are unfortunately only estimates.
I’m losing weight but definitely need to work out more! I struggle with finding time these days, but really need to make sure I fit it in!
I don’t know what mine is, but I know it’s too high. 🙁 I haven’t eaten any of the white stuff for over 6 weeks now. I will allow myself some sweets and white potatoes on Thanksgiving, though. 🙂
I’ve never had mine measured…I’m not even sure I want to know :-/
I do not have much motivation at all. Desire but not motivation.
I’ve never had my body fat measured – not sure I want to know what it is !! That being said, I’m really, really trying to up the water in take for a number of reasons. I find it so hard to do but I’m trying.
These are some great tips for fat loss. The hardest one for me is drinking enough water.
The last time I had my body fat tested, I was 18. My body looks slightly different than it did at 18. I’m not sure I’m ready to know!
There probably aren’t many people on Earth who don’t want to lower their body fat. I definitely needed a good reminder of ways to achieve that, especially with the holiday season upon us.
This is so interesting! I had mine measured ages ago with the first handheld method you mention, but it was so long ago and I have a totally different body now. Thanks for the tips, too! I have to focus on strength training this year.