After you make the decision to start up a workout program, one question that you must answer is 'what is my body fat %'?
Knowing your body fat percentage is a very good thing because then it allows you to clearly see the exact direction you're moving with your program. While using the scale can allow you to determine if you're gaining or losing weight mass, it does not assess whether that weight mass is muscle or fat.
In order to get the best results from your workout program, it's imperative that you're losing fat mass and not muscle.
Here are a few of the important things you must know about the question of what is my body fat %.
Body Fat Testing Methods
There are a wide number of testing methods that you can use, however not all are created equally. It's important to understand the pros and cons of each one so that you can make an educated decision of which will be best to use.
Let's have a brief look at the different methods.
Using The Mirror
The most simplistic and cost effective way to determine, 'what is my body fat %' will be to simply look in the mirror. Since most people do have a fairly good awareness of how their body looks on a day to day basis, this does tend to be a fairly reliable way to notice changes.
The only two drawbacks to this method however are that unless you understand how the body looks at various body fat percentages, you won't be able to determine and actual level yourself, but rather just note whether you're moving up or down.
Secondly, since you may experience bloating from time to time, that may also cause you to appear to be at a higher body fat than you really are.
Body Mass Index (BMI)
The second method is calculating your BMI reading. This is where you plug your body weight and height into a formula and get a number back that will place you in various categories such as normal weight, overweight, or obese.
The problem with this recording is that again, you don't get a precise number of your body fat % and second, if you are someone who is highly athletic and has a very large volume of muscle mass and hence a higher overall body weight, you may end up being classified as obese by BMI standards.
Obviously however, that is not the case. For these groups of people, this is a very misleading method of determining body fat.
Calipers
By far and away the caliper method tends to be most popular for people who want to know what is my body fat %. This method has you pinching the fat under your skin in a number of different regions and then recording the thickness of the skinfold.
You'll do this in a few different places in the body, then put these numbers into an equation which then tells you what your percentage is.
The benefit of this method is that you do get an actual body fat percentage number and that when done reliably with the same person, you can use it as a good guide to see whether you're going up or down.
The drawback to this method however is that it can be somewhat inaccurate as it's hard to know for sure exactly how much internal (visceral) fat you have and if the tester isn't sure what they are doing, that too can highly sway the results.
Bioeletrical Impedance Analysis (BIA)
Another fairly popular method is BIA testing. This is where you will either hold a machine or step on a scale and it will determine what your body fat % is. It does this by sending an electrical current through the body and then testing how fast it passes through the tissues.
This method does prove to be quite accurate however it requires that very strict hydration protocols are followed. If you don't follow the right hydration method before performing the test, your results are likely to be highly inaccurate. For someone who isn't aware of this, this is not going to be the best method to choose.
DEXA
Finally the last method to test body fat percentage is the dual-energy X-ray absorbtiometry (DEXA). This method is usually performed in a hospital and can be a bit pricey so unfortunately is out of reach for some people.
Nevertheless, if you can get a hold of it, it's one of the most accurate methods to learn what is my body fat % so one you should definitely consider. It's a full body x-ray scan that will assess what percentage of your body is lean mass, what percentage is fat mass, and what percentage is bone tissue.
So there you have all the main methods of measuring your body fat %. If done right, callipers are one of the best methods to use but you shouldn't use the percentage they give you as set in stone. Instead, use it as a guideline to determine whether you are moving up or down over time.
Most males will tend to see good abs when they approach the single digit levels of between 7-9%, while most females will see abs when they get down to levels of around 15-17% body fat.
Knowing your body fat percentage is a very good thing because then it allows you to clearly see the exact direction you're moving with your program. While using the scale can allow you to determine if you're gaining or losing weight mass, it does not assess whether that weight mass is muscle or fat.
In order to get the best results from your workout program, it's imperative that you're losing fat mass and not muscle.
Here are a few of the important things you must know about the question of what is my body fat %.
Body Fat Testing Methods
There are a wide number of testing methods that you can use, however not all are created equally. It's important to understand the pros and cons of each one so that you can make an educated decision of which will be best to use.
Let's have a brief look at the different methods.
Using The Mirror
The most simplistic and cost effective way to determine, 'what is my body fat %' will be to simply look in the mirror. Since most people do have a fairly good awareness of how their body looks on a day to day basis, this does tend to be a fairly reliable way to notice changes.
The only two drawbacks to this method however are that unless you understand how the body looks at various body fat percentages, you won't be able to determine and actual level yourself, but rather just note whether you're moving up or down.
Secondly, since you may experience bloating from time to time, that may also cause you to appear to be at a higher body fat than you really are.
Body Mass Index (BMI)
The second method is calculating your BMI reading. This is where you plug your body weight and height into a formula and get a number back that will place you in various categories such as normal weight, overweight, or obese.
The problem with this recording is that again, you don't get a precise number of your body fat % and second, if you are someone who is highly athletic and has a very large volume of muscle mass and hence a higher overall body weight, you may end up being classified as obese by BMI standards.
Obviously however, that is not the case. For these groups of people, this is a very misleading method of determining body fat.
Calipers
By far and away the caliper method tends to be most popular for people who want to know what is my body fat %. This method has you pinching the fat under your skin in a number of different regions and then recording the thickness of the skinfold.
You'll do this in a few different places in the body, then put these numbers into an equation which then tells you what your percentage is.
The benefit of this method is that you do get an actual body fat percentage number and that when done reliably with the same person, you can use it as a good guide to see whether you're going up or down.
The drawback to this method however is that it can be somewhat inaccurate as it's hard to know for sure exactly how much internal (visceral) fat you have and if the tester isn't sure what they are doing, that too can highly sway the results.
Bioeletrical Impedance Analysis (BIA)
Another fairly popular method is BIA testing. This is where you will either hold a machine or step on a scale and it will determine what your body fat % is. It does this by sending an electrical current through the body and then testing how fast it passes through the tissues.
This method does prove to be quite accurate however it requires that very strict hydration protocols are followed. If you don't follow the right hydration method before performing the test, your results are likely to be highly inaccurate. For someone who isn't aware of this, this is not going to be the best method to choose.
DEXA
Finally the last method to test body fat percentage is the dual-energy X-ray absorbtiometry (DEXA). This method is usually performed in a hospital and can be a bit pricey so unfortunately is out of reach for some people.
Nevertheless, if you can get a hold of it, it's one of the most accurate methods to learn what is my body fat % so one you should definitely consider. It's a full body x-ray scan that will assess what percentage of your body is lean mass, what percentage is fat mass, and what percentage is bone tissue.
So there you have all the main methods of measuring your body fat %. If done right, callipers are one of the best methods to use but you shouldn't use the percentage they give you as set in stone. Instead, use it as a guideline to determine whether you are moving up or down over time.
Most males will tend to see good abs when they approach the single digit levels of between 7-9%, while most females will see abs when they get down to levels of around 15-17% body fat.
Unfortunately, even though you may be able to initially get down to a level of fat mass, maintaining that is a whole different story. To learn how you can be successful at maintaining a high degree of leanness, check out this article on keeping your low body fat %.
Martin Berkhan is a nutritional consultant who has mastered the cheat day concept and helps others use it to bring themselves to single digit body fat levels. For more information on him and his work, please check out www.leangains.com.
Martin Berkhan is a nutritional consultant who has mastered the cheat day concept and helps others use it to bring themselves to single digit body fat levels. For more information on him and his work, please check out www.leangains.com.
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