| By the time he completes his schooling, the average American has learned of weight training. |
When losing fat it is important to know, not just how much
weight you are losing, but how much of your body is muscle
and how much is fat. You want to lose fat while maintaining
or even building muscle. So, you need some way to keep
track of your body fat percentage.
The following are two simple methods to determine current
body fat percentage and lean mass percentage.
Method Number One
For this test you will need someone's help and a ruler that
reads in millimeters (mm).
Step 1 - Hang your right arm at your side and have someone
find the point halfway between your shoulder and elbow, on
the rear (triceps side) of your arm.
Step 2 - With his/her thumb and forefinger have him/her pinch
a fold of skin and fat away from the muscle.
Step 3 - Have him/her measure the thickness of the skin pinched.
(Do not rest the ruler against the skin.)
Step 4 - Have him/her do steps 2 and 3 several times and get the
average reading.
Step 5 - Find your body fat percentage by using the chart below.
Fat Percentage Chart
| Skin Fold Thickness In MM |
Body Fat % Men |
Body Fat % Women |
| 6 |
5-9 |
8-13 |
| 13 |
9-13 |
13-18 |
| 19 |
13-18 |
18-23 |
| 25 |
18-22 |
23-28 |
| 38 |
22-27 |
28-33 |
Method Number Two
This test requires a scale and a tape measure. Do the following
calculations:
For Men
Lean body weight = 94.42 + 1.082 (nude weight in pounds)
- 4.15 (waist girth around bellybutton in inches)
Then:
Body fat (%) = bodyweight - lean bodyweight x 100/bodyweight
For Women
Lean body weight = 8.987 + 0.732 (weight in kilograms)
+ 3.786 (wrist diameter in centimeters)
+ 0.434 (forearm circumference in centimeters)
Then:
Body fat (%) = bodyweight - lean bodyweight x 100/bodyweight
Notes:
To convert pounds to kilograms divide by 2.2
To convert inches to centimeters divide by 0.394
Divide circumference by 3.14 (pi) to get diameter.
Method Number Three
If you don't like doing much work, you can do it the easy way!
Like the Accu-Measure Fitness 2000 Personal Body Fat Tester, the FatTrack Digital Body Fat Caliper enables a user to measure (AND TRACK) body fat % by oneself - easily and accurately.
Click Here To Get Your Own Electric Body Fat Tester!
Click Here To Get Your Own Body Fat Tester!
Paul Becker is a natural (steroid free for life) bodybuilder and fitness
consultant. He is the author of many books and courses on training
and diet, the most popular of which is his book "Truly Huge". For more
information on his books, courses & personalized training
visit his website at http://www.trulyhuge.com.
As always, if you have any questions or comments feel free to E-Mail me.
muscle@relaypoint.net
http://www.trulyhuge.com
(c) 1997, by Paul Becker
muscle@relaypoint.net
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