Thread: Skinfold calipers

I wouldn't get them if you're on a budget. Most of the time you need someone else to do it for you anyways. It's impossible to measure a skin fold on your own arm, you need 2 hands to do it.

Also, if you have the scale and the mirror, you should do all your determination using those 2 methods in combination unless you're doing some sort of precise experiment.

post up a pic.

btw, I dont like calipers. Bodpod is the way to go. Its accurate within 1% I believe.

It depends on what you're trying to do. They are useful if you're looking to track relative changes in bodyfat overall (via the usual 7-9 pt calculations) and also look at how each pinch point is changing. And yes it requires another person to do it. I normally recommend doing 3 measures at each pinch point and averaging them. If you have the same person doing it regularly, the error is there but it is constant - so your relative changes should be reasonably accurate.

If you're looking for absolute measure, you're not going to get that w/ skinfold calipers. Hydrostatic is the most accurate absolute method.

If you're just looking for a way to see some sort of change day to day, you can go by how your clothes fit & the mirror.

I'm not looking for something to be exactly right. I just need something to give me a fairly good idea of where I'm at and to be able to track progress from there.