How to Determine Body Fat Percentage
Measuring body fat percentage is a popular method of determining how healthy your weight is. This can help figure out whether your body is sized properly for your body weight. You can do this by making a few simple measurements with a pair of calipers and entering your findings into a calculation.
Instructions
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Pinch the skin on the triceps between your fingers, and place the calipers around the fold of skin. Tighten the calipers until they cannot go in any further. Take this reading and write it down on a piece of paper to keep track of your measurements.
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Use the same method to measure the subscapula, which is the skin below the shoulder blade on your back. You may need a partner to get an accurate reading. Write this finding down on a separate line on the same paper as your triceps.
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Rest your arm comfortably and don't flex. Measure your bicep halfway between your elbow and shoulder. This should be the dead center of your upper arm. Write these finding down on your paper.
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Measure the suprailiac with the calipers. This is the skin on the side of the body just above the hips commonly called the love handles. Pinch the skin and measure it as well and write your findings down on the paper.
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Find a body fat percentage calculator. There are several reliable sites that charge nothing for the use of this tool. Add all of the values of skin fold size up and enter the information in the proper field on the calculator. In addition, fill in your height in the calculator as well and ask it to calculate. Your body fat percentage should come up soon. A healthy percentage is 15 to 21 percent.
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