After working hard and following a healthy diet, it is frustrating to see no changes when you step on the scale. However, weigh less is not the most important thing. It is not a wonder to find someone who looks overweight, but he or she is healthier than a slim person. It is the percentage of body fat that matters. You can use the best body fat caliper to measure how much you have in the body.
Using a Caliper At Home to Measure Fat
The best thing about a fat caliper is that you can learn how to use at home. This tool measures skin folds, and the measurements are put into a formula. This formula gives an estimated percentage of your body fat. Besides, the formula can be used to determine lean mass and fat weight.
How Do The Best Fat Calipers Work?
The body fat calipers are not a tool to measure fat in the body directly. They are used to do the “pinch test” that takes skinfold measurements ranging from three up to ten points on the body.
The information is used with a formula to get the percentage of your body fat. The accuracy is determined by the formula used and experience of the person doing the test.
Before you start following a fitness program, it is advisable to get your body fat percentage.
Keep the information in your training journal to help you track from your progress. The recommended range of healthy fat differs according to age, gender, and level of fitness. A woman with over 32% of body fat and a man with over 26% are obese.
Types of Fat Calipers
There are various types of capers in the market for consumers. If you want to do it at home, you must buy one. Good quality calipers will cost up to a few hundred dollars, but it is possible to find some low priced ones. Sometimes if the caliper is low quality, it doesn’t exert enough pressure to give adequate control over tension and leads to unreliable results.
Some of the common types of calipers include Lafayette Skinfold Calipers, Harpenden Skinfold Calipers, Lange Calipers, Accu-Measure Body Fat Calipers, and Slim Guide Skinfold Calipers.
Best Parts to Take Your Measurements
Once you have your best caliper and ready to take the measurements. You need to identify the locations to take the pinches.
Some of the best parts to use when looking for measure skinfolds include:
Triceps: You should bend your elbow to 90-degrees angle. Use your caliper to measure a vertical fold while your arm is the same position. In this position, the arm is usually hanging naturally on your side.
Bicep: The arms should be extended naturally for you to take a vertical fold the best parts are the between the shoulder and elbow’s crook and at the front of your arm.
Subscapular: Take the measurements diagonally while holding your calipers at an angle of 45 degrees. The best part is across your back or below your shoulder. With this, you need some assistance as you can reach the back part comfortably.
Thigh: This one is easy; a vertical fold while standing will be the best. Take a skinfold midway between the crease close to where your hip and the thigh meet and your kneecap.
Iliac Crest: You should fold your right arm across your body. Take a horizontal pinch just slightly above your hip bone.
Abdominal: The abdomen is the home of most fat in the body. Measurement in this area should be vertical fold about one inch on the right side of your navel.
Calf: The foot should be resting on a platform at an angle of 90 degrees. You take a measurement using a vertical fold on the inner part of the calf where it has the biggest circumference.
Chest: You should take a diagonal fold on the pectoral area. Measure the fold between pectoral muscle at your armpit and the nipple.
Axilla: This is on the side of your chest, and you should take a vertical fold. It has to be just below the middle of your armpit, but perpendicular your nipple.
These are just some of the parts that come in handy when using a caliper to measure body fat at home. Just get yourself the best body fat caliper.