Or do you?
In the past, I’ve kept track of it through caliper testing. Body fat scales always had me about 5% higher than calipers had me, so I avoided them. 
Another thing, those women pros must race at 10% or less. How can that be healthy? Or do they only maintain that during the racing season?
I use calipers, and someone who knows how to use them. As for the scales, if you are using it to track your progress they are fine, it doesn’t matter what the number is but if it has gone up or down that matters. If you are using a scale always use it the at same time of day with about the same body condition. Like first thing in the morning when you get up, before you drink anything or use the toilet. or after these things, just be consistent.
Basically if I can’t see any veins in my oblique and abdominal region I’m carrying more fat than I’d like to. My Tanita tells me I begin to see these veins around 7%
Wow… so last year I was way below 7%… :-))
The scale returned always “ERROR”… lolol
Wow… so last year I was way below 7%… :-))
The scale returned always “ERROR”… lolol
Probably, I’ll see a few veins around 7% and look like a road atlas if I’m under 5%. Francois could probably figure out some logarithm to help clarify.
I look at my profile in the mirror and my stomach. When I see muscle definition in my abdominals I know it is getting down there where it should be. I’ve lost 17 pounds over the last year and kept it off. There is a big difference in the appearance of my body and my clothes fit differently. My 30" waist jeans and baggy now. I could probably wear a 28" waist. I feel better too.
I use a Tanita scale, morning and night, every day, and take an average of the two % body fat numbers, plot them, and draw a line connect the plotted values so I can follow the trend. Do the same thing for weight.
It mostly helps me determine when I’m dehydrated (weight goes down and % body fat goes up), or when my legs aren’t recovered from a hard workout and are swollen (weight goes up slightly, and % body fat is much lower than usual). It’s not than any one value is accurate, but, it does give very good trends…just don’t try and read too much into the individual numbers, then it’s a decent tool.
if i jiggle when my girlfriend spanks me…time to hit the gym.
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I count the dimples in my ‘cheeks’.
Do you mean the dimples in your head, meathead?
I feel bad now…I have bashing remorse. Sorry meathead.
I’m with Tom … I use the mirror. Calipers require too much skill for accuracy, and it’s rather hard to do it by yourself (IMO) and do it correctly. I tried to teach my wife how to do it and all she did was have fun pinching the back of my triceps (hurts, Waaaaaah).
IMO, in athletic endeavors, BF% is the absolute #1 over-rated factor. So, I don’t track it any further than in the mirror. I prefer 10-12% … any lower than that and face looks a little to “skeletony”. It’s nice to have cheeks … those cheeks too.
There you go. Coming on this site and talking trash, you little pansy. I’m gonna bust a cap in you next time your gimp @$$ shows up at my door.
OOhhhh nooo, Mr. Meathead!
If you really want to know your body fat, a dunk tank is the only reliable test. But who really cares? Are you fit? Do you like the way your body looks? More importantly does your BF/GF/SO/POSSLQ like the way you look?
Calipers give inconsistent results and bioimpedance (Tanita) is hugely unreliable, although as noted elsewhere, it does give you trends.
“a dunk tank is the only reliable test”
That is 100% true.
Actually even a dunk tank has a margin of error (although reduced) because it calculates body density. Usually the Siri equation is used from there to infer body fat. To be done more accurately they should measure your lung vital capacity to estimate residual air volume in the lungs when fully exhaled.
The siri equations were developed by comparing underwater weighing with chemical meltdown of cadavers to estimate body density. If you are black or hispanic make sure they use population specific formulas (same with calipers) as you would have a higher body density at equivilent body fat to a caucasian.
Only truly accurate way would be to melt you down in a chemical vat and measure what floats to the top. Underwater weighing, air displacement or DEXA are all pretty close to each other.
Cousin Elwood … go back a edit your post so that it reads:
“a dunk tank is the MOST reliable REPEATABLE test”
I don’t want anyone asking Flying Wombat where they can go to get a ‘Chemical Vat Meltdown’. Sheesh.
I use calipers about once a month. I don’t really care what the % is, but I do want to see the trend. A better measure that % is the sum of the measurements. You want to see if this sum is going up or down and how that tracks with your weight.
I really don’t think you should have a goal of low body fat. Eat healthy and if you are training hard for long distance events your body will find a healthy weight and BF% on its own. You just need to focus on eating healthy.
I was struck by the top women at the Lubbock 1/2 IM as I watched them pass me on the out and back run course. The top 3 women in 2002 had radically different body styles. One of those women had way too much weight, by looking at her I would have expected her to be a 7 hour finisher. She looked like your typical suburban mom, yet she was one of the top 3 women IM pro’s.
Body fat, weight and shape have very little correlation with speed (within reason). Unfortunately although I have ideal height and weight and 6% BF I’m stuck about 1/3 of the way through the field.
I use a highly scientific method that is, I think, common in the triathlon world.
First, I step on the scale, and regardless of what it says, I say out loud, “What a fat, disgusting pig.”
Second, I look at myself in the mirror, and as I gaze at my variably sized love handles with great disgust, I will say something like, “Ugh!” or some other statement that combines the savior’s name combined with an explicit term for intercourse.
I then try to rationalize that I will never look the way I would like to, will probably always be carrying a few extra pounds around, and that it’s okay.
I am about 8-10 pounds up from the racing season(June-July), where my volume was two to three times what it is now. But looking at the logs, I am about where I was this time last year.