For those of you who use the Accufitness FatTrack GOLD digital calipers, are you getting ridiculously low bf%'s with the caliper's built-in 3-site calculation? I know it really doesn't matter if progress is just measured with CHANGES IN BF rather than the measurements itself, but I'd really like to know my true BF%...

My last measurements were as follows:

Chest (diagonal fold, halfway between the nipple and armpit crease): 5mm
Stomach (vertical fold, 1 inch to the right of belly button): 16mm
Thigh (vertical fold, halfway between the knee cap and crease): 8mm

(These are the measurement sites that the caliper instructions tell us to use.)

The caliper calculated: 8% according to above data

The BF% result agrees to the result from using the webpage calculator on this page (http://rustyiron.net/formmale.htm).

Am I missing something here???? I am in NO WAY 8% bodyfat because I can totally grab a handful of fat on my stomach. And I can also assure you that I don't suffer from mental delusions or grossly distorted self-perception.

Any input is greatly appreciated, thanks!

:confused:

Yes, mine calculate WAY too low for me (something outrageous like 11% when I'm closer to 16-18). And I do my pinches as accurately as I can, in the correct direction, etc, and they always come out the same mm.

HOWEVER, I have also used a pair of non dig calipers and a seven site pinch and get the same readings. So I don't use formulas anymore and just rely on whether the reading that I take has changed up or down. Obviously I am doing something wrong, but at least I can still use the calipers to measure progress, just not exact BF.

You should use more than just one tool to get your bf. Use 2 or 3 and average the results.

So I don't use formulas anymore and just rely on whether the reading that I take has changed up or down. Obviously I am doing something wrong, but at least I can still use the calipers to measure progress, just not exact BF.

i guess that's the only way to go if we don't have access to a clinical bodyfat chamber


You should use more than just one tool to get your bf. Use 2 or 3 and average the results.

sc, which bf estimation methods do you personally use?

Digital calipers, regular calipers and online bodyfat estimators based on your measurements.

I use the accumeasure and it says i have 6.5%, i believe and so do others that im at 9%.