1. Test Your Body Fat With Tongs
The easiest way to test your body fat is by taking skin-fold measurements with a pair of calipers. Calipers are simple tong-like tools that measure the thickness of your skin. Even though testing with calipers is cheap and widely-available, it's not really a great indicator of your specific body composition. It does, however, give you a good idea of how your body composition changes over time. Getting reliable readings requires good measuring technique, so it's best to leave caliper testing to personal trainers and other trained fitness professionals.
2. Estimate Your Composition With Electricity
Another popular way of measuring body fat is through bioelectrical impedance. Companies like Tanita make body fat monitors that pass a gentle electrical current through your body and estimate your body fat percentage based on the resistance it encounters. Since electricity travels more easily through muscle than fat, a lower resistance means you'll get a lower body fat reading. These scales are generally both accurate and reliable, although they're not quite as respected by the scientific community as hydrostatic weighing.
3. Go for a Swim
Hydrostatic weighing is currently the most precise method available for calculating your body composition. You'll only find it in top-end sports medicine clinics and university research labs, but its accuracy is hard to beat. Given that muscle sinks and fat floats, an examiner can determine your body fat percentage by measuring your weight underwater. You'll need to stay completely submerged for a number of seconds to get the reading right, so getting tested can be a bit unpleasant. Check with your local university or hospital to see if a weighing tank is available in your area. Be warned: One session often costs over $100.
4. Hop in the POD
The BOD POD is a new device designed to test body fat as accurately as underwater weighing without the hassle of getting wet. Instead of hopping in a water tank, you position yourself inside of a futuristic egg-shaped chamber. When the door closes, the BOD POD measures the amount of air your body displaces. It then uses this measurement to calculate your body's ratio of muscle to fat. BOD PODs are incredibly expensive to own privately, but many universities and health clubs keep them on hand for testing their athletes.
5. Test Your Way to Fitness
Regardless of which method you choose, knowing your body fat percentage will help you set fitness goals and optimize your health. Men should shoot for a measurement between 14 and 17 percent while women should aim for 21 to 24 percent. Maintaining a body fat percentage in these ranges increases your quality of life and promotes physical as well as general well-being.
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