You can do as many crunches as you want, but if you don’t work on decreasing your body fat percentage, you’ll never be able to actually see your abs. This leads to the obvious questions that all six-pack hopefuls (like myself) will ask…

At what body fat percentage will my abdominal muscles become visible?

10% for men and somewhere between 14% and 18% for women. This is the level that you’ll need to get to for those ’six-pack abs’ to emerge. At higher percentages, let’s say a guy with a BF% of 16.0% you’ll often see your top row of abs (the two just below your chest). But for the classic washboard stomach look that I think all of us are after, you should be aiming to get down to 10% if your a guy, or somewhere between 14% and 18% if you’re a woman.

The reason men need a lower BF% is because their stomachs are one of the first places in which excess fat is stored, whereas on the female body, fat actually sits better on their frames (believe it or not, women).

Great, so you know what body fat percentage you need in order to get those six-pack abs, but how do you actually measure your current body fat percentage?

There are generally 3 ways in which you can measure your body fat percentage:

1. Bioelectrical Impedance/digital body fat readers

These come in the form of body fat scales and handheld body fat readers. They are very popular because the concept is so easy. Just step on the scales or put your thumbs on the handheld device and you get a BF% reading in a few seconds.

The term ‘bioelectrical impedance’ sounds very fancy but essentially all that happens is an electrical current is sent through your body and the electronic device records how long it takes for that current to go from one foot to the other foot (or in the case of handheld devices, one thumb to the other thumb). Because an electronic current will take longer to travel through fat than it will to travel through muscle it can estimate the percentage of fat you are carrying in your body.

Advantages

• Very easy to measure (only takes a few seconds)
• Fairly cheap (prices can be as low as $20 for handheld devices and $100 or more for scales

Disadvantages

• The reading will have a margin of error of 4%
• They are known to be very inaccurate depending on how much water you have in your body - some studies show variances can be as high as 8%

2. Skinfold Calipers

Body fat calipers are a more traditional method of measuring your BF%. They are more accurate than the electronic devices mentioned above but only if it is done correctly. It involves pinching your skin and then measure the amount in the caliper.  You do this measurement several places on your body and then work out your percentage by following the instructions that will come with the calipers.

Advantages

• Can be very accurate if done properly (professionals can get measurements with 0.5% margin of error)
• Cheap (around $10 to $70)

Disadvantages

• Take a lot more time/work to perform the measurement (maybe 10 to 20 minutes compared to a few seconds with body fat scales)

3. Hydrostatic weighing

If you are looking for greater accuracy you can try weighing yourself underwater. It costs about $20-$50 to have this test done (try contacting your local university or health center for contacts). The theory behind this test is that your fat weights less than water does and as a result the more fat you have, the more you’ll float.

Advantages

• Margin of error will be around 2%

Disadvantages

• Have to pay each time you have the test done
• Can be uncomfortable - particularly if you don’t like being underwater

4. DEXA method

A DEXA (dual energy X-ray absorptiometry) scan is the most accurate way of measuring a human’s body fat percentage. Tests will costs around $100 each time, but you’ll walk away with a near perfect measurement. The x-rays will read your bone mass and soft tissue mass and will determine which areas of your body are storing the most fat.

Advantages

• It is the most accurate method

Disadvantages

• It is the most expensive method (you won’t be wanting to have too many measurements taken)
• It is a hassle having to find a place that will perform this test

Conclusion

Of course all methods have their merits, but based on the advantages and disadvantages of each of the above methods, my personal preference is the calipers method.  Calipers are cheap and if the measuring process is done properly they can be almost as reliable as the DEXA method.

Tags: abs, body fat percentage, body fat scales, calipers, callipers

Filed under: Nutrition, Uncategorized