Caliper Review
How to use a skin fold caliper to calculate your body fat percentage
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Calipers are a great way to measure your body fat but unless your a contortionist it takes two people to get all of the measurements. Using the skin fold test you are going to take measurements from a variety of different body parts including the front and back of your body. Although not 100% accurate the skin fold test can give you a verify good idea of where your body fat levels are at.
Depending on who you ask you will probably get different recommendations on how and where to take your skin fold test for your caliper measurements. The instructions for taking measurements can also very from the different caliper manufactures. We personally feel that the more measurements you take the more accurate your results. We recommend a 9 point test when you take your skin fold measurements.
Before we begin with the calculations, we need to explain the two types of skin fold measurements that you will need to take. There is the vertical and horizontal skin fold measurement. When we use the term vertical measurement, we are implying that once the skin is pinched a vertical (up and down) fold will be created. A horizontal measurement is the just the opposite of a vertical measurement, you pinch the skin where the fold runs side to side. For ease of explanation we will refer to either a vertical or horizontal measurement for the different body parts below.
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Body Part |
Description | |
| 1. | Bicep | Vertical skin fold measurement on the bicep halfway between the shoulder and the forearm. |
| 2. | Triceps | Vertical measurement right below where the triceps horseshoes |
| 3. | Chest | Vertical measurement at the top middle of the chest (below the collar bone) |
| 4. | Back | Vertical pinch the skin between the scapula and spine |
| 5. | Abdomen | Vertical skin fold measurement to the right of the belly button |
| 6. | Lower Back | Horizontal measurement between the kidney and the spine |
| 7. | Quadriceps | Vertical measurement halfway up the quadriceps |
| 8. | Calve | Horizontal measurement at the top middle of the calve |
| 9. | Hip | Horizontal measurement on the hip |
* All measurements are done on
the right side of the body
Skin fold calculations for males
The first step is to take all of your skin fold measurements and log them on a piece of paper. Once that is complete you will need to add your skin fold measurements together and divide that total by your body weight. The final step is to multiply that number by .28 to get you fat percentage. We will use the example below to explain in more detail.
Lets use an example of a 190 pound male that has the following skin fold results:
| Body Part | Measurement | |
| Biceps |
5 |
|
| Triceps | 5 | |
| Chest | 12 | |
| Back | 18 | |
| Abdomen | 12 | |
| Lower Back | 12 | |
| Quadriceps | 10 | |
| Calve | 10 | |
| Hip | 12 | |
| Total |
96 |
So, in our example we would take our caliper measurements and divide them by our body weight (96/190 = 0.505). We then take that number and multiply it by .28. Our results will look like this:
96/190 = 0.505
.505 * .28 = .14 (14 percent body fat)
Now to take it a step further you can calculate your lean body mass by multiplying your body fat percentage by your body weight and subtracting those results from your body weight. I know, it sounds a little confusing. Using our example again, your lean body mass would be:
190 pounds * .14 (percent body fat)
= 26.6 (pounds of fat)
190 - 26.6 = 163.4 pounds - lean body weight
Skin fold calculations for females
Females calculations differ a little since they will multiply their skin fold results by .30 instead of .28. To keep everything simple, we'll just use the same number from above. So our results would look like:
96/190 = 0.505
.505 *.30 = .1515 or 15.2 percent body fat.
As you can see calipers are a great way to keep track of your body fat percentage. If you are a personal trainer in the fitness industry then a caliper would be a great asset to help you keep track of your clients progress.
Listed below is a digital caliper from Bodybuilding.com. Click on the link for more details.