FFM Dilemma!!

[d80p]

Okay let me revise again, actually I do know what we used as a standard, age, sex and bone density were taken into account, and I can only assume that the standards were for the average caucasian.

Most of my class were athletes and therefore for the most part had less fat mass, while I'll go out on a limb and say that the average caucasian would have more fat mass, yet the body fat caliper testing did not overcompensate their fat free mass, in all cases it was the other way around.


I would have to say that fat caliper testing is an all around inaccurate way to test total fat free mass.

To it's credit though, it's a nice way to see where you started off and use your initial measurements as a guideline to see improvements, but nothing more.

 

[d80p]

Blech, I just woke up.

When I said overcompensate their fat free mass, I meant fat mass. Changes the whole meaning of my sentence huh?

 

[d80p]

Oh BTW Vixi...that is a damn nasty looking picture, she looks like the poster child for Feed the Hungry. I think you made your point nicely.

 

[MS]

Changes in properly applied skinfold measurements are, IMHO THE BEST way for a bodybuilder to monitor the progress of their diet/training method. After all, at the end of the day, s/he who has the most MASS with the thinnest skinfolds wins most of the time (figure competitors aside). The judges can't see your visceral fat, nor do they care how well hydrated (or not) your muscles are, nor how dense your bones are. To use skinfold measurements to your adanvtage you don't need ANY formula to convert to %bf, you just need to see them go down (if you're trying to lose fat) or not go up if you trying to gain overall LBM.

However for your average non-bodybuilding couch spud, application of the correct skinfold formula can tell you where you started from and where you headed since loss or gain of visceral fat is very important in this population, and skinfolds won't measure this.

Bioimpedance is certainly a waste of time in my opinion.

 

[d80p]

Yup, listen to the lady. Even if we assume that the bioimpedence methods are giving accurate bodyfat measurements which isn't always the case (If you look at the bioimpedence numbers are off by an outrageous amount when compared to the hydrostatic), skinfolds caliper and a decent mirror are still the best tools you can have.

 

[Vixi]

Crap. ....I ordered a $144.00 Tanita that shipped out to me last week.