Whats A Normal Bf%?

[Super Girl 22]

I'M 5'4, 120LBS...I WORKOUT 4-5X A WEEK. I FIGURED I'M IN NICE SHAPE...MOSTLY TIGHT AND TONED SO I'M FIGURING A PRETTY LOW BF%...WELL I MEASURED TODAY AND IT SAYS 32% WHICH I THINK IS KINDA HIGH...I'M WONDERING IF ANYONE KNOWS A NORMAL OR ATHLETIC BF%

 

[tlhc]

nah, 32% is definitely wrong

i don't know what standard bf% for women are, 13-15% i assume

 

[diamonddiceclay]

I believe a woman should be between 10-16% if she's trying to be in shape-there's no way you could be over 30% if your weight and height are what you said.

 

[Jacked4Real]

LOL... 10-16% is normal for a woman??

THe average bf% for a female is 25%.
Super girl, what testing method was used on you? Yes, some methods are stricter then others. Depending on the testing method used on you , then you could very easily be at around 30%. The scary thing is a female can actually look really good with 25% bf if she has good muscle shape and is built well with great proportion. Many of the women that are my clients can actually appear "thin". However they usually end up with 25-30% bf when I test them. Here are 2 examples of women I tested last week. first one was age 25, 5'8, 122, she had 32%bf.
Second one was age 25, 5'5 118 25% bf. Their demensions make them appear slim but their body composition is a totally different story.
To answer your question a average bodyfat for a female age 20-25 would be 25%. A average bodyfat for a "athletic" female.. assuming u mean by "athletic" a female with a firm body and noticable definition, this could range from 15-20%. Hope this helps, feel free to email me for any other Q's.

 

[Murman]

Hello Super Girl 22

When i took my Body composition analyzer my b/f% was 30.8 an i have to lose 30 lb. When i lose the 30 lb that will put me at 18% b/f.
So I would have to say you got the wrong reading.
How did you find your b/f% anyway?

 

[proxy]

THe average bf% for a female is 25%. But if she is going to get in shape shouldn't be less then 15%

 

[Stiffler]

im looking a my BF calipier and it say for a woman that 20-27% is AVG...

 

[tlhc]

as far as i know the bf% went up during the last couple of years, so i wouldn't take them as an orientation

the ideal bf% is the one YOU feel the most comfortable with

 

[keiko]

Most of us on the Women's Board go between 10-17%. If you don't have much muscle mass, no matter how little you weigh, you can easily have a high body fat. Many supermodels who weigh about 112 pounds have so little muscle mass that they have BF of 30%.

Caliphers are a decent way to tell. Don't go by the on-line BF calculators.

Are you lifting heavy or just cardio?

 

[Super Girl 22]

well i measured my bf% on a scale. basically the scale makes you enter your height, then it gives you a reading of your weight and then from that it measures your bodyfat. but i did have clothes on so i know that it is definitely not accurate. i do alot more weight training than i do cardio........speaking of that, i gotta get to the gym!!!

 

[proxy]

Hi girl ........
You don't have to kill yourself in the gym.The most important thing is your diet.Do you have heart rate monitor?If you have no one get one.Also if you don't know how to perform high intensity cardio i can tell you your heart rate.Good luck and WATCH YOUR DIET ...

 

[Jacked4Real]

Keiko,,,

You are so very true. Many supermodels are pitifully thin so they think they are LEAN .. lol not so.

 

[Mr.X]

It's probably off, at your height 5'4 and weight 120lbs you are probably around (ballpark) 18%-20% tops...but again I am probably not the best judge on this, so i'll move this to the women's board.

Mr.X

 

[MS]

From an actuarial point of view 18-22%bf is considered "optimal" for premenopausal females. This is the level at which you are at least risk of fertility, joint, psychiatric, heart, kidney, and liver problems. Sadly "normal" in America is over 25%, and is not the same as optimal. Under 15-18% is considered "athletic" and below 15% is considered an unhealthy level of leaness. And for sure I would say the measurements you had done were off the mark based on what you've told us.

 

[keiko]

I don't think that the national average has been declared appropriate by anyone. The "average" white American woman is 5'4", 148 lbs and has a BF% of 25 to 28%. The CDC based their averages on the NHANES study.

Optimal and average aren't the same, obviously.

 

[wilson6]

32% is obese and looks obese to the untrained eye. Anything over 30% in a female and 25% in a male is considered obese. 12-15% is lean for a female. 22-25% is average although today in America there are less and less women under 25%, even young ones.

The scale is wrong. You should have an underwater weighing or Bod Pod and skinfold measure done by a competent technician in a university lab.

W6

 

[new@gettinbig]

Those electronic scales are WAY off, I had to use one the other day on some people......and it was some crazy readings...the suggestions w6 gave are the best, and make sure they know what they are doing!!!!!

 

[wilson6]

Same person, same calipers, same formula for calculations. It is also important to keep everything consistent prior to skinfold measures. No exercise before, normally hydrated and nothing that can affect sub-Q water (i.e., diet, period, dehydration, etc.). Same scale for body weight as well. The tech must know what he/she is doing. I've seen some trainers do skinfolds and have no clue where to measure. In addition, they screw up the measures by not taking the folds properly.

W6

 

[wilson6]

Forgot to mention. If you go on an AAS cycle, it will change your bodyfat distribution over a period of time, thus if you are relying on skinfold measures to do your calculations, there may be a problem. AAS will decrease sub-Q fat in the gluteal-femoral and triceps region and increase subscapular and abdominal fat (male pattern) as well as visceral (deep abdominal fat) that will not be picked up by skinfolds. I would recommend either UW weighing or DEXA if you are making a transition from natural to juiced. If you're on for a while and the bodyfat distribution has stabilized, then calipers would be OK, but you want to use a 6 site formula (i.e., triceps, subscapular, suprailliac, ab, thigh and calf, and don't count on the numbers being correct (%BF). You'll only be able to measure change from time point to time point. Remember, these formulas are derived from normal women with normal distributions. Once juiced, that all changes to a male fat patterning. In fact, the pro women we measured who were contest ready had to be skinfolded with an athletic formula validated for men because the numbers from the female formula were in the negative %. The men's formula correlated well with UW and DEXA in the lean (3-6%) contest ready pro women.

Also remember for those of you with large implants (> 350 cc). This will impact UW weighing and very likely skew the results of a Bod Pod as well.

W6

 

[Dingo12]

I already have the male pattern of fat-distribution - lean glutes/legs, fatty stomach/abdomen.

I hate the tummy fat.

What can I do?

Will AS make it worse?

 

[vixenbabe]

I'm at 20% as of a month ago. I'm 5'4" and 135 lbs.

Normal? Who knows..I'll take what I got and work on the rest!

 

[Super Girl 22]

ok everyone...in my first post i was upset because this inaccurate scale measured me to have 32% body fat. well i got measured today by a dr and he used calipers. my official bf% is..................


17.5% !!!!



that is truly a big difference and i suggest anyone who has a scale like i used should throw it out the window!! i'm still gonna train my ass off in the gym tonight because i would like to get it a lil lower...maybe 15%. thanks for all of your thoughts and advice!!

Super Girl 22