Whats A Normal Bf%?

[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?