Or if you do have a skin fold caliper but would prefer more than just 3 sites feel free to use the 7 site skin fold test calculator. The vertical pinch is mostly used as the fat folds easier with most people. Measure each skinfold 3 times and use the 2 which agree. It is based on the jackson pollock 3 point method and is reasonably accurate for most people. Skinfold calipers measure the thickness of your subcutaneous fat the fat underneath the skin at certain body locations. Measurements are taken on the right side of body.
If you dont have a skin fold caliper i suggest you try the military body fat calculator instead which only requires a tape measure and 2 or 3 body part measurements. This method however as almost all popular skin fold methods tends to underestimate body fat levels in very lean bodybuilders. This health tool estimates the amount of fat present in the body in percentage and as fat mass the lean body mass and body density. The participant must relax the muscle group that is being assessed. Position the caliper perpendicular to the fold about 1 centimeter beneath the thumb and index finger then press on the thumb pad. Estimate body fat based on measurements of subcutaneous fat.
Using the tips of your thumb and forefinger pinch the skin in the area to be measured. Pinch from the top and measure from the bottom. The angle of the fold should be along the imaginary line between the nipple and the underarm crease. Enter the average in millimeters of three belly caliper tests or click the button to enter three measurements and have the calculator compute the average for you plus enter it into the appropriate field. Use calipers to measure a diagonal fold halfway male or two thirds of the way female further from the nipple between the nipple and the crease of the underarm. Measurements are taken at either 3 or 7 different sites on the body.
These measurements are the input in gender specific formulas devised by jackson and pollock. Body fat percentage 3 site skinfold calculator to use the 3 site skinfold calculator measure the skinfolds when the skin is dry before exercise and when youre not overheated. 3 site skinfold jackson pollock protocol purpose. Pinch the skinfold with your left thumb and index finger so the fold is 1 centimeter above the site. A vertical or horizontal fold is taken 2 centimeters to the right of the bellybutton umbilicus. At some point youve.
Read the dial two seconds after you release the trigger. These are all extracted from three measurements of skinfolds performed with an instrument called caliper. To perform each measurement. Caliber needs to be perpendicular to the site analyzed. A basic way to measure body fat percentage is by using a soft tape measure like the kind youd use for sewing to record measurements of different parts of the body.