What's the easiest way to measure:

1. Body fat% to keep track of your progress,

2. and heart rate when working out?

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For heart rate, I just do the standard and feel my neck pulse. Make sure you use fingers and not your thumb. Watch the clock for 20 and times it by 3 and there you go. you could count to ten and multiply by 6 but to be more accurate I go to 20.

You could also get a heart rate monitor that straps around your chest but I like to go to the gym with as little as possible. My water, MP3 and a book for cardio. Dont want to carry a ton of stuff around.

Body fat gets a little more complicated. There are a few ways to measure it, each have a different level of accuracy.

The simplest and oldest technique is the calaper. The calaper pinches your skin at various points on your body to determin a general range of your body fat.

There are also things that look like scales that you stand on with bare feet. This is commonly used in gyms. I even have one but don't use it that often to be honest. They use bioelectrical impedance.

BI measures the impedance or resistance to the signal as it travels through the water that is found in muscle and fat. The more muscle a person has, the more water their body can hold. The greater the amount of water in a person's body, the easier it is for the current to pass through it. The more fat, the more resistance to the current.

The downside to these is that there are various factors that can throw it off. For instance, if you're dehydrated it can alter the reading. Most people are dehydrated when the wake up so it's not recommended you do it in the morning. You also don't want to do it if you have exercised or had a meal within an a couple hours of the measurement. It's also not as accurate for people in very obese conditions or people of extremely low body fat.

There's also the hydro static method of submersing yourself in water. It's one of the most accurate ways but obviously not easy to find or convenient.

There's a couple more ways to do it too. Some Gold's gyms have a thing they call "the Pod." I believe it's some type of bioelectrical impedence but much more accurate than the scale type.

There are a few more I think. Maybe OG knows.

I'd say just jump on one of the higher end scale styles at your local gym. Just make sure you do it before you work out and you haven't eaten recently. Since I always eat an hour before I work out, I just stop by and get it done when I'm not working out.

SicShift said:
Watch the clock for 20 and times it by 3 and there you go. you could count to ten and multiply by 6 but to be more accurate I go to 20.




Watch the clock for 20 seconds I take it? http://www.gixxer.com/forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

And, would a decreased waistline necessarily indicate a loss in BF? I heard that some ppl go by the way their clothes fit rather than using a scale, which just measures pounds anyway, not necessarily BF.

yeah, 20 seconds.

I personally don't go by the scale much at all. I go by how I look and like you said, how my clothes fit. I check my body fat about once a month to make sure I'm staying on the right track. When I get closer to my goals, I'll start getting it checked more often.

The problem with just weighing yourself is there are many factors such as the amount of water, food, clothing etc. etc. at that moment. What if you haven't used that bathroom or just did a huge workout and lost a large amount of water through sweat and evaporation?

cool.

I just won an auction on Ebay for a heart rate monitor for $31, but its MSRP is $100 http://www.gixxer.com/forums/images/graemlins/punk.gif

intro_vert13 said:
cool.

I just won an auction on Ebay for a heart rate monitor for $31, but its MSRP is $100 http://www.gixxer.com/forums/images/graemlins/punk.gif



cool. post a link. I'd like to see what ya got. You got me thinking about one for the times I just go to do cardio http://www.gixxer.com/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

check your PM

got it. thanks.

I have a heart rate monitor that I occasionally use - As a runner its usefull for working out what my most efficient pace over long distances is on occasion - which is often an indicator of how my trainings going.

But other than that I rarely use it. In the Grand scheme of things I think they are interesting but not that necassary.

I work at a specialty fitness store in Plymouth Michigan and sell a lot of this type of stuff to runners or serious athletes. If you want to take your bodyfat there is a Caliper that is meant to be used in a three point pinch test. Either that or you could buy a Tanita scale that will weigh you as well as give you your bodyfat. They are pretty accurate unless you are a bodybuilder or powerlifter. As far as the heart rate monitor is concerned I would get a polar watch. The polar A3 model is 89 retail but cost is 52 for our company. Im sure with a little searching you can find it cheaper. If you guys ever need anything let me know.