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How to Estimate Your Body Fat Percentage

In this article and video we’ll discuss pretty much everything related to body fat percentages.

First we’ll talk about why it’s very helpful to know how much body fat you have, then we’ll discuss why the conventional ways to measure body fat can be very imprecise, and finally I’ll give you the methods I recommend you use.

Let’s get to it.

Should you even care about your Body Fat Percentage?

I’d argue you should.

Knowing how much body fat you have helps you make the right decisions during your cut and lean bulk cycles. If you’ve read the Path to your Goal Physique you know that building a Hollywood type physique is all about staying lean and developing great proportions.

Most people need to build 15-30 lbs (7-14kg) of muscle to get the size they want. And if they want to do that while staying lean, they must keep their cut and bulk cycles in a tight body fat percentage range.

As we discussed in the article Get Lean Before Bulking your best strategy is to start your lean bulk when you’re around 8-10%, gain weight until you hit 13-15% and then cut back to 8-10%.

Staying in the 8-15% range year round allows you to built all the size you want while never getting too fat to lose definition and good proportions. Furthermore, research shows that you make better muscle gains when you’re lean because of improved insulin sensitivity and optimal hormonal balance.

So being able to recognize when you’re 8% or 15% is important. It’s the only way you’ll know when it’s time to cut or lean bulk.

So how do you measure your body fat?

Conventional Ways to Estimate your Body Fat Percentage – Why they can be Imprecise

There a lot of methods you can use to estimate your body fat percentage:

  • Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) – such as those scales that have a metal surface and you step on the barefoot or those devices you hold with your hands at the gym
  • Mathematical formulas such as the US Navy formula or the YMCA formula
  • Skinfold calipers
  • Bod Pod
  • Hydrostatic Weighing
  • DEXA
  • BMI
  • Waist measurements
  • and a lot more

Not all of them are equal however. Some are notoriously inaccurate, some are downright useless for the athletic population, and others are very expensive.

Let’s talk about the ones most commonly used and see how accurate they are (you may skip this part if you’re not interested):

From what I’ve seen a lot of people use BIA devices, mathematical formulas, and skinfold calipers. We’ll start with those.

BIA devices 

These devices send an electrical current through your body and then give you a reading. They’re quick, convenient, they’re fun, but man are they unreliable.

The biggest problem with these devices is that they don’t actually scan your entire body. If you remember your high school physics classes you’ll know that electrical current always takes the path of least resistance. That means ff you use a hand-held device then the electrical current will go from your left hand through your torso and then out through your right arm. The current will not go down to your belly or legs and only then come out through your other arm.

The same thing happens if you use a BIA scale. The current will go through your legs but it will not scan your upper body properly.

We also need to consider fat distribution. Some people tend to accumulate fat in their legs and others on their belly of upper body. Well they would get different readings with a scale and with a hand-held device.  The guys that don’t have a lot of fat on their legs may step on the scale and get a very low reading – but they could have a lot of fat in their upper body.

Furthermore, because the electric current always chooses the path of least resistance, it will tend to avoid fat tissue in the first place. Water is the main conductor of electricity in our body and which tissue contains the highest amount of water? That’s right, muscle tissue – that’s about 70% water. On the other hand, fat tissue contains very little water so it’s obvious that the electric current will choose to go through muscle instead of fat.

Hydration status can also mess up with the readings of BIA. You could get very different body fat percentage readings in the same day just because of your hydrations status. So in conclusion BIA is not reliable, I don’t recommend you use it.

Mathematical Formulas

The Navy or the YMCA formulas are also highly inaccurate and and almost nobody in the fitness industry uses them. The reason they are so inaccurate is because they were developed based on the results of other methods of determining body fat.

You can imagine that you can’t be precise doing this. That’s why the formulas are not reliable.

Skin Fold Calipers

Skin Fold Calipers can be pretty accurate actually depending on the brand and if you use them correctly. There are brands that have you measure up to 6 points on your body and others only one place. They usually give different results.

But I think the biggest problem with these calipers is that most people don’t know how to use them. You have to grab just the right amount of skin every time – not too much and not too little, and always do it in the same places.

This can be learned however and with a bit of practice and you can get a result that’s within 1 percent of your real body fat percentage.

Mike Matthews of MuscleForLife (one of the fitness authors I follow) uses this method and he likes the brand Accu-Measure.

Bod Pod 

The Bod Pod is an egg shaped chamber that measures body mass (weight) using a very precise scale, and volume by sitting inside the BOD POD. Once the overall density of the body is determined, the relative proportions of body fat and lean body mass are calculated.

The Bod Pod works well in group averages (that’s why it’s considered accurate in studies) but works horrible for individuals. Lean and muscular people often get a reading that’s 3-4% higher or lower of their actual body fat. For example Greg got a reading of 4.8% which is crazy.

DEXA 

DEXA is considered the gold standard because it’s very accurate.

If it’s convenient for you to get a DEXA scan, I recommend you do it. DEXA scans your entire body with X-rays and tells you very precisely how much fat you have. Then all the rest of your life you’ll have that DEXA scan as a reference point for your current body fat level.

Methods I use to Determine Body Fat Percentage

I use three methods for estimating body fat: Visual Appearance (how you look in the mirror), Waist Measurement, and Relative Strength.

Visual Appearance

How you look in the mirror is actually one of the best ways to estimate your body fat percentage.

Each body fat percentage has a certain look so you can get an idea of how much fat you have just by looking in the mirror. Check out the pictures below to get an idea of what different body fat percentages look like:

Screenshot 2015-07-19 19.19.46

Screenshot 2015-07-19 19.19.58

Screenshot 2015-07-19 19.20.04

Screenshot 2015-07-19 19.20.08

Screenshot 2015-07-19 19.20.12

Screenshot 2015-07-19 19.20.15

Screenshot 2015-07-19 19.20.20

Screenshot 2015-07-19 19.20.24

Screenshot 2015-07-19 19.20.56

Waist Measurement

Here’s the interesting thing about your waist measurement: it goes up and down with your body fat percentage. For most people, not everybody but for most people, each body fat percentage has a certain corresponding waist measurement.

What I’ve discovered so far is that you can predict (pretty accurately) the amount of fat you have by looking at your waist. That’s why when I recommend someone to drop to a certain body fat percentage I just give them a waist measurement to shoot for. When they get there, almost every time they are at the level of leanness they’re after.

And here’s what’s even cooler. Once you get to the point here you’re happy with your level of leanness, you can measure your waist and that becomes your baseline value. Now in the future if you want to get back to that level of leanness, you know that you have to get your waist back to that point.

Weight and Height compared to Relative Strength

And the third method – I don’t use it to determine body fat percentage per se, I use it to get an idea of how much fat a client has. What I do is I look at Weight, Height, and Relative Strength.

When I get an email from someone telling me that they’re 6 feet tall and around 190lbs and they’ve been training for only 6 months I know from the start they have a good amount of fat on their body. How do I know that?

At 6 feet tall, 190lbs ripped is a very advanced level of muscle development. But this person has only been training for 6 months so there’s no way that they’re close to their genetic potential. This tells me right of the bat that they probably need to lose about 20lbs of fat to get to around 10%. I can almost guarantee it.

This works very well in the metric system. A lean guy that’s close his genetic potential for muscle building will weigh a few more kilograms than he has centimeters above 1 meter in height.

Height in cm – 100 = Your weight when you’re close to your genetic potential (while being under 10% body fat)

So a guy that’s 183cm tall (6 feet) will weight about 86kg when he’s very muscular and around 10% body fat. But if a beginner has a height of 183cm and weighs 83kg he has about 8-10 kilos of fat to lose to get lean.

What I’m basically saying is that if a person is heavy for their height but they are not insanely strong, they probably have a good amount of fat to lose.

 

What did you think about the ideas in this article? Have any questions? Anything else to add? Leave a comment below and let me know. I read and answer all comments. 


Do you want to build a body like Ryan Reynolds in Blade?

Then the Warrior Shredding Program  would help you a lot. It has been designed to help you build proportionate mass and incredible strength while getting lean.

Click here to see some great transformation made with this program

61 Comments

  1. Aravien on July 20, 2015 at 12:15 pm

    Dear Radu,

    According to this I am around 13 percent body fat. I started cutting a year ago from around 20 percent body fat. Recently, I’ve been cutting, but I have been grinding my gears and have not made any progress, because I binge/ overeat from time to time. Should I continue cutting, and am I binging because my calories are too low (Currently at 1700 cals)? My goal physique is the Kinobody Greek god physique. I would appreciate it if you could tell me what to do because I am really sick of making no progress and being stuck in a rut (My current stats: Height = 182cm, weight = 159lbs, waist = 31.5 inches) Thanks in advance!

    • Radu Antoniu on July 21, 2015 at 10:32 pm

      Hey Aravien!

      I hear you man. I would take a full diet break if I were you. I recommend you take 2 weeks to eat at maintenance, get rid of all the stress of dieting and then return to cutting for 3 weeks until you hit 10% body fat (30.5 inch waist or so).

      Then move into a lean bulk.

  2. G.D. on July 20, 2015 at 2:17 pm

    Salut Radu,

    de ce apreciezi exemplul de la 10% grasime fara masa musculara , fata de cel de la 13% , ca fiind cu un procent mai mic de grasime, mie mi se par cam egali. La ce semne te uiti?

    merci,
    G.D.

    • Radu Antoniu on July 22, 2015 at 9:04 pm

      Pentru că cel de la 13% sunt eu haha. Așa arătam în iulie 2013

      Dacă te uiți cu atenție la poza cu mine la 13% se vede o urmă de definire la abdomen. Se vede și o urmă de definire la brațe și umeri. Asta îți arată că există ceva masă musculară acolo.

      La cel de la 10% se vede că e foarte subțire și totuși nu are masă musculară deloc. Dacă greutatea lui e 50 kg să zicem, doar 5kg de grăsime înseamnă 10% grăsime. 5kg de grăsime e foarte puțin dar el e foarte mic, ușor, și nu prea are masă musculară – din cauza asta e 10%.

  3. Joseph Johnson on July 21, 2015 at 2:30 am

    Another great article, Radu. I really like the waist calculations that you provided. I fall somewhere in the 9 – 10 % category with a waist of 30.5″ to a height of 70″. I think this calculation is really accurate and great for people that just need a ball park of what their body fat % is. The visual representations of each body fat category are really good as well and makes me know that I am def in that category – great job.

    FYI – I made potatoes “Radu Style” tonight – right on the oven rack. They were incredible!

    • Radu Antoniu on July 21, 2015 at 10:38 pm

      Thanks dude!

      Yes I’ve seen your pictures on facebook – you’re definitely in the 9-10% range.

      So glad you liked the potatoes! 😀 send me some pictures if you took any haha

  4. Andre on July 29, 2015 at 4:36 am

    Hey man I’m confused on what program I should start with. I have been lifting for almost 4 years. Here are my current lifts:

    Incline barbell bench 170×6
    Deadlift 295×5
    Squat 225×5
    Seated dumbbell press 75×3
    Barbell curl 110×4

    I currently weigh 175, but I’m fat. Probably like 20% bf. I’m doing a slow cut at the moment along with 30 min of moderate cardio per day. I have gained strength and lost some fat, but I still feel my training is not optimal and I was hoping you can help me out.

    Let me know

    • Radu Antoniu on July 30, 2015 at 7:00 pm

      Hey Andre!

      Read the Path to your Goal Physique and follow the indications given at page 16 – the chapter Fat with Good Muscle Development.

  5. Andrew on August 28, 2015 at 5:06 pm

    Hi there,

    My name is Andres, but everyone calls me Andrew. I’m 42 years old and would like to get shredded before I have grandchildren, ha ha. I started working out about 6 months ago, I’m 1,75 cm tall and currently weigh 88,5 kilos. I started eating really really clean about two months ago. So, my question is, I know I have a long trip ahead of me. At 42, is it realistic going down to 75 or 73 kilos and having my long desired six pack? What can I do to achieve my goals? Thanks in advance for your very informative videos and articles.

    Andrew

    • Radu Antoniu on August 28, 2015 at 8:33 pm

      Hey Andrew !

      Thanks for commenting 😀

      Sure, you can still reach your goal physique for sure. Your first step is to keep on losing fat until your waist (measured around the navel) goes down to about 80-82cm. During this time, you should be lifting for strength at the gym so you’ll be building muscle.

      You can learn all you need to do from the articles on this site. But if you want to follow a complete program to eliminate all guess work I recommend Greg’s Warrior Shredding Program.

      That’s the program I got lean with in the beginning too.

  6. Derek on September 2, 2015 at 8:02 pm

    Radu!

    I’m really enjoying your stuff.

    This article has been just what I’m looking for, as most body fat measuring methods are largely all over the place in terms of accuracy.

    I think shooting for a specific waist measurement is definitely the way to go, it’s cheap and effective.

    Your chart definitely proves accurate for me. I stand 5’10 at 30.6 inch waist which is about 44%. 10% body fat looks pretty right on to me.

    Keep it up man!

    • Radu Antoniu on September 3, 2015 at 8:02 pm

      Awesome !

      Glad to hear it Derek !

  7. Michelle on September 5, 2015 at 11:21 am

    Radu,

    This is wonderful information – really helpful and to the point!

    Do these calculations hold true for Women as well?

    Thanks!
    Michelle

    • Radu Antoniu on September 5, 2015 at 8:57 pm

      Thanks Michelle !

      Unfortunately these calculations don’t work for women too.

  8. Andres on October 11, 2015 at 4:20 am

    Hi Radu! i´ve been doing IF and went from 207.5 lbs to 177.5 lbs (i’m 5’10”) for the past 4 months and those lost pounds are very noticeable haha , but the last 4 weeks my weight loss has stalled. I consume 1900 calories daily. Can you give some advice for starting loosing fat again? I’m also changing my gym routine for the A/B split!

    Thanks!!

    • Radu Antoniu on October 13, 2015 at 7:58 pm

      That’s awesome Andreas !

      Are you sure you’re still not losing 1 lbs per week? Sometimes your daily weigh-ins can be misleading because of fluctuations in water weight. I recommend you make an average of at least 3 consecutive days and compare that average with the previous week.

  9. Shelly Abraham on October 21, 2015 at 12:27 pm

    Hey Radu. This is a high quality article! I’m doing AFL right now and went from 155.6 lbs to 144.2 in 5 weeks. My waist has gone down from 31inches to 29.25 at a height of 5’8″. The accumeasure calipers recommended by Mike Matthews puts me at 11% and your waist measurement puts me around 8-9%. I have a visible 4 pack in good lighting without flexing but the lower abs and love handles seem to be stubborn. I’m sure anyone who looks at me would put me at 13-15% visually. Which method do you think I should focus on?

    • Radu Antoniu on October 22, 2015 at 8:46 am

      I think visual estimation would be the most reliable. If you have a 4 pack in good lighting it means you are above 10% body fat, probably around 12-13%

  10. Jordan on January 17, 2016 at 7:46 pm

    Lol I have a 30 inch waist and measure 71.5 inches and says Im 6-7% bodyfat when I have 0 ab definition and actually a little bit of belly

    • Radu Antoniu on January 17, 2016 at 7:54 pm

      You’re right Jordan, it doesn’t work well for everyone. It seems you naturally have a very slim waist.

      That is actually very good, it will help with your shoulder to waist ratio a lot!

  11. Luke on January 18, 2016 at 9:16 pm

    Maybe a dumb question but I’ll ask anyways. I’m a 20 year old male, 6’0″ 200 lbs. I believe I am around 23% body fat. How much weight should I expect to lose to get to 15%?

    • Radu Antoniu on January 28, 2016 at 10:15 pm

      Hey Luke!

      Probably around 15-20 lbs

  12. Jimmy on March 6, 2016 at 7:47 pm

    Hey Radu

    Im 17 years old and currently I weight 71kg and Im skinny fat with a body fat percentage of 17% I am 180cm tall and at the moment my goal is to lean bulk at least 7 pounds of muscle then cut. How many calories do you recommend I should eat a day to bulid muscle and not get to fat?

    Thank you

  13. Brian Kanneh on March 13, 2016 at 6:05 am

    Hey rodi I I’m kinda built bad up top but I have thin legs .. I have man boobs unfortunately my fat gets stored on my chest .. I don’t know where exactly I’m at .. When I got it measured I was at 18% my waist is a 35

  14. Andrew from Spain on March 30, 2016 at 11:26 am

    Hi, Radu,

    Andrew from sunny Spain here. Just to vive you an update. Was re reading this article and saw my own comment, I have lost 10 kilos since, I currently weigh 78 kg, I am really pleased but tired of this endless cut. I was told I was 19% body fat! but don’t really agree with it! I look skinny now. Anyway, I have recently started my own 9 week cut to reduce body fat. Watch this space… Will keep you posted.

    Thanks again for the useful info.

    Take care.

    Andrew

    • Radu Antoniu on April 26, 2016 at 5:52 pm

      Awesome Andrew!

      Way to go!

  15. shanty on May 3, 2016 at 6:05 pm

    Hi Radu,
    This may seem odd, but when I measure my waste, I’m not sure how to carry myself while measuring for an honest measurement. I feel like my waste and abs are kind of held at a medium between tensed in and fully slack when I walk around, but it’s hard to . Do I flex, flex slightly, let my waste go completely slack, or what do you tell your clients to do when they measure?

    • Radu Antoniu on May 4, 2016 at 3:40 pm

      Yes you should measure your waist completely relaxed at the navel.

      • shanty on May 4, 2016 at 3:52 pm

        Thank you

      • Gauthier on May 11, 2016 at 7:08 pm

        Hey Radu,

        First thanks the waist measurement idea is great. The only thing I want is an indicator to track my progress, so your solution seems perfect.

        One simple question though:
        I guess we really have to measure with the band ON the navel , like this :
        https://www.dropbox.com/s/v6e286g1z2ex4hu/Screenshot%202016-05-11%2021.03.55.png?dl=0
        Not with the band slightly above or below the navel, but just ON it.
        Is it correct ?

        Thanks !

  16. Kumar on May 13, 2016 at 6:19 pm

    Hi Radu

    Great work, really useful videos.
    I am a bit not sure abt body fat percentage and how long it will take to achieve a 6 pack physique and further to warrior physique. I have been lifting for only 2 months, weigh 70 kgs, waist 79.5 cm, height of 179.5cm. I am guessing I am around 13-15%body fat looking at your videos. Could you give me some advice.

    Thanks

    Kumar

  17. Amir on May 25, 2016 at 4:13 pm

    Hey Radu,
    I’m loving your content a lot.. I have a question though.

    I’m 5 ft 8 inch tall and weigh 207 lbs. Im looking to go down to around 165 lbs while building muscle. which program should i use ? Aggressive Fat Loss or Warrior Shredding?

    • Radu Antoniu on May 26, 2016 at 8:45 am

      Hey Amir! I recommend aggressive Fat Loss.

  18. DJ on May 28, 2016 at 8:50 am

    Mr. Antoniu,

    Hi, I just want to start off saying great article! I have a question though. I’ve been lifting ever since I started in high school so for the past 5 years with football and other sports. So I am experienced. But I’m trying to get to that 10-12% body fat look, where you can see my lower abs. Right now, I have 16.4% body fat at 200lbs, 6ft tall, and 20 years old. How much weight should I lose to get to the percentage I want? the lightest I’m willing to go is like 185lbs, people look like stick figures around my height after that lol.

  19. Tarah on June 2, 2016 at 10:12 pm

    Hey Radu!
    Love your content and hope you’re feeling better!
    I’m a woman and my weight is around 124lb and I’m 5′ 5″. According to your calculations (height in cm-100) tells me I should be 143 lbs or 65kg to be optimal? Definitely not. That would be a crazy weight for me lol.

    I’ve been training for over a year and supposedly my body fat is in the 18% range according to the BIA which I just learned from you is highly inaccurate. Although the numbers have gone down. I started at 30% body fat according to the BIA. I’ve lost 28 lbs. of bodyfat over the past year and I’ve tripled the amount of weight I could initially lift.

    My waist is measuring at 29″ which is about 44.5% of my height. Would you say that 18% sounds about right given all my numbers? And if this is the case, why can’t I see more ab definition? I train my abs 3 days a week. I can see pretty clear definition on all my other body parts, except my lower abs. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Stay amazing!!! 🙂 Thanks so much for your time.

  20. Angela Brookfield on June 5, 2016 at 9:20 am

    Hey Radu,
    Great article, as a female who is looking to increase muscle to look lean I assume waist measurements would be different to what you have for men?
    Do you know, or know anyone who may have some information on what to aim for?
    I’m 180cm tall and 71kg.
    Thanks!
    Ang

  21. Alexandros on June 13, 2016 at 9:15 am

    -9-11% bf Waist is ~43-44% of height–
    by this method im in this level owing to tha fact tha my waist is actually about 80 cm as i followed your guide lines of measuring it. But though i only see 4 of my abs. I used to carry extra weihgt before years and my skin in the area of navel is loosen up, that makes it difficult to see my abs.
    How can i be sure of whats the body fat that i really have?
    Thanks a lot

  22. Marek on June 14, 2016 at 8:00 am

    Hi Radu, I have a problem with your method of estimating the body fat. In my case, which I think is rather rare for a man, the most oft he body fat is building itself on my butt so measuring the waist doesn’t seem to be the best way to go – it shows me that I’m pretty lean, which I’am were it not for the lower body… I am 187 cm high, my waist measurement is 76 cm and my butt (at the widest point) – 103 cm. Could you help my out of this?

  23. Marek on July 5, 2016 at 4:43 pm

    To Marek: What you wrote ain’t strange at all, it’s just your genetics and sorry but you’re gonna struggle with muscle building as I did. You are so called ectomorph as I happen to be. You have to look for this type programs, some of them you can easily find on the net.

  24. jorge hernandez pastor on July 25, 2016 at 7:22 am

    Hey radu
    How exactly do you measure your waste? Just above the navel on the navel or the skinniest between navel and sternon?

  25. luke on August 5, 2016 at 5:08 pm

    So you are saying that simple waist measurement is more accurate than Navy bodyfat formula? Why?

  26. John Balogh on January 18, 2017 at 5:26 am

    Interested in the chart with waist to bf estimations.
    Been training for 17 years, 5’10”, 222 lbs waist is 40″. I have good definition and vascularity in arms, shoulders, legs and calves. When I conduct 7 point skinfold I get 9% bf….., genetics predetermined I carry fat in waist?

    Would love to hear your thoughts

  27. Donald on January 19, 2017 at 4:34 pm

    Hello Radu, you talked about waist measurements being accurate. If I’m 182cm(6ft) & 75kg(165lbs) what waist measurement do I need to get to for 8%bf?
    I’m currently following AFL, started this past week, just not 100% sure when I reach 8% bf.
    Thanks for your time!

  28. Marco Nostas on January 21, 2017 at 11:39 pm

    Hello Radu!, grear post man!!. I have a question about body fat percentages on women. Although I’m aware that women biologically tend to have more fat storage, i want to know (using the waist measurement for body fat) wat numbers should we focus on for a healthy fat percentage on women (like when you can have a flat stomach and toned like the godess program). Thanks brother for your post and videos!!

  29. Rick on January 25, 2017 at 4:40 am

    Radu- The table in this article is not rendering. Please relink it… I’d like to see it

  30. Manuj on April 21, 2017 at 12:02 am

    Hi Radu,
    Great article. I am 30 yrs/181 cm/85 kg. I have been working out for 4 months. I was 104.6 kg when I started. I train moderately and eating very clean. I was looking forward to getting rid of fat in 5 months. Now, I have little less than a month at hand. All I have now is some belly fat and some lower chest fat. Can you suggest how much fat should I be losing more before I put my focus to muscle gain.
    Please consider that I have fat at lower chest, lower belly and love handles only.

  31. Vasika on August 15, 2017 at 11:35 am

    Your table of waist/height percentages saved me from going crazy over fluctuating body fat percentages in the BIA device at the gym where I usually work out. I am 163 cm with a 72 cm waist. How many cm around the waist, could I go for if I need about 8 per cent bf?

  32. Phil on January 3, 2018 at 8:22 pm

    Hey Radu,
    my waist is less than 42% of my height but I’m definitely not under 10% and my muscle development is medium. I estimate my BF to be around 13%, any better way to do it when the table doesn’t work for me?

  33. Gerard on March 23, 2018 at 3:47 am

    Interesting article. I ran the numbers for my ideal and it would be bulkier than I ever got by about 3 kg, so I think you’re pretty close.

    After a lifetime of pretty steady athletics and 8 years of climbing, I became a gym rat for a winter. I went from 8% body fat at 165# to 5% at 181#. From the amount of definition I had, I’d say your photos are right on. And for what it’s worth, I’ve never cared what I looked like, I’ve only cared what I could run, bike, climb, swim, ski or paddle. And the difference adding 16# of muscle can make to an athlete is AMAZING. Climbing is mental as much as anything, and for the first time, I was really, really confident.

    Another curious note for you: when I was running track & XC in high school, I looked almost exactly like the skinny kid on the right at 7% body fat. I have no idea what my body fat percentage was, but I did have 25″ (!!!!) quads (I was also 5’6″ and around 105#).

  34. Artis on April 6, 2018 at 10:45 pm

    Hi Radu,

    Your article is great! I’m just really confused at the moment. I’m 5’11” and my waist size is 30.5 inches, but I have a small gut, and I don’t feel like I’m around 9-10% body fat. What does this mean?

    I can send pictures as well if need be.

    Thanks!

  35. Tim M on April 9, 2018 at 8:01 pm

    I’m an Army Infantry veteran with nice muscle mass, but I definitely have fat to lose. I’m trying to get back into a fit physique, but I want to approach it correctly. I’m 5’10”, 212 lbs, I have 52″ shoulders, 46″ chest, 37″ waist, and the accu-measure body fat % caliper has me at a consistent 15% body fat (BMI has me at 30.4). I’m looking more toward the Super hero physique.

    Any tips or ideas for me?

  36. Shane on April 23, 2018 at 5:10 pm

    Hey my names is Shane and I’m 16 years old, my height is 5’7”, 170.18 in cm and my weight is 122lb. Last year I didn’t care about what I ate or how active I really was and I was about 5’6” and 165 lbs I had the whole skinny fat look and I was tired of it so I started doing some research here and there and I stared to be a little bit more active and I started cutting with intermittent fasting. I would fast for 16 hours and have an 8 hour eating window and I eventually took off the bodyfat and now like I said I’m currently 5’7” and 122lbs. I’m really sure I’m around 13 to 12% body fat I’m not that muscular but I’m better then most the non muscular photos you can see my two first row of abs usually well in good lighting and I usually have good vascular arms and now I’ve been lifting at the gym for a month or so now. I know not that long but still like I’ve had experience with the gym before this, but I’m eating around 1500 calories but I wanna gain size and eventually get a full set of abs and I don’t know what I should do next should I bulk, or what and how ?

  37. Jesse Garcia on August 5, 2018 at 7:02 am

    Hello, My question is
    I’m 6’3” and weigh 190 lbs, I workout 5-6 days a week with a mix of heavy days low reps and light days high reps to keep my body in shock and follow a pretty strict diet. I eat for fuel not for pleasure. Based on your calculations at 199 lbs I’d be around the 10% BF range. I’m 9 lbs less than that. Would it be safe to assume I’m around the 6-7% mark. My waist is 33 inches, and I’ll be 40 in about 2 weeks. First two rows of abs show without flexing 3rd row in good light without flexing. I still have what seems to be more skin than fat covering lower abs. One important detail would be that a little over 9 months ago I was 250 with decent muscle mass. That’s why I’m thinking skin over fat. Thanks for the article and your time it’s greatly appreciated.

  38. Aby on August 10, 2018 at 10:33 am

    I’m 5’7 with weight 65kgs and waist 30.5 what is my body fat %?
    Waiting for your reply

  39. John Watersed on October 14, 2018 at 4:00 pm

    I am 5’8″ but I have a 25 inch waist. What is. My estimated body fat%? I lift twice a week for an hour and swim 4-5 times for 2 hours.

  40. Mudassir Hayath on November 22, 2018 at 8:48 am

    I’m 180cm tall, 154lbs, with a waist size of 81cm, And a 13-14% of body fat, should i gain more weight or cut down weight to become lean? Thanks in advance.

  41. Erick on December 5, 2018 at 5:25 am

    Sadly seems Radu stopped answering, but here is hoping. First I like the little guide to estimating bf. I got a scale with both a hand and foot reader hoping for more accuracy with it but that doesn’t seem st all the case.

    67”, about 190lbs. Lifting about half a year, body weight exercises before that. Worked out before, but had fallen off for over a year. I don’t look fat really in clothes but def look fat without a shirt.

    I’d estimate based on this I need to lose about 20 pounds though before I’m sitting good. Bit more than I hoped, but good to know!

  42. Anonymous on April 27, 2019 at 7:04 pm

    For those who were obese and lost massive weight, it is even harder with loose skin. Due to loose skin, the waist measurement comes different when lying down flat on your back vs when standing. And the appearance in the mirror is very different with loose skin. 🙁

  43. tammi on February 19, 2021 at 6:51 pm

    Could you make one of these body-fat charts for women? How do you estimate body fat % for a female? (If you see this comment, can you estimate my bf% from this info: I’m about 63.5 inches tall, waist ~25 inches, hips ~35 inches, and I weigh around 105 lbs. I do a lot of cardio, but pretty much zero lifting or strength exercises.)

  44. Jake on August 8, 2021 at 8:34 pm

    What’s my weight am 148cm 4 feet and also when you that tell me my body fat percentage okay

  45. Elijah Boyd on November 17, 2021 at 4:34 am

    I’m not sure any of these go down to 10% except for maybe Zac Efron but he’s definitely more in the 11-12% range. Greg O’Gallager is more like 12% in that photo. This is really misinforming about what different body fat percentages should look like

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