§ 01
Body Composition
Clinical fitness assessment

7-Site Skinfold (Body Fat %)

More comprehensive body fat estimation using 7 skinfold sites for greater accuracy.

Equipment

Skinfold callipers.

The protocol
  1. 01Sites: chest, midaxillary, triceps, subscapular, abdomen, suprailiac, thigh.
  2. 02Mark all 7 sites with a pen on the right side of the body.
  3. 03Chest: diagonal fold midway between the anterior axillary line and the nipple.
  4. 04Midaxillary: horizontal fold on the midaxillary line at the xiphoid level.
  5. 05Triceps: vertical fold on the back of the upper arm, midway between acromion and olecranon.
  6. 06Subscapular: diagonal fold 1-2 cm below the inferior angle of the scapula, 45 degrees toward the lateral side.
  7. 07Abdomen: vertical fold 2 cm to the right of the navel.
  8. 08Suprailiac: diagonal fold just above the iliac crest along the midaxillary line.
  9. 09Thigh: vertical fold on the anterior midline, midway between the hip and knee.
  10. 10Pinch and apply calliper 1 cm below fingers, wait 2 seconds, record.
  11. 11Take 2 measurements at each site and average. If >2 mm difference, take a third.
What to watch for
  • Incorrect fold orientation (diagonal vs. vertical vs. horizontal) at each site.
  • Measuring too far from the anatomical landmark.
  • Client tensing the underlying muscle — keep the area relaxed.
  • Fatigue affecting later measurements — rotate through sites rather than doing all measurements at one site consecutively.
Normative scoring

Same body fat % ranges as 3-site. 7-site provides a more accurate estimate due to sampling more regions.

Run it with GainPT

Run this test with branded client reports.

GainPT scores 7-Site Skinfold (Body Fat %) against published normative data and turns it into a clean, GainPT-branded PDF your client keeps. All 47 clinical tests, unlimited retests — free to start, no card required.