The Best Ways to Figure Out Your Body Fat Percentage

In this episode, I sat down with Jerry Byler from DexaFit to unpack what clinical-grade body testing really looks like and why it matters for athletes, bodybuilders, and everyday people. Jerry just opened the new NWA DexaFit location in Farmington, Arkansas, and I wanted to share everything we covered: who he is, why DexaFit matters, how DEXA, RMR, VO2 max, and 3D imaging work, and how you can use the data to get better results.

Why I Wanted To Talk To Jerry

I've been getting DEXA scans for years, but until Jerry opened his location, it meant a long drive and paper printouts that didn't sync to anything. Now I have a high-quality lab right in my backyard with digital records and on-site consultations. That makes tracking progress from prep to prep a whole lot easier and more accurate.

Jerry's background makes him a great person to run this lab. He retired from the Navy, used his GI Bill to study exercise science at the University of Arkansas, did graduate work at Liberty University, worked as a personal trainer, and then built the DexaFit clinic here after seeing the need. He brings both clinical knowledge and coaching experience to the service.

What Services DexaFit NWA Offers

• DEXA body composition scan: The gold standard for body fat, lean mass, and bone mineral density.
• Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR): Measured with a metabolic cart to get your true idle calorie burn.
• VO2 max testing: A treadmill test that measures your cardiorespiratory fitness.
• 3D imaging: A 360° body scan that shows volume and circumference changes and creates heat maps of gains and losses.
• On-site consultations: Jerry walks you through the results on a big screen and gives clear, practical next steps.

Why DEXA Matters: A Simple Explanation

DEXA is a low-energy X-ray that scans your whole body and separates it into three types of tissue: bone, fat, and "other" (which is basically lean mass, muscle, organs, water). The full report gives you:

• Total body fat percentage and total pounds of fat. That means you can track actual fat loss, not just scale weight.
• Visceral fat estimate: the fat around your organs. This is important because visceral fat is linked to inflammation and health risks, but it is also metabolically active and can be reduced with diet, exercise, and stress management.
• Regional lean mass (arms, legs, trunk) and left-right symmetry; Helpful for injury prevention and targeted training.
• Bone mineral density and even the estimated weight of your bones; A fun and meaningful number (mine was 6.3 pounds).
• Appendicular Lean Mass Index: A better muscle index than BMI because it looks at lean mass in the arms and legs and compares it to height. Higher is better for long-term health and mobility.

DEXA is fast (about 4–8 minutes) and non-invasive. The visual reports make it easy to see where you're carrying fat, how much muscle you actually have, and whether your training is producing the changes you expect.

Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR): What It Is and Why it Helps

The RMR test is done while you sit relaxed, hooked to a metabolic cart that measures the oxygen you use and the carbon dioxide you exhale. The test takes about 15–20 minutes and calculates how many calories your body burns at rest (awake and alert). This is not the same as BMR; RMR is more practical for daily life.

Why this matters: Estimates from online calculators can be off. When you have a measured RMR, you can set far better calorie targets for fat loss or building phases. For example, my RMR tested at about 1,836 calories per day. That number helps me know how many additional calories I burn with activity and how to plan my intake precisely.

VO2 Max Testing: The Truth About Fitness and Fuel Use

VO2 max measures how well your body uses oxygen to make energy. We ran the test on a treadmill with a mask and an incremental protocol; start slow, build up speed, then increase the grade until you tap out. The machine samples every 15 seconds and reports relative VO2 as milliliters per kilogram per minute (ml/kg/min).

Why VO2 matters:

• It's a powerful predictor of longevity and overall fitness.
• You can improve it with training, and higher VO2 helps you recover faster between sets and handle more volume in training.
• It shows the fuel mix. The test produces a fat vs carbohydrate burn chart across intensities.

Here's the interesting part: I'm a long-term ketogenic eater, and my profile showed a strong dominance of fat burning across most of the test. My VO2 was about 55 ml/kg/min (categorized as "superior"). During the protocol, I was burning mostly fat well into high heart rates; carbohydrates didn't dominate until around a heart rate of 161. That fat-adapted profile means I can tap a very large energy reserve (body fat) for extended effort.

3D Body Imaging and Heat Maps

The 3D scanner creates a realistic 360° model and estimates circumferences and volume. When you compare scans, you get a color-coded heat map showing where you gained and lost size. Combined with DEXA, the 3D scan gives you both the exterior changes and the interior composition changes, a powerful pairing for competitors and anyone serious about tracking progress.

How Often Should You Test?

For bodybuilders during prep, monthly scans can be useful if you want to track changes and tweak your plan. For general progress tracking, every 3–6 months is reasonable. For RMR, if you're actively changing diet/training, repeat it when your body composition shifts significantly or every 6 months to a year. For VO2, track it whenever you start a new cardio training block to see real changes in conditioning.

Practical Benefits For Competitors and Regular People

For competitors, DEXA and 3D imaging remove guesswork. You can objectively evaluate any tweak you make to diet or training and see whether it actually moved the needle on fat vs muscle. For everyday people, these tests give clarity instead of guesswork, know your true starting point, and measure progress with clinical accuracy.

Digital records are a big plus. My old scans were printouts from a hospital three hours away. Now everything is stored, visual, and easy to compare. The on-site consultation means someone explains the numbers and gives straightforward next steps, not just handing you paper and walking away.

How To Use The Data

Once you have the numbers, the application is simple:

1.  Use DEXA to know exactly how many pounds of fat you carry and where it's located.

2.  Use RMR to build calorie targets that make sense for your body and goals.

3.  Use VO2 to guide cardio and recovery and to measure conditioning improvements over time.

4.  Use 3D imaging to visually confirm circumferential changes and display motivation-boosting heat maps.

Combine the tests with consistent progress photos and diet tracking, and you remove the guesswork. That lets you make informed changes much faster.

FAQ

Q: Is DEXA safe?

A: Yes. It uses low-energy X-rays and is considered safe for routine body composition testing. The dose is much lower than other imaging, like CT scans.

Q: How is RMR different from BMR?

A: BMR is measured under very strict conditions (like during sleep). RMR is a practical measure of your awake, resting calorie burn and is what most coaches use to build daily calorie plans.

Q: How long should I wait between DEXA scans to see a real change?

A: It depends on your goal. Every 6–8 weeks is a reasonable minimum for tracking body composition changes. For aggressive contest preps, monthly scans can be helpful.

Q: Can DEXA tell me where I will lose fat?

A: DEXA shows where you have fat now and how it changes over time. You cannot spot-reduce fat by training a body part, but tracking regional changes helps you see how your plan is working overall.

Q: Do I need to fast before RMR?

A: Follow the test provider's instructions. Typically, you should avoid heavy meals, caffeine, and intense activity for a specified window before the test to get an accurate reading.

Final Thoughts and Why This Is Worth Your Time

If you care about objective results, testing matters. Whether you're a competitive bodybuilder, athlete, or someone who wants to get healthier, accurate data is the difference between guessing and knowing. Jerry and the new NWA DexaFit bring clinical-grade testing to the area with clear, useful explanations and digital tracking. For me, having a nearby lab that offers DEXA, RMR, VO2, and 3D imaging in one place is a game-changer for consistent, honest progress.

If you want to learn how to get shredded the smart way, I run a FREE Bodybuilding Masterclass that covers the same science-based ideas I use with clients. Join me and learn my 7-Phase System that helps people drop fat, keep muscle, and perform better. Sign up here!

See you in the next episode! And if you're in Northwest Arkansas, go meet Jerry. Get tested. Know your numbers. Use them to get better.

Stay savage!