Have you heard about the Bod Pod?

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:52:44 -0500

The Bod Pod is now available at several Army Wellness centers to be used for calculating body composition. It is considered to be one of the best ways to measure body mass. The Bod Pod breaks down the ratio of lean muscle mass to body fat. If you know there is one on your installation take a moment to add it here so others can benefit as well.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 12 at 2016 8:53 AM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:53:44 -0500

I'm going to have to see if Benning has one of these.

Response by SSgt Mark Lines made Feb 12 at 2016 8:54 AM

SSgt Mark Lines — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:54:46 -0500

Looks like a good piece of gear. The question is, will it be considered one of the official ways to determine if a service member is outside of standards?

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 12 at 2016 8:55 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:55:43 -0500

I remember someone saying Bragg had the actual tank for measuring body fat percentage. I never saw it, though. It's cool, but I see no reason to care about my body fat percentage anymore. I have mirrors.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 12 at 2016 8:58 AM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:58:58 -0500

Yup! Fort Lee has one and I've used it twice.

Response by SGT John " Mac " McConnell made Feb 12 at 2016 9:00 AM

SGT John " Mac " McConnell — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 09:00:37 -0500

Anything that helps the wellness of our service members. What about the availability of the unit ? Will it become expensive like the 200 dollar hammer? Thanks for sharing CPT Private RallyPoint Member

Response by SSG Audwin Scott made Feb 12 at 2016 9:07 AM

SSG Audwin Scott — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 09:07:32 -0500

Can't say that I have.

Response by SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 12 at 2016 9:20 AM

SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 09:20:19 -0500

CPT Private RallyPoint Member if the Army ever makes mandatory to use this as the measurement method, we would way more SM in the ABCP program.
I've used it lots of time and I'm always 1 or 2% over my tape measurements. Last time I taped 22% and the Bod Pod said 23.4%. The technician there told me that he had seen people who pass the tape with over 30% BF in the Bod Pod. You can cheat the tape, not the pod.

Response by A1C Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 12 at 2016 9:38 AM

A1C Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 09:38:04 -0500

Great that they now have these available for our military. My son has used them a couple time years ago while he was playing college football.

Response by SSG Warren Swan made Feb 12 at 2016 10:35 AM

SSG Warren Swan — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 10:35:59 -0500

Has it officially approved as a means to calculate body fat, or is it still in testing?

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 12 at 2016 10:50 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 10:50:27 -0500

It's been around for years - I recall Scott AFB having one back in the early 2000s. We had a few guys in my last unit use the bod pod at Stewart in order to assist with developing team level PT plans and goals.

Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 12 at 2016 11:25 AM

CSM Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 11:25:10 -0500

Fort Bliss has one. Initially it was just used as part of the executive wellness program at the Sergeants Major Academy, but it is now available to everybody.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 12 at 2016 11:31 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 11:31:38 -0500

All I know is I'm sick of being taped just because I'm big. I always pass. It's just a waste of time. You can visually tell if someone is over weight. It's not rocket science.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 12 at 2016 11:35 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 11:35:52 -0500

They look like cool machines, and I'm sure they work, but what has the Army come to when it has to start buying $50,000 machines to tell whether a soldier is fat or not? I don't see how in a climate of shrinking budgets that bod pods would make the cut as something the Army needs to buy.

Response by Sgt Tammy Wallace made Feb 12 at 2016 12:39 PM

Sgt Tammy Wallace — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 12:39:42 -0500

never heard of the Bod Pod...very intresting...however, my bod would prolly break that pod

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Feb 12 at 2016 1:59 PM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 13:59:08 -0500

These are great pieces of gear.

However.... something to be wary of is that Height/Weight, our default measurement (standard) is VERY forgiving.

As an example, I currently weigh 144 lbs at 5'6" at 14% BF (20 lbs of body fat, 63 lbs Lean Muscle, rest skeleton/water). My max weight is 170 lbs for my height. That's 26 lbs of Water/Fat/Muscle I can gain. I could bump up to 28% (an extra 20 lbs) and still be 6 lbs UNDER "MAX" WEIGHT. Likewise I could gain Muscle/Water but let's stick with Fat for now.

It's not until I break Max Weight or Personal Appearance (look like a bag of dirt) that things shift into BCP or Weight Distribution Plan, resp.

The issue with the Bod Pod however is that many folks are way too focused on the Raw Numbers of Height/Weight, and lose track of BCP/Distribution. You end up lighter, but higher BF%. Were we to swap to Bod Pod as the PRIMARY means of measurement, we would have significantly more people outside standards than we do now (18-21% based on age for a male, 26-29% for female).

They are MUCH better as a SECONDARY means of measurement, however as others have pointed out, they can have limitations like availability and "ease of use/training."

CC MAJ Private RallyPoint Member

Response by CPT Mark Gonzalez made Feb 13 at 2016 8:44 AM

CPT Mark Gonzalez — Sat, 13 Feb 2016 08:44:09 -0500

The clinic at the pentagon and the White House medical unit has one for those can access it.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 13 at 2016 11:19 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 13 Feb 2016 11:19:55 -0500

Joint Base Lewis McChord has one, a Soldier of mine used it. Apparently you habe to schedule an appointment months out though.