Body Part Measurements
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This may only keep you frustrated because big changes take time! These body measurements will only take a few more minutes out of your day, and you'll be able to do them yourself.
You need to ensure that you do not skip them before or after your WLC Cycle. We want to have a way to measure your progress and this is one of the best ways.
The best way to measure progress is by measuring body fat before and after your WLC Program. But we'll combine both methods to give us more insight into your progress! Too many people people take some of the simpler things in weight lifting for granted. You need to take body measurements, especially body fat measurements.
Body part measurements combined with body fat measurements allow us to really look at the progress you've made. From there, you can change small parts of your program at a time to optimize your results.
You need to know what works and what doesn't work for you. People are different and respond differently to small changes in weight lifting programs.
If you are an advanced weight lifter, you might take measurements more frequently because you already realize that change takes time and you will not let the measurements effect your attitude toward your program. If you do take measurements frequently, you'll already know that measurements do fluctuate depending on many factors. Diet, sleep, and water are just a few factors that can make body part measurements fluctaute.
All you'll need is a flexible measuring tape. This can be a cheap plastic one that you can get in sewing sections of some stores. This should only cost you a few dollars. It will look like the one in the image below. I've got a few white ones just like the one in the pic below that I use.
As always, you can go a little more expensive and get you a better measuring tape. Making accurate measurements is sometimes difficult but important. Don't let measurements judge your success because you can make errors in measurements. One way to make measuring more accurate is using a tape measure like the one shown in the image below.
This one allows you to let go of the tape. The measuring tape settles on the measurement instead of you adjusting the measurement. There's no cheating with this tape measure. Even if you're not purposely cheating, everyone wants to see results so we can fudge our measurements to help us feel better. This tape will take cheating off the option list.
We will be measuring most of the major muscle
groups here. I don't measure shoulders because it's very difficult to
get an accurate measurement on them. Remember to always measure at the
same point.
You want these body measurements to be as accurate as
possible each and every time you take them. You can and will make
errors measuring, but always do the best you can. As the number of
measurements increase over time, you will get better at taking the
measurements and the errors will decrease! Here is a list of the
measurements you should be taking:
1. Left Thigh
2. Right Thigh
* Ensure you measure the largest portion of your thighs.
3. Left Calf
4. Right Calf
5. Chest/Back
6. Left Arm
7. Right Arm
8. Left Forearm
9. Right Forearm
10. Waist
That's it. Ten body part measurements in total
that should only take you a few minutes to complete. Take your time to
ensure you're taking accurate measurements. You could take 3
measurements at each site and average the measurements to increase
accuracy. Again, you will get better at taking body part measurements.
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Use a mirror if you need one. You might need one on your chest/back measurement to make sure the measuring tape is level around your back and chest area. You may also need to look in the mirror for your waist measurement. I simply use the bathroom mirror to take measurements.
Make sure you always take measurements under the same conditions. Take the measurements in the morning when you weigh yourself. Always be consistent and you'll get consistent results.
There are so many other factors that come into play when taking measurements, so make it easy on yourself and take body measurements first thing in the morning after your regular night's sleep.
You will need these measurements to measure the progress you are making on your WLC weight lifting program!
Don't fall into the trap and measure early or often. Always take them before and after your WLC cycle and that's it. Once before and once after. The results will come.
Focus on following your weight lifting, diet, and cardio plan and forget about the measurements!
If you take them more frequently, you may get discouraged because you may not see too many changes in the measurements. Trust me, I've been there before. Measurement changes don't happen overnight so don't expect them to.
Give your body some time to make changes. You stay consistent with your weight lifting, stretching, diet, and cardio and your body will reward you! If you liked this page, please bookmark and add this to your favorite pages for sharing and viewing later. I've included easy links for you to do that below.
