Where would I measure if I wanna track muscle gain?

Rae6503
Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
edited October 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Somebody's post reminded me of this question...

My bicep I guess is obvious. I already measure my waist, hips, bust and upper-thigh for fat loss....

My gym doesn't do caliper body fat testing (free gym at my engineering college, no exercise science majors for free labor) and I don't really trust the impedance thing they do offer.

There is always the mirror and pictures I guess.

Replies

  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
    Somebody's post reminded me of this question...

    My bicep I guess is obvious. I already measure my waist, hips, bust and upper-thigh for fat loss....

    My gym doesn't do caliper body fat testing (free gym at my engineering college, no exercise science majors for free labor) and I don't really trust the impedance thing they do offer.

    There is always the mirror and pictures I guess.

    DEFINITELY keep going with your photo progress pics.

    As far as measurements I only do the following but this is incomplete:

    Chest (relaxed)
    Bicep, flexed at peak
    Shoulder
    waist
    navel


    Waist/navel to monitor fat gain. I do hit legs hard but never bothered to measure, which I regret now.


    But in closing, I'm (obviously) not a competitor, and you will likely get a better answer from someone else.

    Curious to see what others measure.
  • agthorn
    agthorn Posts: 1,844 Member
    I use the Jefit app/website and the measurements there are chest, shoulders, upper arm, forearm, waist, hips, thighs, calves, and neck.

    (unsurprisingly, my neck measurement hasn't changed...)
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    I use the Jefit app/website and the measurements there are chest, shoulders, upper arm, forearm, waist, hips, thighs, calves, and neck.

    (unsurprisingly, my neck measurement hasn't changed...)

    Hrm... tell me more about Jefit.....
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,453 Spam Moderator
    Tape measuring is the cheapest way and also not hard to do. Measure these.

    Shoulder to shoulder width- this will show if your deltoids are growing

    Biceps flexed- shows if you're gain in your arms

    Chest- measure just above the nipple.

    Hips- will show if your getting bigger glutes

    Quads- about halfway down
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    Oh, yeah I don't measure my arm flexed. That'll be fun. Thanks.
  • solpwr
    solpwr Posts: 1,039 Member
    All the major areas you are measuring. Remember that the largest muscles in your body are your quads, glutes, and lats.
    In general the length of the muscle dictates it's potential mass. The diameter of a muscle at it's maximum will never be more than half of it's length.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,453 Spam Moderator
    All the major areas you are measuring. Remember that the largest muscles in your body are your quads, glutes, and lats.
    In general the length of the muscle dictates it's potential mass. The diameter of a muscle at it's maximum will never be more than half of it's length.
    Neat interesting fact. I'm sure it pertains to natural training, cause Phil Heath (juiced to the max) has some huge arms but the muscle bellies aren't that long.
  • agthorn
    agthorn Posts: 1,844 Member
    I use the Jefit app/website and the measurements there are chest, shoulders, upper arm, forearm, waist, hips, thighs, calves, and neck.

    (unsurprisingly, my neck measurement hasn't changed...)

    Hrm... tell me more about Jefit.....

    www.jefit.com is the website, and there's also a mobile app that I use on my Droid (I believe there's one for iPhone as well). You can enter your lifting routines into your profile and then track your weights/reps as you lift. It will tell you what exercise to do, what your last reps/sets/weights was, and will also time your rest periods for you. It then uploads to the website when you're done with your workout. You can also use it to keep track of your body stats (weight, %BF, measurements, etc) and it will let you upload progress pictures too.
  • solpwr
    solpwr Posts: 1,039 Member
    All the major areas you are measuring. Remember that the largest muscles in your body are your quads, glutes, and lats.
    In general the length of the muscle dictates it's potential mass. The diameter of a muscle at it's maximum will never be more than half of it's length.
    Neat interesting fact. I'm sure it pertains to natural training, cause Phil Heath (juiced to the max) has some huge arms but the muscle bellies aren't that long.

    Ya, juice excluded. EDIT: and unflexed, flaccid state.
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    Tape measuring is the cheapest way and also not hard to do. Measure these.

    Shoulder to shoulder width- this will show if your deltoids are growing

    Biceps flexed- shows if you're gain in your arms

    Chest- measure just above the nipple.

    Hips- will show if your getting bigger glutes

    Quads- about halfway down

    So, shoulder would be edge of shoulder, to edge of other shoulder?
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