How to Take Body Tape Measurements 

Body measurements, also called girth measurements, will give you valuable information to assess the progress of your bodybuilding program. They will tell you exactly where you are growing. With this information, you can learn which body parts may need to be worked out differently and which parts are growing like you intend for them to grow. 

Keep in mind that increase in body measurements will not inform you of whether the growth is a result of primarily fat gain or primarily muscle gain.  You can only know this information by knowing your bodyfat percentage.  Take your bodyfat percentage as often as you take your body measurements.  If your bodyfat percentage is staying constant or only slightly increasing, then you know that your body measurement gains are in fact a result of muscle gain.

To take your body tape measurements, you will need a flexible tape measure that you can wrap around your body parts. There are basic measuring tapes available at tailor shops, clothes shops and sporting goods stores. These simple tapes, however, are difficult to use and I don't recommend using them.

 Instructions

The tape should be pulled to where it is lying flat against the skin all the way around. Like with taking skinfold measurements, your goal with body tape measurements is consistency. Take them the same every time you take them and you will get an accurate view of your progress with each body part.

Below and pictured to the right is a list of suggested sites to regularly measure.

Neck - Standing, measure your neck at its largest girth, right over the Adam's apple.

Shoulder – Standing, can either be measured as a straight line from the largest points on each shoulder across the chest or as a girth measurement all the way around the body.

Bicep - Measure at its largest girth, can be taken relaxed with arms at side, relaxed with arm bent, flexed with arm bent or all three.

Chest - Standing, measure with breath out just above the nipple.

Waist - Standing, measure at the narrowest point or at the midway point between the top of the hip bone and the bottom of the rib cage.

Hips - Measure at the largest girth, where the butt is protruding the greatest.

Thigh - Standing, measure at the largest girth, just below the butt.

Calf - Seated if you are measuring yourself or standing if you have a partner, measure at its largest girth.

Your body tape measurements will tell you where you are gaining but you still won't know what you are gaining.

Alone, body tape measurements aren't enough. You need to know what is responsible for your increased size, is it fat or is it muscle? You find this out by tracking your body fat percentage.

You can learn all about how to get a good estimation of your body fat on the skinfold measurements page.