Taking measurements: a repeatable protocol
Same time of day, same order, same landmarks, relaxed muscles, two readings averaged, recorded immediately. A fortnightly session covering waist, hips and three or four limb sites takes about six minutes and gives you data that is actually comparable over months.
Why a protocol, rather than just measuring
Measurement error is the enemy of every conclusion you will draw. If your technique varies by 1.5 cm between sessions, you cannot detect a 1 cm change — and 1 cm of arm growth is a good couple of months' work.
The sources of error, roughly in order of size:
- Landmark placement. Measuring the bicep 2 cm higher gives a different number. The largest source by far.
- Time of day and food state. Especially for the waist.
- Tape tension. Easily 1 cm between a light and a firm pull.
- Muscle state. Relaxed versus subtly flexed.
- Who is measuring. Between-person variation exceeds within-person variation.
- The tape itself. Stretched cloth tapes read short over time.
A written protocol fixes all six, and it is a one-time cost. Write yours down once — or use the fixed field order in MyFitsy's progress screen, which enforces the same sequence every time — and stop making decisions during the session.
The standing conditions
- Morning, after the toilet, before eating or drinking. Non-negotiable for the waist; helpful for everything else.
- Before training, not after. Post-session fluid shifts and pump inflate limb measurements by up to 1 cm.
- Bare skin or minimal, consistent clothing.
- All muscles relaxed. Standing normally, arms hanging, not braced.
- Same room, same mirror, same tape. Sounds excessive; costs nothing.
- Same person measuring, whether that is you or a coach.
The landmarks
Where a site is ambiguous, mark it by distance from a bony landmark and write that distance down. Bone does not move; soft tissue does.
- Neck. Just below the Adam's apple, tape horizontal, shoulders relaxed.
- Shoulders. Around the widest point of the deltoids, arms at sides, after a normal breath out.
- Chest. At nipple level, tape horizontal round the back, normal breath out, arms relaxed at sides.
- Waist. At the navel — see how to measure your waist consistently.
- Hips. At the widest point of the buttocks, feet together.
- Biceps. Midway between the tip of the shoulder and the elbow crease, arm hanging relaxed. Measure the distance once and record it — for example "18 cm below the acromion" — so you can find it again.
- Forearm. At the widest point below the elbow, arm relaxed and hanging.
- Thigh. Midway between the hip crease and the top of the kneecap, weight evenly on both feet. Record the distance from the kneecap.
- Calf. At the widest point, standing with weight evenly distributed.
Measure both sides. Asymmetry of 0.5–1.5 cm between limbs is completely normal — most people are meaningfully bigger on their dominant side. Knowing your baseline asymmetry stops you panicking about it later, and it flags genuine imbalance if the gap widens.
The session sequence
Six minutes, in a fixed order so you never have to think about it:
- Weigh yourself first, before anything else.
- Take photos next, if it is a photo week — before the tape, while you are least self-conscious about the numbers. See photos, measurements and the scale.
- Then measure top to bottom: neck, shoulders, chest, waist, hips, then arms, forearms, thighs, calves. Left before right, every time.
- Two readings per site, averaged. If they differ by more than 1 cm, take a third.
- Record as you go, not from memory afterwards.
- Note anything unusual: poor sleep, a large meal last night, cycle phase, illness. Context you will not remember in six weeks.
Top-to-bottom and left-before-right matters more than it sounds. A fixed order means you never skip a site or record a left value in a right field.
How often to measure what
- Weight: daily, read as a weekly average — see weekly averages versus daily weigh-ins.
- Waist: every two weeks. The one you will use most.
- Other circumferences: every two to four weeks. Limb sites change slowly.
- Photos: every four weeks.
- Full session, all sites: monthly is plenty. A shorter waist-and-hips check on the alternate fortnight.
More frequent measurement does not give you more information. It gives you more noise and more opportunities to misread it.
Recording and reviewing
- Record immediately, in one place. Whatever you use, it must be the same place every time — data spread across a notes app, a spreadsheet and a memory is data you will not review.
- Keep your landmark distances written down alongside the measurements.
- Review monthly, not fortnightly. Two data points are a line; four are a trend.
- Look at combinations, not individual sites. Waist against limbs is the interpretation that matters — see why circumference measurements beat the scale alone.
- If you work with a coach, share the whole set. A coach seeing waist, weight, limb sites and your session log together can tell you things none of them reveal alone. That is precisely why MyFitsy keeps them in one place rather than in separate apps.
If measuring yourself is difficult
Some sites are genuinely awkward alone, and some people find the whole process unpleasant. Both are solvable.
- Self-tightening tapes with a spring or a loop handle make solo waist and thigh measurements far more consistent.
- Chest and shoulders are hardest alone. If you cannot do them consistently, drop them and rely on photos for the upper body.
- Reduce the set rather than abandoning it. Waist alone, taken well, beats nine sites taken badly.
- If measuring makes you anxious, use photos and your logbook instead. No measurement is worth a poor relationship with your body — see tracking calories without becoming obsessive, which covers the same territory.
Common questions
How long should a session take?
About six minutes with a protocol. Twenty without one.
Do I need to measure both sides?
Yes, and 0.5–1.5 cm of asymmetry is normal.
Flexed or relaxed?
Relaxed. Flexed measurements are much more variable.
What if I forget a site?
Leave it blank rather than guessing. A gap is honest; an invented number corrupts the trend.
Should my coach measure me?
Helpful if it is always the same person. Between-tester variation is larger than within-tester.
Can I measure after training?
Better not to — pump and fluid inflate limb readings by up to 1 cm.
How do I find the same bicep spot?
Measure the distance from the shoulder tip once, write it down, and use it every time.
The practical version
- Morning, before eating and before training, muscles relaxed, same tape and same person.
- Landmark placement is the biggest error source — record distances from bony landmarks.
- Fixed order: weigh, photos, then top to bottom, left before right.
- Two readings per site averaged; a third if they differ by more than 1 cm.
- Measure both sides; 0.5–1.5 cm of asymmetry is normal.
- Full session monthly, waist fortnightly, and review across four data points.
Key takeaways
- Landmark placement is the largest source of measurement error — record distances from bone.
- Measure in the morning, before eating and before training, with muscles relaxed.
- Use a fixed sequence: weigh, photos, then top to bottom, left before right.
- Take two readings per site and average them; a third if they differ by over 1 cm.
- Measure both sides — 0.5-1.5 cm of limb asymmetry is completely normal.
- A full session takes about six minutes with a protocol; review across four data points, not two.
Related reading
General information, not medical or individualised advice. Speak to a doctor before starting a new programme, especially if you have a medical condition, are pregnant, or are returning from injury. If you train with a coach, their guidance takes precedence.
Track it, or none of this applies
MyFitsy pre-fills the weight you used last time, so progression is a decision instead of a guess.
