How often and when to measure?
Shoulder. Move your hand slightly to the side and pass a centimeter under the muscle cavity. Return the limb to the starting position and record the indicators. Please measure both hands as measurements may vary. This is due to an increased load on one limb (for example, on the right in a right-handed person), which contributes to faster weight loss or muscle gain.
For bodybuilders, measurements are also taken in a tense state: the arm is bent and raised up. The shoulder is parallel to the floor, and the fist is at head level. This allows you to determine the volume of your biceps.
Hip. Place your feet shoulder-width apart. Wrap the measuring tape around your thigh, just below your crotch. Legs should be relaxed. Record the data.
Wrist. Wrap the tape around the thinnest part of your arm near the hand and record the readings.
Buttocks. Place your feet together and wrap the band around your buttocks. In front it should pass along the lower part of the pubis, and in the back along the most voluminous part.
Shin. Measure the most convex place.
Waist. Determine the thinnest place on your stomach and take measurements. Do not pull in or strain your stomach, otherwise the data will be distorted. If determining a thin spot is difficult, take measurements at the level of the navel.
Stomach. Measure at the widest point. Typically this is the area below the navel.
Neck circumference. These indicators are important for bodybuilders. Measurements are taken at the level of the seventh cervical vertebra, which is located approximately 2 cm below the Adam's apple.
Breast. For men: the tape passes under the shoulder blades, muscle cavities through the widest point. For women: place the tape under the armpits; behind it passes under the shoulder blades, and in front at the level of the nipples and the most convex part. When measuring, do not tighten or otherwise change the shape of your breasts.
Under the chest. Measurements are taken along a horizontal line under the bust.
Taking measurements of body volumes allows you to monitor the process of losing weight and gaining muscle mass. Follow the above rules to get reliable data.
Calculations in the form of numbers will make progress much more effective than the opinions of others or visual control. You should measure no more than once or twice a week. If you do this more often, you are unlikely to see much change. And the lack of change will lead you to despair. On the contrary, the difference between the measurements will stimulate you to even greater feats.
It is better to measure in the morning, before breakfast, because then there is no excess volume. If you measure after eating, there will be a slight error. For the same reason, do not take measurements in the evening, when food and water lead to large errors. Even if you are on a strict diet, the load provokes muscle swelling, and in the evening the girth will inevitably be larger.
Work on the horizontal bar
If you cannot afford to train in the gym, then you can perfectly pump up your biceps with the help of pull-ups. However, the exercise, the purpose of which is to increase the volume of the biceps, is somewhat different from the classic exercise. Consider these features:
- Only reverse grip is recommended.
- The distance between your palms should be no more than 8 cm.
- When going down, don't go all the way. Elbows should remain bent.
- Rise up on the horizontal bar until your chin reaches the bar.
- Advanced athletes are recommended to do pull-ups with weights.
In addition, a statistical exercise will provide excellent results. It perfectly loads the biceps, as a result of which it begins to increase in volume.
The exercise is performed like this:
- Pull yourself up on the horizontal bar until the bar is at chest level.
- Stay in this position. Continue hanging until you feel extremely tired.
- For the next approach, this feature is recommended. Now “hang” on the bar, bending your elbows at an angle of 90 degrees. Stay in this position until the last moment.
- That awkward feeling when a girl's forearm is even bigger than his biceps
