Here’s to summer! We all love it – well, most of us do.

And while you’re out there enjoying it and having fun, it’s a good idea to use BodyBarista from time to time to keep a pulse on your measurements. 

Here’s why.

You might not like it, but during the summer holidays, exercise and working out is probably not the first priority on your list.

And you probably don’t watch out for what you eat as often as you otherwise do. Most people let go a little during this season, and that’s ok. 

However, monitoring how your body changes during this time might be interesting. You monitor how your body changes when you are putting the effort into it, so why not keep a pulse on what exactly is happening to your body when you don’t?

It can also help to track where the changes are happening exactly. 

You might have an idea of where you tend to put on weight the fastest or which of your muscles weaken first – but wouldn’t it be interesting to see this data accurately in inches/cm?

And, furthermore, recording it for future use?

And if you’re the type of person who only needs a little push to stay motivated, taking your measurements as the summer progresses might work to your benefit.

BodyBarista will be able to tell the small changes that you might otherwise not really notice at first, and consequently motivate you to try and eat (a little) healthier during your vacation, and to try to be (a little) more active. 

Not to mention the health benefits to that.

Taking your measurements regularly even during summer could motivate you extra-hard when summer is over and you’re back to your routine.

How so?

If your body has changed considerably during the summer months, you will, in turn, see the progress faster and easier as you get back to your regular exercising.

This works great for your motivation! Seeing progress is the #1 reason we stick to our fitness plan. 

And let’s not forget the long-term perspective.

Keeping a tab on your measurements regularly gives a long-term perspective to your fitness, health and physical appearance. You will have the data on your fluctuation of your measurements, your best and worst shape, all on your phone. 

And finally, the Secret – not so secret – Bonus

In just a couple of weeks, we’ll be releasing a new feature where you’ll be able to save your photos when taking a measurement and revisit them for any date.

Basically, enjoying before & after pictures!

From then on, you’ll be able to check back on your summer picture from last year, your before summer and after summer picture, and so on. 

For those of you who enjoy a visual representation of your fitness progress, this is just what you’ve been waiting for. 

Which of the benefits above surprised you most?

The post The hidden benefits of using BodyBarista during the summer holidays appeared first on BodyBarista.

Why is it important to measure your body?

You are what you measure – or at least that’s what we believe at BodyBarista – especially if you’re tracking your weight loss measurements or bodybuilding measurements. More and more measuring devices are popping up, and technology is making it easier and easier for any fitness and sports enthusiast to track their body. The more we know, the more informed decisions we can make. Knowing your exact body measurements enables you to change your exercise routine, focus on specific areas, better understand your body and ultimately, improve your physical appearance. Physical appearance is most often the number 1 reason for training or practicing a physical activity – so it’s essential that you are informed of the details of your physical appearance. 

How to take body measurements

How you’re going to take your measurements relies mostly on you and your goal (e.g. weight loss, bodybuilding, toning). What you want to be looking at are the areas you are working on and their progress. If you’re following a routine that should get you fitter in general, you want to take measurements regularly and of your entire body. This ensures that you keep an eye on any small changes that your body goes through, and if you have a baseline you want to keep, getting regular feedback will help you correct small changes faster. 

If you’re mostly focusing on your abs, chest, arms, biceps, waist – that is your upper body, take regular measurements of your upper body; if you are also working on your legs, make sure you measure your entire body. 

What are the tools at your disposal that you can use to measure the body?

The classic weighing scale

If you’re like one of the millions of people in the world, you also own a scale that you keep in your bathroom and seldom use. The reason for rarely using the weighing scale is that it doesn’t really offer any helpful information. Have you experienced getting up on the scale one day and returning a perfectly adequate number on the display, but not feeling exactly happy about it? Your body weight fluctuates during the day, the month (even more so for women), and the scale doesn’t measure fat mass vs muscle mass (which is heavier than fat mass), it just measures mass. 

And for most people, that’s just not good enough. 

Of course, today there are smarter scale options out there that can give you a better overview of your physical state, and we’ll get to those throughout this post; but it is important to point out that only looking at your weight is not constructive.

3D body scan

3D body scans can be a great tool to find out your fat percentage, BMI (Body Mass Index), weight and muscle mass – but it can also be a bit like going to the doctor for a blood test. When using a 3D body scanner, you can’t have eaten or drunken anything in the past 4 hours, you can’t have taken a bath, you can’t have been physically active, and you should have used the toilet before getting on the machine. Basically, when using a body scanner, you need to prepare for it thoroughly, which is not an easy task with a busy schedule. That said, the body scanner can give you some numbers that are interesting to monitor. 

If you’re putting in a considerable amount of effort into your fitness plan, you probably won’t mind putting in considerable effort into measuring yourself with a 3D body scanner on a regular basis at your local gym. 

A popular method: Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA)

Most of you will be familiar with this method, too; if you’re not, you most likely have the opportunity to use it at your local gym. BIA measures your body fat percentage, but it might not return the most accurate calculations out there. The way it does body measurements is by sending a slight electric current through the body that measures the resistance of the body mass. Fat mass has a higher resistance than muscle mass, which is how the body fat percentage is calculated. 

There has been some debate regarding the accuracy of these devices and experts generally agree that it depends on the quality of the device. A wide range of these devices can be found both in gyms and in stores, such as FitBit or Tanita.

Measuring with a tape measure

One of the most reliable ways of taking body measurements is something that has worked for centuries: the tape measure. This solution gives you the option of tracking your body measurements in the most detailed way. Upper arm, neck, upper thigh, chest, hips, waist – all these body parts number by number – but unfortunately a time-taking process. It can easily become annoying to go through all the measurements each time you expect something has changed, but if you really want to keep a pulse on all the changes your body goes through, this is an unbeatable way to do it. 

Measuring with BodyBarista

The alternative to the tape measure, BodyBarista can tell the measurements of all your main muscle groups – 12 in total – but in a much faster way. As a measurement tracker, it tracks the changes of your body every time you take a measurement. 

How do you take a measurement? Easy.

Step 1: Take a picture within the app 

Step 2: Validate the points on the picture (pin the points to your body parts)

Step 3: Look at your data in graphs and pictures over time

With the BodyBarista body measurement tracker app, you can track your measurements whenever and wherever you like (free at the gym).

Conclusion

Measuring your body and your measurements has never been as easy as it is today. Over 100 years ago when the bathroom scale was invented, we welcomed the device as the latest revolution in physiology. Today, the classic weighing scale seems like an outdated way to tell your measurements, when technology has enabled devices to give smart and actionable feedback on your body such as body fat percentage, muscle mass, circumference etc. If you have the possibility and patience, intelligent devices are plentiful both in gyms and in stores that are reliable and accurate. For a quicker mobile solution, there’s BodyBarista. Whichever way you choose to go, today it’s perfectly normal to know your body’s measurements down to every small detail and to be able to track your fitness progress every step of the way. 

What’s your preferred way to measure your body and stay on track?

The post Best ways to take your body measurements appeared first on BodyBarista.