I Want to Measure My Progress

The scale can tell you whether your weight is changing. It can't tell you everything that's happening to your physique.

Bodybuilders often track several measures at the same time because each one answers a different question.

Start with the basics

Progress photos taken under similar lighting and conditions can show changes that aren't obvious when you look in the mirror every day. Body weight can show the overall trend. Measurements and gym performance provide additional information.

Your Contest Prep Coach may use some or all of these during regular check-ins to decide whether your current training, nutrition and cardio are producing the intended result.

The important thing is the trend—not a single day's measurement.

What can a DEXA scan tell you?

A DEXA scan provides estimates of fat mass, lean mass and bone mineral content. It can also show how lean mass and fat are distributed across different areas of the body.

That can make DEXA useful for competitors who want a more objective baseline before prep or who want to compare changes between different phases of training.

Browse DEXA & Body Composition providers if you're looking for testing near you.

Before booking repeated scans throughout a prep, read Do I Need a DEXA Scan for Bodybuilding Contest Prep? More testing isn't automatically more useful, and changes in hydration and testing conditions can affect how body-composition results should be interpreted.

Don't chase a number

Body-fat percentages from different devices and methods aren't perfectly interchangeable, and no single body-fat percentage guarantees that you'll be stage-ready.

That's particularly important when you're comparing yourself with numbers posted by other competitors online.

Read What Percent Body Fat Is Stage-Ready? for more context.

Use measurements to help answer questions about your progress—not as a substitute for looking at the physique you're actually bringing to the stage.