Since When Does The Scale Really Matter Anyway? Do Things To Improve Performance!

Understanding "Fitness"

There are many components of "fitness." It's not just a number on the scale, or achieving a certain look of "toned arms," and "flat(ish) abs."

So if throughout your program you are only measuring progress by the scale, it quickly becomes depressing.

There are so many changes your body is going to go through during your journey of becoming the best version of you.

It makes no sense to allow all of your efforts to be solely measured by one component of fitness such as the scale.

Think about what it is you really want to achieve anyway. Better health, movement, strength, energy, confidence.

Most of these components can be tracked by much better ways than the scale. Here are a few components we track and teach in our Everyday Athlete's Tracking System.

1. Functionality- Your ability to move correctly through a full range of motion.

From being able to get up and down from the floor, to performing a perfect squat, we have systems to track your functional progress.

If you are working out on you own, measure your ability to function.

Take note of how well you can get to the floor, and back up. And perform throughout the day. If you start training, this should get better! So mark it as a win.

2. Body Composition- Your weight, body fat %, and pants size could all be considered body composition.

This is tracking your transformation of gaining muscle, burning fat, and either losing, or gaining (if that's your goal), inches and weight. Body composition is more of an outcome than anything. So be patient with this one!

We recommend using pictures above anything else to track month to month progress. (If they aren't changing, switch up your program and nutrition!)

3. Endurance- Your ability to do things for a long (or longer) period of time.

Some people want to walk up the stairs without being winded. Others want to climb Mount Everest. There are plenty of goals in between, which are important to be mindful of when starting your program.

See how long it takes you to walk, jog, or run a mile. A month into your program, time it again! If it improved, great! Keep going!

4. Strength- Your ability to produce "x" amount of force for "x" movement.

Some people want to be able to stand up off of the couch easily, or carry around bags of soil for their garden. While others want to reach their full strength potential. We track strength for various movements as well to be sure you not only see what you've gotten good at, but you also find the areas that need the most improvement.

The most common ways to track are:

Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlift. These do not have to be with a bar, or power lifter style. Everyone needs to train these movements. So record the amount of weight you are using, and track your progress!

It can be what you can do for 1 rep or 10. It's your system, your progress, just be sure you have something in place.

5. Performance- None of the other components matter if they do not improve your overall performance for life.

Performance is a combination of all components mentioned previously. It is being able to move correctly (function), perform tasks without getting too winded (endurance), and perform tasks that require physical effort (strength).

At the end of the day, track your progress by getting caught up in the actions it takes to become the best version of you!

Are you eating better? Great!

Getting to the gym 3 days per week? Great!

Smiling in your exercise program? Great!

All of these things can easily be considered progress!

So keep going!

Now, if you are not seeing any results could you be doing the wrong things? Sure! Something is usually better than nothing (if it is safe). However, if your frustrated with your program or results, please reach out to us! We have programs we deliver online, on site, and in our facility.

Thanks for reading!