Apr 11
12
Measuring Progress & Beating My Score!
When it comes to measuring progress with our health and fitness goals more often than not we only focus on the scales. While the numbers on the scales do offer some indication of progress, it isn’t always the best and certainly isn’t the only way to measure progress. The scale will only tell you if your weight is up or down. It doesn’t tell you if you have gotten stronger, more flexible, or if your balance, agility, or muscular endurance has improved.
How To Track Your Progress
Get yourself a note pad and keep track of your workouts. I always write down my training routines and note the number of sets, reps, weight used and rest/recovery time. This way I can look back at any previous training sessions and choose to do it again and see if I was able to improve in any area.
For example:
- Was I able to lift heavier weight?
- Did I need shorter rest time between sets?
- Was I able to increase my reps?
It’s a very simple method, but if the answer is “yes” to any of the above questions, then you have made progress.
This Can Really Help Keep You Motivated
One of the biggest obstacles with staying committed to any regular exercise is lack of progress. Having a score or number to beat will help you push past barriers, whether they are physical or mental. Challenging yourself to do even one extra repetition is all it takes to prove to yourself that you can do more than you had previously thought and that you are progressing. Once that happens, you start to think differently. You become more confident and more determined to keep going.
Killer Abs Workout – Beating My Score
To give you idea of what I’m talking about I decided to do the Killer Abs Workout video I posted on February 28th. The scores I posted were the best I could do at that point in time, so I was curious to see if I could do better now. Having numbers to focus on for each exercise and each set from the first time definitely made me push harder.
So lets have a quick look and compare the numbers:
Exercise Original Score New Score
Knee In Plank 10, 7, 9, 8 16, 17, 12, 16
Side Plank (left side) 30 second static hold 30 second static hold
Side Plank (right side) 30 second static hold 30 second static hold
Low Plank Oblique 18, 26, 25, 24 39, 31, 41, 43
Climbing Plank 12, 12, 10, 13 14, 15, 20, 20
Bird Dogs 12, 14, 15, 17 18, 16, 14, 15
A big improvement I think! As you can see I beat my scores in pretty much every round. I was going to increase the time for the side planks but kept it the same so that the workout still only lasted 10 minutes. Why not give the workout a go yourself? Follow the link below to see the video and descriptions:
Killer Ab Workout – In 10 Minutes
Whatever your score is you can post it in the comments. Then try it again in a month or so, post your new score and compare the results. Setting little goals for yourself and succeeding at them on a regular basis is what will lead you to achieving your bigger goals. You’ll also be surprised at just how satisfying it feels.
Getting In Shape For Summer
Summer is literally just around the corner and I’m going to be posting lots more advanced health and fitness tips, lean recipes and home workout videos to help you get in shape and stay there for the summer and beyond.
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