5 Simple ways to assess your progress in the gym without ever stepping on those dreaded scales. 1) Assessing mood - How are you feeling now that you have started exercising? One of the greatest effects of regular exercise is a boost in a persons self efficacy and self image. Has going to the gym made you feel better about yourself? 2) Assessing sleeping patterns- Without adequate recovery we can expect a negative effect on just about every bodily function. How has exercise effected your sleeping patterns? Has it made it easier or more difficult to regularly get structured deep sleep? 3) Assessing mental focus- Has regularly exercising yielded greater results in your working life? Paying close attention to areas such as attention span, drive, motivation and initiative. Would you say exercise has been a positive or negative force behind change in these areas? 4) Greater programme workload- Assuming you have a structured plan for the gym, has regularly completing this plan enabled you to, lift greater weights, run faster, take less recovery or achieve a greater range of motion or flexibility? All of which are clear indications of positive change. 5) Assessing your clothes - Another clear indication of changes in body composition and perhaps the most rewarding is being able to fit into clothes we once would have been unable to. Are your jeans a little more loose? Are you now fitting into a dress that had been impossible for many years? Has your shirt size, or hip size been positively effected by exercise? Again all clear indications that regularly exercising has had a positive effect on your body. While stepping on the scales provides the quickest and easiest way for an individual to assess their progress, it can also be the most harsh and demotivating tool and may ultimately lead to an individuals decision to stop exercising. Measuring weight may provide a simple framework with which to assess an individuals body composition, however other simple tests such as those mentioned above also provide a simple and easy framework with which to assess wether or not all this sweating and grunting in lycra is really worth it. I suggest strongly that individuals look beyond the dreaded scales before making a decision as to wether exercise has had a positive effect on your physical and mental wellbeing. #fightflabfeelfab Gary
Posted on: Mon, 19 Aug 2013 17:12:41 +0000