There are many great tools out there for measuring one’s fitness and health. They can provide valuable feedback to keep a person focused, ramp things up or get on track. Some of the best “measurement” guides I have used are:
- How do I feel?
- What is my energy level?
- How do I look in the mirror?
- How well do my clothes fit?
All of those are great indicators at how things are going. Yet, we often find ourselves locked into one number that can boost our self esteem or deflate our egos. That’s the scale. I’m not going to get on my high horse here and say I never weigh myself. I used to be compulsive about it and then either jump for joy or beat myself up mentally. But this is one measure, not the only measure. For me, I do a weigh in on Friday mornings and that’s it. Sometimes less often than that.
When I coach people I have them weigh in every 30 days when they are doing Power 90, P90X, Turbo Jam or some other awesome workout program. That way the “weigh in” isn’t getting in the way and halting a person’s progress. I also have them take pictures every 30 days. That’s another GREAT tool! I know there are a variety of scales out there and some have other built in gadgets and gizmos like body fat measurement. I haven’t experienced the use of any of those, but the emails I get from people usually are one of concern when they are seeing and feeling progress and not getting the feedback they expect from the scale. Hence the reason I have them hide the scale and only bring it out once a month. I even had one lady take her scale to the neighbor’s house to store. You know what? She has gotten great results, feels great, is happy and doesn’t have this “scale number cloud” hanging over her. I think we can all learn from that.
So, I am a believer in keeping accountable and keeping track of your progress. Exercise each day and log it into the free online SuperGym. Use a heart rate monitor for cardio. Weigh in once a week or month (depending on your tolerance for mental abuse). But mostly, take stock of how you feel. Improving? That’s got to be pleasing mentally, physically and emotionally.
Now, to hop off this soap box. Lucky I have done plyometrics!
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