Track Your Fitness Progress

I often hear this phrase from my clients, especially females, when talking about their fitness goals: "I just want to tone up". It’s a good start because in order to achieve something you must first know what you want, however, it helps greatly if it is defined in specific terms. The only way to ensure that we are on the same page, and understand what “tone up” means to them, is to talk about this in more detail. Let’s find out what is most likely meant by this expression, and what measurements can be used to track your fitness progress.

When it comes to transforming your body’s appearance, it’s not always about weight loss, even though it is a real concern for many people. It depends on the physical shape of the individual. Some may be happy with their weight on the scales, and for most of us what we see in the mirror is what really counts.

BMI – Bootless Measurement Idea

BMI (body mass index) is a commonly used formula that divides your weight divided by the square of your height. Despite the fact that it doesn’t say anything about your body composition (hence, my mock acronym), it is still one of the main measurements used by GPs. It may be interesting to look at it from a statistics point of view, but in fitness industry we don’t see it as a valuable tool to assess an individual’s health and track progress.

Body Fat Percentage – A Scientific Approach

Body fat percentage is the total mass of fat divided by total body mass; body fat includes essential body fat and storage body fat. Essential body fat is necessary to maintain life and reproductive functions. The percentage of essential body fat for women is greater than that for men, due to the demands of childbearing and other hormonal functions. The percentage of essential fat is 3–5% in men, and 8–12% in women.

This is a more scientific way of looking at progress tracking. I understand that terms like “lean body mass” may sound a bit intimidating to females, and not everyone is comfortable with certain methods of measuring body fat, such as skinfold calipers, but you must realise that “muscle tone” is just the appearance, and it may be useful to introduce an objective measurement as well.

Tape Measurements – Simple and Accurate

My preferable method to use with clients is a simple system of measurements with tape – a bit like being at the tailor. It’s not too invasive, and shows the real picture very well. You may feel your clothes getting looser but in this way I can tell you exactly how much you’ve lost in your focus areas, and we can set new targets to work towards.

Mirror, Photos and Compliments

What you see in the mirror when you step out of the shower will tell you exactly how you feel about your progress. It is a kinesthetic check – the feeling you have when looking at yourself. When put in words it could be anything from “Wow! I’m ready for the beach :)” to “Oh no… Why did I have that box of donuts last night?” and it can be a powerful trigger to drive motivation.

Clear photos show your progress in an objective way, and that’s important because your mind can sometimes play tricks on you. Hence, I use accurate photos to demonstrate a body transformation, and none of this “front-facing and then turning sideways in the after photo to look slimmer” that you often see in the media. Also, nothing feels better than hearing compliments from your family friends when they notice your physique changing.

The key thing is that what ever label you place on your goal, it is merely a linguistic gift-wrap of your desirable outcome. Whether you “just want to tone up”, “lose weight”, “gain muscle” or “get shredded”, in order to achieve success it is essential for you to choose the most appropriate way to measure your progress.