How to Track Your Fitness Progress Like A Pro
There’s no better way to hold yourself accountable and see the results of your hard work than to carefully track your fitness progress — but there’s not a one-size-fits-all approach to how you should do this, so you’ve got to figure out what works for you. Luckily, there are plenty of options for how you can track your fitness progress like a pro. Take a look at some of our favorite methods below and find which one appeals most to you!
Invest in Wearable Fitness Tech
Fitness technology has advanced rapidly over the last several years, and it’s given us some pretty cool options for keeping tabs on our progress. From dedicated fitness tracking devices to modern-day smart watches, your choices in wearable tech are endless.
These devices are capable of showing specific results, including your workout duration, distance traveled, calories burned, heart rate, and more. Plus, they typically record everything for you within an app on your phone or a website dashboard, so you can look back and see how much you’ve improved over time. Another benefit of wearable technology is that it calculates everything based on your body, so you see results that are unique to you.
Did you know: The PULSE heart rate monitor you receive as a new member is a type of wearable fitness technology? This device gives you a live view of your effort rating, heart rate, and calories burned on the in-studio displays as you work out. Then, the PULSE system emails your results after every session and keeps a log of all your workouts in your 9Round Member Portal.
Keep a Dedicated Fitness Journal
A fitness journal is a great way to keep up with your workout progress, as long as you are disciplined enough to sit down and record your day-to-day activities. Fitness journals can be used to track your measurements, nutrition plan, and even your emotional connections to exercise. This allows you to look back on what you’ve done to see not only how it’s changed you physically, but also mentally.
If you decide to use a fitness journal, you need to use it often enough that you’re getting the whole picture of your workout routine. Record every workout, every meal, and every emotion you feel along your fitness journey, and you’ll have a clear view of your progress over time and exactly what affected it.
Plan Regular Weigh-Ins
We’re going old-school with this third fitness tracking method. That’s right — we’re taking about a simple visit to the bathroom scale. Now, we know that stepping on a scale isn’t always the most motivating, but in a pinch, it can be a useful tool to help you see if you’re making progress or falling behind.
To perform weigh-ins properly, you should stick to doing them around the same time of day, preferably in the morning before you’ve had anything to eat or drink. Body weight is known to fluctuate quite a bit throughout the day, so recording your weight at the same time of day is going to help you get a more accurate reading.
Just make sure you don’t get discouraged if that needle doesn’t move in the direction you want. Sometimes, weight can be an inaccurate measurement for tracking progress, especially if you’re building a lot of muscle through your workout routine. We all know the old saying, “muscle weighs more than fat.”
Take Routine Body Composition Scans
The ultimate way to see how your body is changing over time is to use a body composition analyzer. These machines perform a detailed scan to tell you the specific breakdown of fat, protein, minerals, and water that comprises your body. Nothing will give you a more accurate picture of your overall health or the progress you’re making.
Body composition scans will show you if there are changes in fat mass, muscle mass, and overall body fat percentage. Doing routine scans each month is a great way to see if your workout routine is really helping you shed fat and build muscle. Many 9Round studios around the world offer body composition scans as an extra service, so be sure to talk with your Champion Trainers to see if this option is available at your local studio.
Complete Strength Tests
Do you remember when your teacher in your high school gym class would make you do as many push-ups or sit-ups as you can in one minute or have you perform the sit and reach test to see how flexible you are? These are called basic strength tests, and they are a useful method for tracking your fitness progress.
Strength tests give you a specific number to compare to in the future, so as you work to get in shape, you can routinely perform the same test to see if you can beat your initial score. Since it takes a while for your muscles to grow, these tests should not be performed daily. Instead, aim to re-test your strength every quarter or just once a year. This gives you a great long-term method for seeing how hard you’ve worked and how much stronger you’ve grown.
If you’re ready to start crushing your fitness goals this year, then head to your local 9Round studio for a FREE Introductory Workout. We can help you grow stronger with our KILLER workouts, plus you’ll get our exclusive PULSE heart rate technology to help you track your results. Follow the link below to get started.
