Tracking my training sessions was one of the best things that I could have done when I started my fitness journey. It kept me accountable and helped with consistency. When I decided to make the change for my health and overall well-being, I understood that it was going to be investment. It’s going to be hard as it was something new. Measuring and tracking my fitness progress helped me to define my starting point and celebrate my progress beyond the scale. Today, I want to share with you three reasons to track your fitness progress and why it is so important to do so.
Defining Your Starting Point
A lot of us can be scared to take progress pictures and videos of where we are right now because we may not want to accept that this is our starting point. Having a physical and digital image or video makes it more real, trust me! You want to have this moment documented because a month, two years, five years down line, you’ll be able to look back and be proud of your dedication.
I have one of the first progress pictures that I took of myself back in 2013. I wasn’t great at documenting my fitness progress with videos until later on. Every year on January 28th, I look back at that picture and all the other pictures documenting the other years. I’m proud of myself. I can see my discipline. I can my perseverance throughout the years and I can celebrate that I didn’t give up on myself. Your progress pictures and videos are for you. They are there to remind you of why you chose to make that change and why you continuously do so. Don’t be scared to take all the pictures and videos. The good and the bad. When you feel like you are in a dip, know that you have what it takes to get yourself out of it. You’ve done it before.
Celebrating Your Fitness Progress Beyond The Scale
Stepping on the scale is not the only way to track your fitness progress. The scale doesn’t determine your worth or your value as a human being. This is where tracking your progress through a workout log, your pictures, videos and the fit of your clothing comes to play. When I first started, I kept jumping on the scale every morning to see if I lost weight. It messed me up mentally for a couple of years. Then I chose a positive way to track my progress and that was through my workout logs.
Having a workout log keeps you consistent and your efficiency. It helps you track your strength and performance every day. I write my workouts for the day and week on my Notes app. I have an Excel Spreadsheet of my workouts for the next four weeks with the sets, reps and rest times. Whenever I go to the gym, I know exactly what I’m doing and where I need to be. It saves time. Tracking your workouts means that you can see if you are challenging yourself over a period of time and making the steps needed towards your goals.
Keeping Yourself Accountable
You can’t get the results you desire for the work that you didn’t do. In fitness, it’s not just about what you do in the gym. That is only 10% of the work. What you do with the other 90% plays a huge part in seeing those desired results. This is where keeping yourself accountable and being honest with yourself is important. What exactly does that mean? It means you need to track what you are eating, your recovery, your hours of sleep, your water intake and how you manage your stress.
I like to track my water intake with this water app to make sure that I’m hydrating myself. Tracking food is not for everyone but I highly recommend noting down what you eat to understand how you are fuelling your body. Then you will know whether you need to eat more food or not, and note whether certain foods make you feel sluggish or energetic.
So there you have it, my three reasons to track your fitness progress! Make sure that you bookmark this page later and share other reasons that you track your progress in the comments below. I’d love for this post to be a resource for you and the others in the community.
Until next time
Folakemi
