6 Indicators of Fitness Progress

Achieving fitness goals is not just about going from point A to point B.  Even so, achieving a fitness goal should be viewed more as a milestone than a destination. When you reach it, you don\’t stop exercising. You reach for a new goal.  However, when moving between point A and point B, it is important to notice the progress you are making.  That progress comes in several forms.

Looking Better

Looking better doesn’t necessarily only mean suddenly having six-pack abs, bulging biceps or sculped shoulders.  This will have a lot more to do with your improved posture, improved skin tone, smiling more.  Few things can improve the way we look more than standing up straight.  Plus, when you are exercising you are increasing blood flow which helps increase the removal of toxins from the bloodstream.  You’ll see both of these results when staring at the mirror, which will certainly make you smile more.

Happier

Exercise categorically improves your mood.  Improving yourself from the inside out, will instantly make you feel better.  Feeling better, looking better and smiling more will definitely lead you to being happier.  It won’t cure all that may bother you, but it helps a lot.  Moreover, when people see you looking and feeling better, that is when the compliments start flowing in from friends, family and colleagues.  Your personal trainer, if you work with one, will be ecstatic.  You are happy, they are happy.  The happiness is contagious!

Weight Management 

When you are exercising, your weight is one way to quantify your progress.  The scale won’t lie, as long as it is calibrated correctly.  The numbers will tell you the ups and downs of your routine and if you are achieving any weight loss or gain goals.  This is in addition to the simple visual evaluations you can do yourself.  Are your pants fitting better at the waist?  Is your shirt showing off a more athletic upper body?  These things matter as you work towards your fitness goals.

Increased Strength 

You may not see your muscles bulging out of your shirt, or you body as sculpted as you envision, but you may already be seeing an increase in your strength.  The box was easier to pick up or the weight you used during your personal training session seemed easier to move, or you were able to do a couple extra repetitions.  This increase in strength is certainly in part to a growth of new muscle fibers, as well as body learning to understand the path of the movement through repetition.

More Energy

Exercise gets the blood flowing.  More oxygen will flow to your muscles, your brain, etc.  You’ll feel more awake.  With your improved mood and your increased strength, you will have more energy to do things.  Exercise is a contagion that spreads its benefits throughout your entire body.

More Motivated 

As mentioned above, you’ll feel more awake.  You’ll feel stronger.  You’ll have more energy to get up and go.  Most of all, because of all that, you will WANT to do more.  Whether it is simply getting together with friends to hang out, grab a meal, or quite possibly do something active such as a hike.  You’ll have an urge to want to do more.  

All that is certainly progress.

@neighborhoodtrainer