Whether you want to gain strength, lose weight, or simply lead a healthier lifestyle, monitoring or tracking can help keep you motivated and on course with your goal. However, many people fail to regularly monitor or track their progress, seek feedback from their trainer, and use that information to change or adjust their training. When you enter a personal training studio, you have a distinct advantage in being able to professionally track your progress and use tools to help differentiate your tracking more effectively and meaningfully. Learn to go beyond the basic scale check-in at any studio and find the possibilities to measure your progress in a variety of ways from all body composition tracking methods.
Regular Body Composition Analysis
Body composition measures the breakdown of fat mass, muscle mass, and water mass to provide you with a deeper image of your physical well-being. Most personal training studios have very accurate measurement tools to measure body composition. Body composition is distinct from weighing yourself on a scale at home because you may only be experiencing a “temporary” fluctuation in water weight or weight from monthly hormonal changes, people may weigh differently on a bathroom scale at home on each day, but body composition measures remains consistent and measurable in time.
Progress Photos for Visual Comparison
Sometimes, the most significant changes can’t be quantified, but instead by measurable transformations, you can see by looking in the mirror. That’s why progress photos are one of the best ways to track your transformation. Personal training studios often recommend taking progress images approximately every 4 to 6 weeks under the same lighting and angles. They are beneficial for establishing a visual timeline of your body composition changes, physical posture, definition, and muscle tone – changes that you may not notice daily. Comparing previous-looking photos may be more revealing of your body improvement than the mirror, which we check in and out of so many times per week! Of course, trainers may rely on photographs for more than just a body transformation.
Performance Benchmarks and Strength Tracking
Tracking the amount of weight you lift, the speed at which you run, or how long you can hold a plank is a way to create a real record of your improved strength and stamina. The benchmarks provide a specific destination to strive for and celebrate each checkpoint. When working with trainers, they may include baseline assessments to discern not only your previous levels of performance within the week but also to compare and track concurrently in their program. When it comes to the benchmark stats, whether it be your number of pushups, kettlebell swings, or your one rep max in an assessment, it is the only way to objectively determine where you are physically and how far you have come to improve your ability.
Personalized Workout Logs or Apps
Most trainers utilize various apps or workout logs to track your workouts and customize a structured program for you. Workout logs and apps can track your exercises, sets, reps, rest periods, and cardio workouts. If you and your trainer can monitor your body’s biomechanics and physical effort over time from the apps’ data, you might both recognize patterns in your performance, consistency, and recovery. In addition, it will keep both of you from repeating workouts unnecessarily or not progressing quickly enough and risking injury. Most of these apps also have graphs, achievement badges, and calendar views to help make your fitness feel like a rewarding journey.
Measuring Endurance and Flexibility Improvements
While typically, a focus will be on improvements in strength and fat loss will be primary goals, to increase and maintain your overall health and fitness, endurance and flexibility are both other critical variables of the fitness equation. Fitness evaluations are part of a personal training studio’s curriculum, and as part of custom program direction regularly, personal training studios or trainers will conduct fitness evaluations. For example, an increase in the duration for how long you can jog without feeling fatigued, or an increase in your reach during a hamstring stretch, is demonstrating progress that mere numbers can’t entirely quantify.
The Finale
Tracking your fitness progress in a private training studio doesn’t have to be cumbersome. Consistency is essential – just following the routine you’ve established, being honest about your baseline location, and celebrating all of the little wins. Personal trainers can help to guide you through each of these checkpoints and provide you with alternatives when you reach a roadblock (which you will!) to keep you motivated in the “progress/performance” and seeing results.