Why You’re Making More Progress Than you Think!

WHAT REALLY DEFINES PROGRESS?

In the fitness world, we can get caught up in numbers.

“What’s your body fat percentage?”

“How much can you squat?”

“How many kilos did you lose during the challenge?”

While a lot of us walk into the gym with the aim of changing some of these numbers, focussing purely on this can take up a lot of mental energy and focus (and can distract you from the other amazing things you’ve achieved!). So how can we refocus and measure our progress outside of what we weigh or what the bar weighs?

First things first - acknowledge that your results may not look or feel how you think they should. We’ve been conditioned to think weight loss = the reason we exercise, but that’s only one of the potential outcomes of regular training.

Try thinking about these other progress measurements:

• Increased energy and lower stress levels - this is a widely reported positive side effect of exercise. Don’t underestimate how much this can impact your day to day functioning!
• Improved health markers like healthy blood pressure and cholesterol - it goes without saying that exercise(even if your weight or measurements don’t change!) improves your health on so many levels and can even reduce your reliance on certain medications.
• Fitting into a different clothing size OR fitting your current size differently - we all know the feeling of noticing how our clothes feel less snug in some places (and more snug in others!)
• Feeling good in general - less aches and pains, more mobility, less puffed walking up stairs, can keep up with the kids, can carry all the groceries inside in one go, can move furniture easily.
• Enhanced skills and technique - you may have noticed your technique feeling better during your sessions, or activities outside the gym feeling easier

All of this can translate into increased confidence and resilience - both inside and outside of the gym!

Keep training, keep moving, you are always making progress!