Are you making progress? You cant fly blind and expect to reach your destination…

Are you making progress? You cant fly blind and expect to reach your destination if you havent mapped out how you are going to get there and how you are going to check that you are still on course. Each Monday morning I wake up and take a range of measurements to track my progress. I take my weight my measurements and then I take a range of progress photos so that I can assess my progress week-to-week. Its in my routine and it holds me accountable to my goals. . Whether you are trying to build muscle and bulk up or shred unwanted body fat you need to have SMART goals in place and MEASURES by which you can evaluate your realisation of these goals. Our mind can play tricks on us during a dieting phase and it can be tempting to make impulsive decisions about our diet and training if we become fixated on our perceptions rather than reality. Measures which I use to measure progress for myself and my clients are: . Bodyweight: once per week upon rising after going to bathroom but before breakfast. For greater accuracy follow the same routine each day add each days weight up and then divide the total by 7 to get an average for the week.Girth Measurements: in key areas such as stomach hips arms thighs calves etc. using a MyoTape. . Progress Photos: from the front side and back under the same lighting conditions clearly displaying the physique to assess whether there has been a visual change. I perform a few mandatory bodybuilding poses as well i.e. rear lat-spread side chest etc. . Dietary Compliance: a rating out of 5 evaluating how compliant you were to the macros set. . Training Volume: your training performance in the gym. Are you getting stronger? Are you able to perform more reps week to week? . Qualitative Factors: how stressed are you energy levels self-esteem quality and number of hours of SLEEP! It is important to realise these measures should not be viewed in isolation. Too many people become so fixated on the scales that they lose sight of all other measures. You should view these measures as part of a broader perspective and then adjust your plan accordingly.

Source by jay_a_camach