Tracking progress is vital to our success because if we are setting out with the goal of muscle gain or fat loss, we are going to need some gauge by which to measure whether or not we’re following through with that goal. Below are assessment tools that will assist you in measuring and tracking your body composition and progress. Keep in mind that each assessment method has its strengths and weaknesses and varies in its level of precision and reliability.
TOOL #1: WEIGHT SCALE
The weight scale is a common and simple tool to utilize for tracking progress. However, it is extremely common to see people develop an unhealthy relationship with the scale and create an attachment to specific body weight values. While it’s normal to have this tendency to strive toward being a certain weight, it is encouraged to avoid any kind of emotional attachment to specific numbers on the scale as they are only data points. Weight gain on the scale could mean many different things such as:
Pure fat gain
Pure muscle gain
A combination of fat gain and muscle gain
Nonetheless, changes in body weight are easy to track and when combined with the other assessment tools outlined, it can provide some valuable insights and estimations.
For consistency purposes, it is recommended to track your body weight for 4 to 7 days per week at the same time of day. For the most accurate weigh-ins, it is suggested to weigh yourself as soon as you wake up, after using the bathroom and before drinking any water or eating any food. Additionally, is recommended to use a digital scale that is sensitive enough to measure in 0.2 pound increments. With 4 to 7 body weight measurements per week, you can calculate a weekly average and then compare that weekly average to future weekly averages to determine whether your weight is trending up or down over time. It is important to understand that daily weight fluctuations are completely normal and to be expected. This can be due to many variables: stress levels, water intake, sodium intake, carbohydrate intake, food volume, training the day prior, menstrual cycle (for women) and bowel movements can impact your body weight daily.
TOOL #2: MEASURING TAPE
A measuring tape can be used to obtain two important pieces of information: waist circumference and other body part measurements such as chest, shoulders, arms, legs, and calves.
Waist Circumference: A waist measurement will help indicate whether or not fat is being lost. For example, if your body weight is increasing but your waist circumference is decreasing, that is a highly reliable sign that you are building muscle while losing fat. To ensure consistency when taking waist measurements, measure at the belly button or the smallest site on your waist. Most importantly, be consistent with the measurement location over time. To avoid fluctuations due to water retention, it is suggested to take waist circumference measurements once per week and on the same day each week.
Other Body Part Measurements: When taking body part measurements, measure at the largest site on the muscle. For the legs, arms, and calves, be sure to record both a left and a right measurement. This will allow you to track any asymmetry and thereby modify your training to correct for imbalances. Similar to the scale, realize that body part measurements are not a perfect science. For example, many of these measurements may decrease, despite a gain in muscle to the area (if you happen to lose more fat from the area than you added muscle to the area). Overall, this information can be used to complement the body weight and waist measurements. Body part measurements can be taken once every one to three months when assessing muscular progress on specific areas or weak points.
TOOL #3: CAMERA (PROGRESS PHOTOS)
Rather than constantly checking yourself in the mirror (which can lead to false and inaccurate assessments), it is recommended to take progress photos at regular time intervals with consistent lighting and camera setup.
Same Time & Location: Take your photos at the same time and location each week. This helps with overall consistency.
Fasted: Photos are to be taken fasted - in the morning before food or fluid and after going to the bathroom if possible. A fasted physique is more reliable to make assessments and minimizes the influence of foods and fluids which can impact bloating and appearance.
Lighting: If possible, take your photos in natural light (facing sunlight) - place the camera between you and a window. Otherwise, take your photos with lighting in front of you such as bathroom lights. As a last resort, use overhead lighting and limit shadows as much as possible.
Position: Selfies and poorly lit photos will not work. Remember, the photos are to help assess changes and improvements. The camera should be ~6 ft away from you and at waist height. Only capture your head to feet in different poses (front, side, back) and use a self-timer or record a video and take screenshots.
It is recommended to take progress photos one to four times monthly.
SUMMARY
Comprehensively, each of these assessment tools is convenient to use and can provide valuable insights for tracking progress and making sure you're on target with your desired fitness goals (especially when utilizing all three).
What tools do you use to track your progress? Leave comments or questions below!
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