Traveling from East to West. Am I Making Progress?

Have you ever asked yourself that question?

I know when I am driving out to Nancy parents home in Indiana, across states like New York or Pennsylvania which take 6 or 7 hours to traverse, that question pops into my mind a lot.

Now that may not make a lot of sense, because I know that I am traveling from east to west at somewhere relatively close to the speed limit.

It’s just that it doesn’t seem like I am getting anywhere very fast. My GPS shows me I am moving, but I just don’t feel like I am making progress.

Ever felt like that with your training?

You have some vague sense that something good is happening, but you can’t quite tell what it is?

It doesn’t have to be that way. There are many objective measures that tell us we are making progress on this health and fitness journey.

Blood Markers

There are some basic tests that can give us a great idea of the state of our health and measure improvements.

• Cholesterol (HDL/LDL)
• Triglycerides
• Fasting Insulin
• Hemoglobin A1C (blood sugar)
• C-Reactive Protein (systemic inflammation)

I cannot tell you how many times an excited client has come back and said how thrilled they (and their doctor) was at their latest results. Talk to your doc about these tests and what they mean for you.

Blood Pressure/Resting Heart Rate

Heart rate monitors are relatively inexpensive as well as easy to use. Blood pressure is also pretty easy to get tested at your doctors or a lot of local pharmacies. We look for a RHR <60 as a general indicator of cardiac health, and it’s pretty easy to measure once a week to see what is going on in that regard. You can also get really fancy with a piece of equipment I have been testing called the BioForce HRV, which not only measure heart rate but how you are actually recovering on a daily basis from your training.

Body Composition

I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to get your body comp done on a regular basis. We use the BodyMetrix ultrasound system, generally using a 3 point test. It only takes a few minutes and is the only proper way to figure out what is really “going on”  as far as lean tissue/fat ratio.

Let me say it again: The bathroom scale and BMI are stupid. They do not and cannot objectively measure your lean/fat ratio, and that is what counts.

I have done 3 body comps on female clients over the last two days. Only one of them had lost weight. ALL of them had lost bodyfat! Net muscle gain + net fat loss = big time success.

You see you can lose 10 pounds, but if it is all muscle you realize you just got fatter, right? That is a fool’s game.

The clients that have the most success are those that regularly have their body comp tested, every 4 to 6 weeks.

Why are they successful?

Number one they are holding themselves accountable, which is huge.

Number two we can make outcome based decisions based on the results. If progress slows, halts or even reverses, we can adjust our nutrition intervention and start moving in the right direction again.

You can make an appointment online here, so just do it!

Training Markers

There are many different ways we can assess physical progress, both objective and subjective. We know we want to get stronger, which is why we have traditionally assessed performance on “achievement day”, which has evolved over the years in the way we assess both strength and metabolic performance.

But on a regular basis you can also do some self assessment. Are you actively seeking to increase loading when appropriate? Are your  skills improving on movements and patterns? Are you working with more intensity, longer? While these may be subjective, they are still important markers.

I Feel Good!

I admit it. We really stink at getting before and after photos. Part of it is because a lot of you want no part of a before, and while we respect that it is more important that you see where you have come from. Gonna get better at that.

But there are some “feel good” ways to measure progress too. Your pants are looser, you dropped a dress size (or two), your friend start telling you how great you look. Maybe even the mirror isn’t as nasty as it used to be. These are all good things!

So don’t think in 1000 mile chunks from NH to Indiana.

Maybe hitting the VT/NY border is losing that first 5 pounds of bodyfat. When you get into Ohio you are deadlifting 1 1/2 times your bodyweight. And home sweet home in Indiana is fitting back into your wedding dress.

But the journey doesn’t stop there.

Because the journey doesn’t stop until your heart stops beating. 🙂

So don’t wait to celebrate just the “big” stuff.

Be proud of putting one more mile on the odometer and keeping the foot on the accelerator.

Keep making progress.

And Keep Making It Happen!

Coach Dean