Curt's Fitness Journey

One thing I’ve learned over the past year is that keeping accurate data has been essential for me to stay on track and have the best chance for success.

There’s a couple reasons for this:

1. Merely knowing that I’m going to have record my fitness data keeps me motivated to exercise and eat healthy.  I don’t want to post something that doesn’t show that I’ve made progress.
2. It gives me something real to look at and reference down the road.  I’ve gone through numerous workout routines and diets without recording anything.  The sad reality is that I was making progress, but I didn’t really know it so I stopped being as dedicated.  I was looking at where I was in the moment and didn’t have anything to look back on and see that I’ve progressed.  Having that data to look back on and actually see the progress has helped me immensely to stay motivated and on track.
3. It’s actually fun to look back and see the progress that I’ve made.  It gives me a sense of accomplishment and helps me tell my own story in a sense which is something I really like.

So, if  you’re not keeping track of your progress yet, I highly suggest you start doing it NOW.  I can guarantee that simply by doing that, you will be much more likely to succeed than if you don’t.  I’m not sure of the actual statistics but I’d be willing to bet that you’ll be at least 3X more likely to achieve your goals than if you don’t.

Now, I’ve found that there’s more to your health and fitness progress than just getting your weight.  I think weight is really an arbitrary number that we’ve been conditioned to think is more important than it really is.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure it’s a great indicator for certain people of their progress but I hardly think it’s the be all and end all.

And it all depends on your goals anyway…

For me, there’s really only 2 things that I care about.  First is how I feel and second is how I look.  I really couldn’t care less if I was 500 pounds as long as I feel amazing and have a 6 pack .

With that being said, I understand that my weight is an important number to know but more importantly for me is my body fat percentage.

So this is what I do on a weekly basis to keep track of my progress:

1. Check my weight on the scale at the gym – it’s important that whichever scale you use to gather your weight, that you use the same one consistently.  It would be nice if they all had the same reading but unfortunately, I’ve found that they don’t
2. Check my body fat percentage – there’s a variety of ways that you can do this too.  I use this body fat monitor that you can pick up at Amazon for only 30 bucks.  Again, different devices will give you different readings, the important thing is to chose one option and use that consistently.
3. Take a picture of myself – Like I’ve mentioned, I’m a very visual person and as the saying goes, a picture tells a thousand words.  For me, this is of the utmost importance.  It gives me the ability to see the changes in my body over the course of time and it’s cool to be able to see that on a weekly basis.

That’s it.  Those are the 3 things that I do to track my progress and I can honestly say that by doing this, I’ve stayed on track and dedicated to my routine longer than I’ve ever been dedicated to anything before.

I hope that if you’re not getting cold hard data yet to track your progress that this post has inspired you to start and keeps you on track to achieve your goals!

Cheers!

-Curt