- Photos
Before you embark on your fitness journey, take photos of yourself. This is to provide reference and to see how your body changes over time. Every week, take pictures and see how you differ from when you started. You may not see much change if the first few weeks, but it will end up being a bigger difference later on. The type of photos you take are dependent on what you’re working on. If you’re only going to work on your biceps, take close-up photos of just your biceps. If you’re trying to lose weight take photos of your whole self. Always try to keep the subject the same distance from the camera as different lengths can make things seem bigger or smaller. Photos are great because once you reach your desired body, you can look back and see how far you’ve come.
- Scales
This form of measurement is especially useful for those trying to lose weight, but it can also be good for those trying to gain it. Buy some scales (we’ve got heaps at Smartfit Electronics) or use the ones you’ve already got and weigh yourself. In a notebook, write down your initial starting weight and then measure every week after. This shows you how well you’re going as it is not just pictures, but rather an exact measurement. For gaining muscle, you can do this but for gaining weight. Unless you have a very fancy scale, you won’t know if what you’re gaining is muscle or fat but other methods can help with this. If you’re trying to lose fat and gain muscle, this is not the best way to track alone, but used in conjunction with other ways can prove beneficial.
- Another person
Even if you have changed, sometimes you can’t see the difference by yourself. This can lead many people to quit as they aren’t seeing the results, even after a fair while.This is why having another person to comment on how you are going is a good idea. Make it someone you can trust and who will take it seriously, there’s nothing worse than someone who’s going to fool around. A fresh set of eyes can usually see your progress more true to what it actually is. This can turn a ‘nothing’s happening’ attitude upside down and motivate you to carry on and improve. You may also notice an increase in compliments from others from your fitness which shows that you are progressing well.You can also use another person as an accountability partner who will remind you to keep going even when you want to quit, which will lead you to do even more than you thought.
- Measuring tape
This is similar to scales in that you are getting an exact measure. However, instead of weight, you are measuring length/width. The good thing about a measuring tape is that you can measure individual body parts which is optimal if you want to only work on a few things. If you’re wanting to lose weight, measure your waistline and write a note. Then like the scales, update it every week. You will slowly see your progress take off and how well you are doing each week. This can be better compared to photos as your eyes can not deceive you and you will see the real evidence. Measuring tapes are great because they can be used for many different things. They are definitely one of the best for measuring muscle growth in a specific region e.g biceps rather than overall muscle growth.
- Fitness tracking watch
Fitness and smart watches like the ones sold right here are easily one of the best and simple ways to measure your fitness. They can track steps, calories burned, heart rate, blood pressure and a multitude of other factors to help you see your progress. Many also have a mobile and/or desktop app to see your progress in more depth. Another advantage to fitness/smart watches is that you can track your progress while doing your exercise. By simply looking down at your wrist you can see things like how many kilometers/miles and figure out how much more you should do. In conjunction with other fitness tracking solutions, a fitness watch is a no-brainer for anyone who wants to take fitness seriously. To properly track using a fitness watch, log a measurement e.g steps each day in a notebook. Try to increase your number of steps each day and you’ll be healthier in no time. The apps for some watches do this automatically and make it very simple to see how you’re improving.