When embarking on a fitness journey, it’s common to rely solely on the bathroom scale to measure fitness progress. While weight loss is often a goal, this metric alone doesn’t give the full picture of one’s transformation. When progress slows or plateaus, it’s easy to become discouraged and frustrated, which can ultimately lead to abandoning the journey altogether. That’s why you need to follow other metrics during your fitness journey. Let’s explore why relying solely on the bathroom scale is detrimental to your overall success, and how incorporating other metrics can lead to lasting transformation.
Use Your Heart Rate as a Metric
One way exercise enhances health and fitness is by improving the health of your heart. Measuring cardiovascular endurance is a crucial component of fitness assessment. Resting heart rate, heart rate after a workout session, and heart rate variability are three significant measures to evaluate cardiovascular endurance.
Resting heart rate is the number of times your heart beats in a minute while at rest. A lower resting heart rate indicates a higher level of cardiovascular fitness. Your heart rate after a workout session is an excellent measure of how quickly your heart rate returns to its resting rate after exercise. The quicker your heart rate returns to normal, the more efficient your cardiovascular system is at delivering oxygen and nutrients to the tissues in your body.
Heart rate variability is a measure of the variation in time between each heartbeat. It reflects the body’s ability to adapt to different situations and stress levels. A higher heart rate variability indicates better cardiovascular health because it means your body can adjust to different demands and stressors effectively. These measures are particularly important for athletes and people with a high risk of heart disease.
By monitoring these measures, you can track your progress and make necessary adjustments to your training programs to improve your cardiovascular health and endurance. So, measuring resting heart rate, heart rate after a workout session, and heart rate variability are essential tools to evaluate cardiovascular endurance and maintain optimal health.
There are various methods to measure HRV, including wearable devices such as heart rate monitors, smartwatches, and fitness trackers. These devices use sensors to detect the electrical signals generated by the heart and calculate the interval between each heartbeat. The data these devices measure will give you an idea of your heart rate variability and provide insights into the body’s response to stress, exercise, and other factors.
Aerobic Capacity
Changes in aerobic capacity are also a way to determine fitness improvements. If you’re into fitness, you may have heard of VO2 max. It’s a measure of how efficiently your body uses oxygen during exercise and is often seen as an indicator of overall cardiovascular health. While VO2 max testing usually requires some high-tech equipment, there is a simpler way to estimate it: the 3-minute step test.
The 3-minute step test is a great option when you don’t have access to VO2 max testing facilities but still want to gauge your overall fitness level. All you need is a step (or a sturdy box) that’s about 16 inches high, a stopwatch, and a friend to help count your heartbeats. It’s a quick and easy test to perform, and with some basic calculations, you can get an estimate of your VO2 max. So why not give it a try and see how you stack up in terms of cardiovascular fitness?
Here’s how to do it:
- Begin by warming up your body with light exercises like marching in place or gentle jogging for about 5 minutes.
- To perform the test, step up and down on the platform continuously for 3 minutes, maintaining a consistent rhythm of 24 steps per minute (up, up, down, down).
- Once the 3 minutes are complete, immediately sit down and measure your heart rate for 1 minute. Locate your pulse at either your wrist or neck and count the beats you feel within that minute.
- Finally, refer to age-specific norms or reference charts to interpret your fitness level based on the post-test heart rate.
Use Strength Gains as a Metric
Another metric you should focus on more than the scale is strength gains. While shedding pounds can be a great goal, the scale isn’t the only measure of success. In fact, one metric you should focus on more than the number on the scale is strength gains. When you start lifting weights, you’ll likely see improvements in your strength relatively quickly. It’s a great feeling to be able to lift heavier weights or complete more reps than you could before, and this type of progress can help keep you motivated on your fitness journey.
Strength gains don’t just impact your physical abilities but can also improve your overall health and well-being. Building muscle helps boost your metabolism, allowing you to burn more calories at rest. This can make it easier to maintain a healthy weight in the long term. Additionally, stronger muscles can improve your posture, reduce your risk of injury, and even help with everyday tasks like carrying groceries.
Gains in Muscle Endurance
Another metric to follow to show you’re getting fitter is an increase in muscle endurance. This refers to the ability of your muscles to sustain activity over a period without experiencing fatigue or weakness. If you can perform more reps or hold a certain exercise position for longer periods, it’s a good sign that your muscle endurance is improving.
Improving your muscle endurance is beneficial for your overall fitness but can also enhance your performance in various physical activities. Whether you’re a runner, weightlifter, or just enjoy playing recreational sports, greater muscle endurance can help you perform better with less risk of injury.
One of the easiest ways is to perform a timed exercise, such as a plank or wall sit, and see how long you can hold the position and how you improve over time. You can do this without any equipment, and it can be a fun challenge to do with friends or family members. You can even make a game out of it and see who can hold the position for the longest time.
Another way to measure muscle endurance is to perform as many repetitions of an exercise as possible within a set amount of time. For example, you could do as many push-ups as possible in one minute, or as many squats as possible in two minutes. This can be a great way to track your progress and see how your muscle endurance improves over time.
Just use proper form and technique to avoid injury and get the most accurate results. Overall, measuring muscle endurance can be a fun and motivating way to track your fitness progress and challenge yourself to improve.
How You Feel
Sure, losing weight is great, but if we’re not feeling strong, energized, and healthy, then what’s the point? That’s why it’s important to tune in to how your body responds to your diet and exercise routine. Are you feeling more energized after a workout? Are you sleeping better at night? Are you noticing improvements in your skin, hair, and nails? These are all signs that your body is responding positively to our efforts.
So, don’t get too caught up in the numbers on the scale. Instead, pay attention to how your body feels. Celebrate the small victories, like being able to run a little further or lift a little heavier and let those be the motivation to keep going. Remember, health and wellness are a journey, not a destination. So enjoy the process and trust that your body knows what it needs to thrive.
Conclusion
Relying solely on the bathroom scale to measure fitness progress can lead to frustration and discouragement. Expanding measuring sticks to include other metrics, such as cardiovascular endurance, strength, and overall fitness, can lead to lasting transformation and greater appreciation for fitness. So don’t let the bathroom scale define your fitness journey – expand your measuring sticks and see where your fitness journey takes you.
References:
- “Muscular Endurance: Exercises and How to Measure – GymBet.” 22 Feb. 2022, https://gymbet.app/muscular-endurance-exercises-and-how-to-measure/.
- “Association of Heart Rate Variability With Cognitive Performance: The ….” 21 Mar. 2020, https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.119.013827.
- “Your resting heart rate can reflect your current and future health.” 16 Nov. 2021, https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/your-resting-heart-rate-can-reflect-your-current-and-future-health-201606172482.
- “Elevated resting heart rate, physical fitness and all-cause mortality ….” https://heart.bmj.com/content/99/12/882.
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