How to Track Your Body Progress
Tracking Your Body Progress
After choosing your workouts and tracking the foods you eat, it’s also a great idea to keep track of how your body changes throughout your training plan. Weight loss is the most common way we measure fitness progress, but there are other ways you can measure your success, including:
- Weight + Body fat
- Precise (“pinched”) Body fat
- Body part measurements
- The way your clothes fit
- Before & after appearance
Track Your Weight / Body Fat
Make sure you have a digital scale that measures your body fat percentage. Even though the impedance technology it uses isn’t always 100% accurate, it can help you track relative increases or decreases in body fat. If you weighed in at 42% body fat, 6 months ago, and now the same scale ready 25%… you’ve made progress.
For quick body fat reading, a lot of personal trainers use a convenient Omron fat loss reader to monitor general client progress. Again, it isn’t always 100% accurate, but it is pretty consistent. This device can make tracking your relative changes over time a lot simpler. Just make sure you always get your readings at the same time, in the same conditions, every check-in. I suggest early Sunday morning, before you eat, and right after you use the bathroom.
Track Your Body Fat (More Accurately)
As soon as you can, pick up a skinfold caliper for more precise body fat measurements. Most of them are fairly simple to use and include detailed instructions for calculating your percentage.
Here’s one example of a 4-site body fat measurement for women:
Track Your Body Measurements
Use a normal measuring tape to track how your fitness progress has changed the shape of your body. Use the visual guide below to find the correct tape location for each key measurement.
Try On Your Clothes
I always suggest finding or buying a pair of “TEST PANTS” to use as motivation throughout your plan. Fighting for numbers on the scale can be a frustrating battle. As you get in better shape, you may actually gain muscle which can “technically” offset some of the weight you lose in fat. The scale may not move as much as you want it to at time. But despite what electronic readings may show, fitting into a pair of pants that you couldn’t possible wear 6 months ago is one of the best signs of progress you can find. Pick out YOUR “Test Pants” or “Test Shirt” immediately.
Take Off Your Clothes
Make sure you track what your body looks like without clothes as well! Grab your camera phone, a pair of shorts (men) or a sports bra & bottoms (women) and take pictures. Be sure to get shots from 3 angles: front, side and back. Even if you don’t share the progress pics publicly, you need to see them for yourself!
Take a Before Pic, then take progress pics every 1-2 weeks until you hit your goal. 
Any other Questions?
Hopefully this info was helpful. Let me know if you have any other questions at: rez@drxve.com