When many people think about working with a personal trainer, they think about doing so to lose weight. Working toward this goal can involve weekly weigh-ins to assess your progress. However, your weight isn't the only way that you can measure your progress when you're working with a personal trainer. In fact, it might not be the best way — if you're also doing weight training, you could be gaining muscle mass as you lose fat. The result could mean that your body weight isn't as low as you'd like as a result of your increased muscle mass. If you're looking for other ways to measure your progress when you work with a personal trainer, here are some suggestions.
Body Fat Percentage
Tracking your body fat percentage is an effective way to measure your progress when you're working out. During your first personal training session, your trainer will use a special set of calipers to measure the fat in different areas throughout your body. This might be an exercise that makes you feel embarrassed, but you'll soon be burning fat to change your body. At regular intervals, your personal trainer will again measure the fat in the same areas and report the difference between your first session and the most recent one.
Body Part Measurements
Your personal trainer may also wish to measure certain body parts with a measuring tape. This method may seem rudimentary, but it can be an effective way to demonstrate to you that you're making progress. Your trainer will initially measure several areas and note the findings, and then measure these same areas at regular intervals. The measurements will show the progress that may not always be evident to the naked eye. For example, you may lose an inch around your upper thigh after a length of time — this might not be evident when you look in the mirror, but the numbers don't lie.
Performance Measurements
A completely different approach that some personal trainers take is to time your speed during certain activities early on, and then do so after a certain amount of time has elapsed. For example, you might be tested with the box-jump exercise; the trainer will not how high you can jump during your first workout together. Then, after you've performed a series of exercises over several weeks that should help you with this exercise, you'll perform it again. In most cases, you should be able to jump significantly higher than before. Contact a fitness center, like Paragon Strength and Fitness, for help.
Share17 September 2017
When I was sixteen-years-old, I began exercising regularly. Working out completely changed my life. I lost 30 pounds. My energy and endurance drastically improved. I became happier and more confident. Do you desperately desire to do something to make your life better? Consider beginning an exercise routine. Be sure to incorporate both cardiovascular and strength-training workouts into your plan. Great cardiovascular exercises include walking, swimming, and elliptical training. Squats, chest presses, and biceps curls are effective strength-training moves. On this blog, I hope you will discover how exercising can help you become the person you’ve always wanted to be. Enjoy!