So, hopefully you have started working out in some way, shape, or form. If you haven't then you're about to, right? Everyone is enjoying the warmer weather and obviously that means that we'll all be wearing clothing that covers less of our bodies than during the winter months. You're motivated to look as good as you did last year at a minimum but hopefully you strive for something better. Alright, that's the spirit!
The most important time (and when I say things like this it's obviously in my opinion) for people who are just starting to workout or be active again is in the beginning. K? K! This is when most people either get into a groove or get frustrated and give it up after a short time. That's why I think that its important for you to set realistic goals for yourself and to track your progress over the weeks and months to come. In this day and age of high tech gadgets and the Internet you have a lot of options for doing this. I'll cover a few that I came up with and that I recommend.
- Tape Measure - Depending on your body composition the tape measure may be the best piece of equipment you use to stay motivated and keep track of your progress. Often times inches come off faster than pounds so be sure and take your measurements before you start a fitness program or begin training for a target race. Obviously, if you're already a pretty fit person you won't see as big a change here so you'll need to look elsewhere for results.
- Scale - Again, as with the tape measure if you're already pretty fit your weight won't fluctuate all that much from week to week. My weight hasn't changed more than 3-4 pounds in the past year or two. Granted its likely to go down a few more pounds as my marathon training kicks into high gear but nothing crazy. If you have a scale handy and want to keep track of your weight you should do it first thing in the morning for the most accurate results and consistency.
- "Home course" - You're like whaaaaaaaat? This is only for people who are running/cycling/walking, etc. You probably have or soon will have a route that you run (we're going to assume you're running for ease of discussion) with regularity. So, an easy way to gauge your progress is to run that same course week after week and watch yourself get faster or less fatigued over time. You'll want to buy a sports watch for this purpose. There are good watches at Target for less than $30.00.
- dailymile (website) - I wrote a post about this website a month or so ago so check it out. Basically, it allows friends to motivate each other in their fitness pursuits. I don't really use it to keep track of my training but it can definitely be used for that as it keeps running totals of your mileage week to week. Even if you're doing Zumba classes, lifting weights, or walking, put it down. It all counts and it all adds up!
- Heart rate - This is a more advanced way of tracking your fitness level and would probably not motivate you to "keep at it". "Oh joy, my resting heart rate dropped 3 beats per minute (bpm) last month!!!". If this floats your boat then you'll need a heart rate monitor, semi-fancy watch with a heart rate strap, or you can just take your pulse for a crude measurement. More serious athletes use this information to track their fitness level and know what heart rate zones to train in. That is a topic for another day. An easier guage of fitness level is resting heart rate. Taking your heart rate as soon as you get up, even before you get out of bed. I haven't taken mine in a while... I think I'll do it tomorrow and update the blog then. Lance Armstrong in his prime sported a resting heart rate in the high 30's. Very impressive if you're a numbers geek like me! What it basically means is that you could be running all out and he'd be jogging next to you speaking in complete sentences laughing at you :-)
Anyway, I think its very important to write your work-outs down, times, dates, how you felt, etc. That way you have something to look back at to see what you've accomplished. Consequently, if you're like me you can look back and see where you messed up and how you got injured. I recommend taking your measurements, weight, running your home course, heart rate, whatever..... once a week. Write it down, log it, do something! You'll be glad you did, trust me.
