TRACKING TOOLS

We have a number of useful tools available to us for tracking our progress with weight loss as well as health, recovery and fitness. Some are well known and commonly used such as body weight and others less well known and infrequently used. I’ll cover a few of these tools here today.

Basic weekly tracking tools for general weight loss progress are weighing in on the scales once a week. By monitoring body weight weekly we are staying accountable to the plan we are on. We burn body fat faster than we build muscle. So if we’re doing the right thing with our nutrition and exercise we will see reduction on the scales weekly regardless of any increase in muscle mass. So don’t misjudge a lack of weight loss as successfully building muscle, rather as an indication we need to tweak something to get back on track.

Measurements are the second tracking tool to use weekly. This will show us where we’re losing the body fat and also eventually where we’re building the muscle.

Pictures are the third tool to use for weekly tracking. There are huge changes in the body over a 7 day period when you are eating and training correctly. Comparing body shots from week to week and from current week to the starting week is not only vital for monitoring success and managing accountability but also a huge emotional and mental encouragement to see how amazingly you’re doing along the way.

The fourth and last basic monitoring, tracking tool is how you’re feeling symptomatically and within your body, mind and clothes. Keep a diary of all the week to week changes and improvements.

From here the tracking tools become more advanced and require devices such as a Garmin smart watch and heart rate monitor. If we use a Garmin watch to track all our training and recovery after a period of time we can gain access to data that can show us the areas we’re doing well in and guide us to where we need to do better.

Some of these measurements include; HRV, Sleep score, Body battery, Training Status, Load Focus, Recovery and VO2 Max. These are all available on both your watch and your Garmin app. They act as a great guide towards your training load, intensity and recovery as well as how well your sleep and stress is enabling you to recover which has a huge affect on your health and the progress of your fitness. 

When your sole or main focus is weight loss or fat loss, it is imperative that your health, heart, stress and sleep are all recording good values in order for your metabolism to work optimally and your body to successfully burn and release the body fat.

If you use a Garmin and are interested in these functions and tracking tools but have no idea where to start, drop me a message and I’ll go through yours with you.

Happy Training!!