We will be measuring your progress by having you weigh in during the first and last workshop of the 8 Week Transformation Challenge.  The most important way to measure your progress though is whether or not your quality of life has improved.  We will also be preforming a movement screening assessment on April 11th to determine if you have any muscle imbalances or dysfunctional movement patterns that we need to address. This is important because once you know what you need to work on to improve your movement patterns, you will be able to workout safely and effectively.

There are numerous ways to measure progress with your workouts and nutrition.  First and foremost, are you feeling better?  If so, then that is the first step.  If you feel better, then you can work harder and get even better results.  Take a look at things like sleep, mood, and energy levels during the day to see if you are feeling better after doing your workouts.

If you are a stickler for the scale, then you should weigh yourself only once per week on the same day.  We prefer Monday weigh-ins because it holds you accountable for the weekend.  If you have to think about weighing in on Monday, then you might not grab that double cheeseburger or glass of wine on Saturday night.  You should also weigh in under the same circumstances each and every time.  So, same time, same day, and after not eating much.  The best time to weigh in is right after waking and using the restroom with the same or no clothes on.  Keeping a log is a great way to track progress.

There are also some measurements that we generally take to check for progress, but we are going to leave it up to you to keep track of your circumference measurements.  We typically measure the upper right arm, neck, chest, waist, hips, thighs, and calves.  All measurements are to be done to the nearest ¼ inch.

Upper Arm – Your upper arm is measured in the direct middle of the arm, midway between your elbow and shoulder. Be sure the tape measure is not twisted and that is parallel to the ground when measuring.

Waist – The waist circumference is measured at the smallest girth of the waist or midway between your bottom rib and your navel.  Be sure the tape measure is not twisted and is parallel to the ground when measuring.

Abdomen/Belly Button – Measure the girth of your waist area directly across your belly button.  Make sure that the tape measure is parallel to the ground.

Hip – The hip circumference is measured around the largest girth of the buttocks.  Be sure the tape measure is not twisted and is parallel to the ground when measuring.

Thigh – The thigh circumference is measured in the exact middle of the thigh mid-way between your patella (kneecap) and your hip joint.  Be sure the measuring tape is level to the ground.  It is best to measure on skin in order to provide a more accurate reading.  Be sure that the measuring tape is snug against the body, but not too snug as to cause a false measurement.

Check your clothes!  How are your normal jeans or shirts fitting?  What about your belt?  Are you noticing that your clothes are getting loose or does your belt need to be tightened?  If so, then you are losing fat.  That is what we are really after.

Finally, everyone’s favorite:  before pictures.  If you take a good before picture, then you will be able to compare photos and have a great success story ready to go when you lose all your fat and look great!  To take a good before photo and wear something that shows off your faults and areas for improvment.  You want to take it in as little clothing as possible, such as a swim suit or something that shows your stomach, so that you can get an accurate assessment.  You will want to stand tall and look straight ahead.  Take one photo from the front and one from the side.  If your clothes are fitting better or more loosely, then your measurements are headed in the right direction and the photos are showing changes.  We could really care less about what the scale says.

It is important to know where you are starting and where you want to go to make great progress.  These starting measurements will help you to set a goal for yourself.   Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help you.  We are here to serve you!