Weight Loss: Take It One Step at A Time
When we set out to do something, we usually (as we always should) have a picture of what it would be like once we accomplish what we are trying to do. “Begin with the end in mind”, as Covey wrote in “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”. An exercise program is no exception to this. Everyone who starts to work out has a goal, either to lose weight or build his/her physique.
But people seem to know only where they want to be at, most do not have an idea how to get there and how to ensure that they are indeed on their way to a better body. We have contrasting ideas on how to track our progress, and some of these ideas can actually mislead us into thinking that we are on our way to our goal. For gym goers, progress could be any one of the following: weight lost, amount of muscle gained, increase or decrease in inches on any part of the body, and many others.
There are two accurate ways to measure how well our workout is going. These would be to track our progress when it comes to the number of repetitions and the amount of weight we can lift.
For example, during week 1 of working out, a person can lift 20 lbs. for 10 repetitions. On the second week, that person lifts the same weight for 12 repetitions. This would amount to a 20% increase in repetitions. Another example would be a person lifting 20. lbs for 5 repetitions on the first week of working out. The following week, he is able to lift 25 lbs. for 5 repetitions. This represents a 25% upgrade in the amount of weight lifted.
Not a few people ignore these techniques of measuring progress. That’s because it is something that you cannot verify using a tape measure or by looking at the mirror. But what we should realize is that the fact that we are able to lift more is a sign that our muscles are getting stronger. And stronger muscles equates to increased metabolism, enabling our body to burn more fat. This will ultimately lead us to achieving our goals, whether to get healthier or just to fit into a smaller clothing size.
It is recommended to keep a notebook and track our week by week progress in our workout. It is best to check on that notebook from time to time for us to see how well our workout is going.
Before you know it, you have already achieved your goal: a lot of burned fat leading to a leaner body.
It doesn’t have to happen overnight, take it one step at a time. Those little steps of lifting a few pounds repeatedly will eventually result to strong muscles and lesser fat.
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