Success is a journey
Hello!
Welcome back to my blog, how is your training going? do you have a training goal at the moment? Are you on target?
If you don't have one, GET ONE! How will you know if all your hard work, time and hopefully sweat is worth it if you don't know WHY you are doing it?
In this blog i am going to discuss success, what does success mean to you?
What does success look or feel like? How will you know when you are successful?
Before starting a new training programme or routine you should ask yourself these questions. As hard as it may be to find the answers you have to concentrate and really think about it if you want to be successful.
How do you monitor success?
First things first, BIN THE SCALES! They say age is only a number, so is that figure on your scales, what does that number really mean? People get really down hearted if they don't see a big swing on the scales after a few weeks training, yes total weight is a good measure but it is not the be all and end all, it will not give you a true reflection of all the hard work you are putting into your training. If the number on the scales is the only reason you exercise then stop and re-assess your goals. There are more important benefits to exercising than a number on a scale.
The 3 ways i suggest you monitor your success are;
- PERFORMANCE
- FEEL
- LOOK
Performance
How are you performing? Are you running faster, cycling longer and lifting heavier? Yes? Then well done you are successful!
Performance is a great way to monitor success, if you can achieve a task more efficiently then you have improved, as you improve you will be able to perform tasks to a higher level, for example if at the start of your training programme you could only perform 1 full press up but by the end of the programme you can complete 10 full press ups with good technique then your performance has improved. This gives you a much better insight to how successful your training has been than a simple number on a set of scales.
Performance is how all top level athletes are monitored. Train like an athlete feel like a champion.
Feel
How do you feel? Do you feel fitter, healthier, less stressed or more able to complete daily tasks?
How you feel is completely personal way to monitor your success no one can tell you how you feel but you will know inside exactly how you are feeling.
Are you having more of those mornings when you wake up with a smile on your face, feeling good and ready for the day? Then the chances are high that you are on the road to success.
Look
How do you look? When you look in the mirror what do you see?
Monitoring changes in your appearance is another fantastic way to monitor success, you will be able to see whether you are losing inches, gaining muscle or looking more defined.
There is an urban myth that 'muscle weighs heavier than fat' WRONG!
1lb of muscle weighs exactly the same as 1lb of fat - Rob Lunn March 2012
The difference being muscle is denser than fat so takes up less space. This backs up why using total weight as a measure is not a great way to measure success and why you may notice changes in body shape but not a huge change in total weight.
You may also notice that you are fitting into an old pairs of jeans, your clothes are getting baggy or its time for a new wardrobe, another sign that your training plan is working and you are successful!
At the end of a 6 week training programme in which you have trained really hard, improved performance, started to feel better about yourself and noticed changes in your body shape in the mirror but when you step on the scales there is little or no change in your total weight! Are you unhappy? Hopefully not. Remember to monitor success in various ways don't get bogged down with total weight; it really is just a number.
Final thought.............Success is a journey, not a destination.
Remember to regularly reassess your goals to keep progressing and stay successful.
I would love to know your success stories connect to me via facebook, twitter or leave your comments below.
Thanks for reading.
Rob Lunn
Personal Trainer
as always Rob, you are very positive and its good to read your blogs regularly – especially when i feel i may not be doing so well with my training – but your right about the results, i was obsessed with the scales, now its the clothes that are showing me how much weight/inches i have lost.
cheers for the encouragement along the way 🙂
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