Pillars of Measuring Your Progress
Many people by nature have an ingrained desire to grow, evolve and strive for self-improvement and continual progress across various of areas of life, whether it be in our personal lives and relationships, professional growth, or health and wellbeing.
We are all capable of making positive changes and growth, you just need to get clear on what you want to achieve and know where to begin.
Your health and fitness journey is completely unique to you, and that includes the time frame in which you'll start to feel changes and notice progress towards your goals.
It's important to remember that progress is something that takes time, dedication, and consistency, so don't expect to feel the difference immediately. Like Rachel Dillon always says, "little by little, a little becomes a lot", so focus on your efforts and actions day-by-day, and learn to manage your fitness journey expectations.
If you're purely focused on the physical results, you'll soon realise that your progress actually goes far beyond the external changes you make. You'll notice a shift in your mindset, your confidence, and how your inner health manifests into other aspects of your life.
Your fitness journey and progress is unique to you
Choose tracking methods that reflect your goals
For example, if one of your main goals is to hit a new personal best in your Hip Thrusts, then your progress should be measured by your strength and your weights increasing, and setting time to regularly test and track your abilities each week.
If you didn't already know, the MWU App has a Workout Tracker feature where you can leave notes on your performance and add your PBs for weight, reps, and sets for each exercise. Simply click into the individual exercise and scroll down to add your Workout Tracker.
Another great way to track progress and encourage positive changes is to take progress videos throughout your journey. Whether that's filming your workouts to check your technique, or taking a video update of your physique, this will allow you really assess where you're at and where you can focus on making improvements.
Check out Move With Us ambassador @lannamcneilll's impressive progress in her pull ups through her challenge experience.
Lanna shared that her journey with MWU has helped her change more than the way she looks. She's built strength, gained confidence, improved her relationship with nutrition, and developed positive new habits in her lifestyle.
Why the scales aren't the best indicator of progress
Having weight loss or weight gain as your goal is completely fine, but rather than getting caught up on achieving a particular weight on the scales, direct your energy and attention to other pillars of success.
Some other indicators of making positive progress include having more energy, feeling more confident in your skin, getting better sleep, or feeling fitter and stronger.
Tips on taking progress pictures
At Move With Us we strongly encourage our clients to take progress pictures to measure your physical progress over time.
Before you get started with taking your pictures, here's some tips to ensure you’re making the most of this process and feeling confident the whole way through.
We know it can be daunting to measure your progress, but you should be so proud of yourself wherever you are in your journey, and look forward to where you're going.
- Choose some activewear or an outfit that you feel comfortable and confident in. If possible, try to wear the same outfit in your after photos for a more accurate measure of progress.
- Take a deep breath, relax into a natural pose, and remember to smile! Try to stand tall with your shoulders back, and even try a few poses to flaunt your shape. Rachel shares her top posing tips and most flattering angles:
- If you don't have someone to take your photos, flip your camera to selfie mode and use the self-timer to get into position.
- Another option is to record yourself going through your poses, holding a pose to the front, the side and to the back. When you play the video back, you’ll be able to take screenshots of each angle.
- The background and lighting of your photos can make all the difference! Choose an area with a non-distracting background with good natural lighting. Artificial overhead lighting or harsh fluorescent lights can create defined shadows and be quite unflattering.
Here's some examples of inspiring progress photos our community have taken. We love to see you glowing and confident at all stages of your journey.
Don't be shy about sharing your wins and personal milestones!
We love to follow along your journey and see how you're progressing throughout your program. Tell us about your journey, your wins, your challenges, and why you're proud of yourself. Our team and our community are here to celebrate you and cheer you on every step of the way.
The Move With Us Community Forum is a safe and supportive place for likeminded women on their fitness journey to share their journey, ask for advice, and motivate and connect with one-another. If you're not already a member, you can join our global community of over 85,000 strong and inspiring women here.
If you're participating in our BBS Challenge, remember to post your progress on socials and hashtag #bbschallenge & tag @movewithus.
You can share your progress in any way that you choose - whether that's before and after photos, sweaty selfies after smashing a workout, improvements in your training videos, trying new recipes, or gaining new nutrition habits.
So no matter what your goals are and wherever you are on your journey, remember to trust the process, choose relevant methods to track your progress, and celebrate all the amazing changes you're making, beyond just the physical.
Remember, small progress is still progress! We can’t wait to see what you achieve.
