What Gets Tracked Gets Transformed
There are so many different ways to track progress - the scale, the measuring tape, how winded are you when going up the stairs, joint pain, how your clothes fit, how you feel; the options are numerous. Sadly, most people rely only on the least valuable tool; the scale. To help you take your focus off the scale alone and focus on body composition and what your body can do (your abilities and capabilities), we do monthly Member Check-Ins. We use the tape and scale to measure the amount of fat you are losing, as well as Fitness Check-Ins to see what you’re physically able to do. It’s an important reminder to see how far you’ve come since you started with us, as sometimes this progress can seem slow in this regard.
Plain and simple; What gets tracked gets transformed. If we are detailing things like our measurements and physical abilities, we tend to give them more attention and see even further progress - and who doesn’t want to see progress?!
Why Body Measurements?
The body is complex and using only a scale to track progress is doing a disservice to both your body and the changes you are making to it. While the scale fluctuates daily, the tape measure is a more consistent and accurate measurement of the body composition changes you are making.
The scale can fluctuate for many physiological reasons, some including water intake, inflammation from medication, water retention from increased sodium intake, bowel movements, inflammation from increased sugar intake, and cycle changes for women, to name a few. Why would we rely on something so erratic as a measure of our progress?
The measurements we take are more accurate because as we burn fat, our body visibly shrinks. That’s why your pants feel looser, and your rings are slipping off. We know you are losing fat, and not just inflammation or water weight by tracking your body size.
The first Thursday of each month, we encourage you to take advantage of Member Check-In Day so you can keep track of your progress! You can drop into Encompass during the specified times, or, you can track this on your own from the comfort of your home in your Wellness Living Achieve App under the “transformation log”. This way, you will always have access to your progress. A video outlining how to do your own measurements is on the Co.Fit website. Don’t underestimate the power of taking, tracking, and transforming your body with this tool. We recommend uploading:
A monthly progress photo (for your eyes only - you’ll be amazed at what a physical comparison will show!)
Measurements (Bust, Arms, Waist, Abdomen, Hips, Thighs in inches)
Weight (pounds)
Why Physical Testing?
As mentioned above, it’s also important to test where your physical fitness is at. We want to ensure you are continuing to challenge yourself and that our programming is leading to an increase in your physical fitness and abilities. It’s so encouraging to see the improvement in your abilities in your time with Encompass.
Every 8 weeks, we will monitor your progress during class sessions. You can also monitor this from the comfort of your own home with the below tutorials. Note, this is in no way a measure of how “successful” or “worthy” you are. It is simply data that allows you to see where you are making improvements in your fitness, and where you may like extra support with a personalized session, or to increase the weights used or your perceived effort.
To complete the fitness “check-in” part of your tracking, you will need a timer available (set for one minute - you may want someone to assist you with timing/counting to help).
For your fitness check in, you will want to complete:
One minute of push ups
One minute of sit ups (or crunches)
A cardiovascular test
Push Ups: You will track the number of push ups you do from your knees or your toes. If you start from your toes and then move to knees, ensure you count the number of reps you do from EACH position.
*Use an apple to help ensure we are accurately counting reps. Men and small chested women will touch the chest to the apple on each rep. For D+ chest sizes, touch the chest to the floor.
Sit Ups: Put your feet against the wall. Count the # of full sit ups or crunches you do. Do not change the type that you are doing; start AND finish with either crunch or full sit up.
Where can you track your progress?
You can track all of your body composition and fitness measurements in your Wellness Living Achieve app under the Transformation Log tab. To access the Transformation Log, log in to Wellness Living —> go to your initials or photo —> open the transformation log —> select the blue “enter new transformation log” button. Here, you will replace the current values (don’t worry - they are already saved!) as well as your physical fitness (sit ups, push ups, and density training).
If you aren’t familiar with taking your own measurements, watch this short video.