People in the fitness world can quickly become obsessed with tracking. From watching calories and macros to improving watts on a spin bike session to increasing the load on weight machines, there are so many different metrics to keep track of when it comes to physical fitness. Should you bother, or will all that work amount to nothing? After all, whether or not you record it, doesn’t it still happen the same way?
Measuring progress is one of the most important reasons why we track in the studio. It’s much more difficult to improve when you aren’t tracking simply because you have no benchmark for what “improvement” even is! We’re going to unpack everything you need to know about the importance of measuring progress in exercise and training, so keep reading to learn why tracking is the secret to success in your fitness goals.
Why diets and training programs fail
You know ten times more people who have failed on a diet than those who succeeded. And why is that? If we all want to look better and feel better, then how come motivation doesn’t equal results?
Diets and training programs fail because of either a lack of resources or a lack of consistency. And the biggest driver of consistency is accountability. Tracking your progress with the help of an app or a personal trainer creates tangible consequences for diverting off a diet or a training program.
Accountability and consistency go hand in hand, which is why we’re obsessed with accountability practices at The Smart Fit Method. Whether it’s the weekly texts from your personal trainer, the accountability features in your Smart Fit app, or the knowledge that your monthly Smart Scan check-in is close, we know that only by hammering consistency can we see results.
How to track progress using technology
The Smart Fit Method’s accountability practices are rooted in great progress tracking measurements assisted by technology and AI. Here are some examples of how we track progress using technology.
Smart Scan - a 3D infrared scanner to assess body composition
Smart Strength - ARX training technology displays strength training data
Smart Ride - tracking of watts, energy expenditure, FTP and VO2 Max
App Attendance - integrated scheduling app counts your studio visits each week
When you have an AI assist with measuring your strength training data and a Smart Scanner tracking your body composition, the days of writing your weights and your waist measurement down in a notebook are over. With human error out of the equation, nothing is holding you back from the most accurate snapshot of your current health and fitness levels at any point in time.
Another great recommendation is using AI-assisted nutrition tracking like Dr. Layne Norton’s Carbon app. It’s superior to other diet-tracking apps and products because it uses an AI “coach” that analyzes your weight trends over time to calculate metabolism.
Interested in trying out our AI-assisted progress tracking for yourself? Book your first session for free and experience the Smart Fit Method difference.
Why body scanning beats scales every time
Human error can be a frustrating element in your personal progress tracking. The old technology is notorious for driving trainees crazy, especially the dreaded weight scale. Tracking your body weight with a scale is probably the absolute worst way to go about measuring your progress, and here’s why.
Body weight scales don’t differentiate between your lean mass and your fat mass in their calculation. When you step on a scale, you don’t know how much of that number is the good stuff vs. the bad stuff. Lean mass is critical for both longevity and aesthetics. You don’t want to diet away muscle.
If all you see is 180, and you know you want to be 150, you’ll probably end up making the single most common diet and nutrition mistake out there. To avoid that, keep reading to learn about the importance of muscle, the fat-burning engine in your body.
The importance of muscle - why we use a Smart Body Scan
When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. This old saying applies to losing weight, too. When all you have is a scale, all signs point to cutting calories.
When you’re measuring body weight on a scale, you must cut your calories to watch that number go down, but without feedback on whether you’re losing fat or muscle, you can’t recalibrate your nutrition before it’s too late. Losing muscle damages your metabolism and is one of the many reasons for aging.
Damaging your metabolism is a horrible problem to have, and unfortunately, many of our trainees at Smart Fit come to us after decades of crash dieting. When you lose muscle, ultimately, that means you’re going to regain the fat like 80% of dieters according to both the NIH and Michigan Medicine.
Ready to break out of this vicious cycle of weight regain? Get started with a free consultation at The Smart Fit Method and access the powerful weight loss tool that is the Smart Scan.
How often should you get a body composition scan done?
Body scan technologies like a DEXA, Fit3D scan, or other brands are certainly better than the plain old weight scale. But how often should you get a body scan done?
Consistent tracking is key, so The Smart Fit Method recommends measuring with a body composition scan once every 28 days. InBody recommends 2-4 weeks and DEXA scans are recommended by doctors annually. If you don’t have consistent access, use a regular scale in between your scans to record weight.
Smart Fit Method clients are encouraged to complete a Smart Scan every 28 days to ensure clients remain on course for their goals, and those results are automatically uploaded to their interactive app. Their data is tracked so they can see their progress from baseline and any fluctuations.
Scanning more often is not necessarily an issue, but scanning less often definitely is. Regular check-ins can catch problematic training or nutrition behaviors before they become full-blown problems.
Measuring progress with The Smart Fit Method
If we can measure it, we can improve it. Accurate measurements provide a baseline for our personal trainers to understand where a client is at and make recommendations on how to move forward. The data tells a highly accurate story of what is happening in the body, and having an expert trainer to help you translate that story into action is critical to success.
Get started at The Smart Fit Method with a free intro consultation. You’ll gain access to Smart Scan technology and complete a session on Smart Strength, which utilizes slow strength training to fully activate and load muscles. As our client, you’ll receive updated data during every single session, helping you understand precisely where you’re at. Then, your trainer will equip you with the tools necessary to get you where you need to go.
