4 Ways to Measure Your Client's Fitness Progress Without a Scale

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Transparenz: Redaktionell erstellt und geprüft.
Veröffentlicht am 05.08.2021

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Create an individual training program, check. Guide your clients through each movement. Pay attention to correct lifting form and technique; check. Give nutritional recommendations, provide motivation and encouragement, and count each of their repetitions – check, check and check. Do you think you've covered all bases when coaching a client? Not quite. You're missing something: progress reports. Tracking your client's progress increases your client's motivation to stay on track. Additionally, it will help you determine if adjustments to the training program (e.g. training volume) are needed for better results. Although the scale may be an obvious choice of progress tracking tool...

Erstellen Sie ein individuelles Trainingsprogramm, überprüfen Sie. Führen Sie Ihren Kunden durch jede Bewegung zu Achten Sie auf die richtige Hebeform und -technik; prüfen. Ernährungsempfehlungen geben, Motivation und Ermutigung spenden, und zähle jede ihrer Wiederholungen – check, check und check. Denken Sie, dass Sie beim Coaching eines Kunden alle Aspekte abgedeckt haben? Nicht ganz. Ihnen fehlt etwas: Fortschrittsberichte. Die Verfolgung des Fortschritts Ihres Kunden steigert die Motivation Ihres Kunden, den Kurs zu halten. Darüber hinaus hilft es Ihnen festzustellen, ob Anpassungen des Trainingsprogramms (z. B. Trainingsvolumen) für bessere Ergebnisse erforderlich sind. Obwohl die Skala eine offensichtliche Wahl des Fortschrittsverfolgungsinstruments sein … — Create an individual training program, check. Guide your clients through each movement. Pay attention to correct lifting form and technique; check. Give nutritional recommendations, provide motivation and encouragement, and count each of their repetitions – check, check and check. Do you think you've covered all bases when coaching a client? Not quite. You're missing something: progress reports. Tracking your client's progress increases your client's motivation to stay on track. Additionally, it will help you determine if adjustments to the training program (e.g. training volume) are needed for better results. Although the scale may be an obvious choice of progress tracking tool...

Create an individual training program, check. Guide your customers through every movementPay attention to the correct lifting form and technique; check.

give nutritional recommendations,Provide motivation and encouragement, and count each of their repetitions – check, check and check. Do you think you've covered all bases when coaching a client? Not quite.

You're missing something: progress reports.

Tracking your client's progress increases your client's motivation to stay on track. Additionally, it will help you determine if adjustments to the training program (e.g. training volume) are needed for better results.

Although the scale may seem an obvious choice of progress tracking tool, the truth is that certain customers – Research shows women in particular – will find each other obsessed with the numbers.

This, in turn, potentially leads to a more negative body image, lower self-esteem, and a higher likelihood of depression. Fortunately, there are non-scale methods for measuring progress. This article will walk you through 4 great examples.

Track body fat percentage

Chances are, many of your clients come to you looking “toned” and “just generally better.”

Generally, you would help them do 2 things: 1) build more muscle and 2) lose fat. Accordingly, tracking your client's body fat percentage is a great way to determine if they are on the right track.

But wait. ‘Track body fat percentage’? How could you do this for your customer without a scale?

As it turns out, scientists have developed reasonably accurate mathematical equations—also known as girth measurement formulas—that help estimate a person's body fat percentage based on simple variables (e.g., age, gender, waist circumference).

A well-known formula that you could use is the so-called Navy Seal formula. To use this formula you must receive from your customer:

Age Size Neck circumference Waist circumference Hip circumference (only applies to female customers)

There are 2 “variants” of the Navy Seal formula; There is one for women and one for men. When estimating your client's body fat percentage, be sure to use the correct one:

Men: 86.010 x log10 (stomach - neck) - 70.041 x log10 (height) + 36.76 Women: 163.205 x log10 (waist + hips - neck) - 97.684 x log10 (height) - 78.387

Although there are no standards or guidelines for how quickly a person should lose body fat, most experts believe that somewhere between 1 to 3% monthly is safe.

However, be careful with clients who are already slim (approximately 23% for women and 14% for men). Betoo aggressive with her fat loss plancan instead impact their fat-free mass – and ultimately affect their performance in the gym.

Record muscle circumference

Large. You now have a scale-free method for determining whether your client is losing fat - and how much, on a weekly basis. But what about building muscle?

You can easily track measurements of your client's muscles over time. In general, you should measure in 3 areas: biceps, glutes, and quads. This gives you a good sense of how your client's body changes in response to the prescribed exercise program.

Here are a few tips to help you get the most accurate measurements:

Take the measurements under the same conditions every time: If your client flexes their biceps the first time they measure, make sure they flex at every subsequent check-in. Of course, this also applies to all other muscle groups (e.g. glutes and quadriceps) that you measure. Always measure around the largest area: Measuring from the mid-buttock region in one session – then the lower gluteal region in the next – is a surefire way to mislead you and your client about their progress.
Average of 3 measurements:That depends on him Statistical principlethat the average becomes more accurate as the number of measurements increases (thanks to a correspondingly lower uncertainty - i.e. how far your measurement is from the actual value).

However, there is no denying that this method of tracking your client's progress suffers from a glaring deficiency. What if your client is going through a “body makeover” where they gain muscle and lose fat at the same time?

You can't capture this by simply measuring your client's muscle size. This is where the following non-scale method comes into play.

Take progress pictures

Asking your client to take progress pictures is undoubtedly one of the best ways to help you – and your client – see the changes in their body from one day, month, or even year to the next.

Bonus:Seeing visible progress can also be a great boost of motivation and motivation for your client.

However, as with all progress tracking methods, there are a few things to keep in mind:

Take photos at the same time of day: If possible, have your customers take their progress photos in the morning - before they have eaten anything. This will help minimize meal-related bloating that obscures their progress. Aim for Equal Lighting Conditions: Lighting is everything. Your client's body in a photo taken under the neon lights of the gym will look completely different than if it had been taken at home in natural light - even if it was just a few minutes apart. Whatever lighting conditions your client chooses, make sure they stick to them. Wear form-fitting activewear: You won't see anything if your client wears baggy clothes in their pictures. So ideally (and depending on your customer's comfort level), your female customers should wear a sports bra and biker shorts - and your male customers should wear shorts. Capture 3 angles of the body: To understand the full extent of the changes to your client's body, it is important to capture their front, side and back. For consistency, ask your customer to always choose the same side (e.g. right side).
Get your client to take progress pictures every 2 to 3 weeks:In most cases, you (and your client) should be able to see the differences in a few months. Bonus Tip: Here is a list of the top appsthis makes it child's play to keep track of all of your customers' progress pictures.

Re-evaluate fitness skills

Nevertheless, it is worth remembering that sometimes your customerdoes not look for aesthetic improvements. Instead, they just want to lift heavier, run faster, jump higher, etc.

And the truth is, your client can do all of this without a corresponding change in body composition. So how do you know – with certainty – that your customer is making progress in this case?

It's pretty simple.

Just put them through the same assessment you made when they first started working with you, compare the results.

Be sure to test your cardiovascular fitness (with the Step test and/or One mile walk test ), flexibility (i.e. range of motion in different movements) and their strength (with around 5 repetitions max for different exercises).

If your client's performance has improved, you can be confident that they are making progress - and on track to achieve their fitness goals.

Take away

As you probably already know, you shouldn't rely solely on a specific unscaled method to track your customer's progress.

Each instrument, when used individually, will inevitably not provide a comprehensive picture of what is going on in your client's body. For example, the change in your body fat percentage doesn't tell you what's going on with your muscle mass - whether it's increasing, decreasing or staying the same?

Unfortunately there is no way to tell.

You need to use the above methods together to get a more accurate assessment. And remember: it's important to help your customer work towards ita happier, healthier relationship with fitness.

Fitness is a lifelong pursuit, and fixating on short-term aesthetic goals shouldn't be your client's (or yours) priority.