As a coach it’s very important for me to be tracking my progress. I believe that all fitness coaches should have a drive and passion to better themselves, especially if they plan to influence others.
This definitely doesn’t mean having 6 pack abs, deadlifting 600lbs or being able to run 50 miles. Those are all cool but not necessary to quality coaching. Progress is individualized and the culture we’ve built at Westchester Fit is one of progress and self improvement.
Throughout the course of any given month I use 3 separate tools to track my progress. Since I’m no longer fixated on PRs and performance based goals, I needed to shift my focus to keep me motivated to stay healthy, look good and feel good as I get older. The 3 metrics I use on a monthly basis are my Whoop, the Inbody scale, and the 4 H’s. These three tools have become invaluable for me in tracking my progress month to month to ensure I’m moving in the right direction towards my goals.
The first tool I use is a wearable device called the Whoop. I’ve been obsessed with wearable devices for many years. I love the data and information they give, and the ability to track certain habits. While wearable devices are still wildly inaccurate for things such as calorie burn, they do give great insight into the effects of training and lifestyle habits. With my Whoop which I’ve been wearing for 5+ years I have found how beneficial getting 7+ hours of sleep is for my body. I’ve also been able to monitor how poorly I sleep and recover from drinking alcohol or eating processed sugar. It tracks metrics like my resting heart rate, HRV, and respiratory rate. I can clearly see and now “feel” when I’m overdoing it. As I get older, tracking my recovery and making sure that I’m ready for hard training is super important for my goal of longevity. I can still handle quite a bit of volume at my ripe age of 37 (almost 38), but I’ve noticed I really need to pay attention to how much I sleep, hydrate, and eat in order to maximize my performance both inside and outside the gym. I highly recommend wearables for this feature alone.
The second tool I use is the scale. I weigh myself every morning to get an idea of how much my body fluctuates based on my eating habits. I also heavily rely on the Inbody scale at the gym. I use it once a month to track my overall progress. I like to keep my body fat between 8-12% and my SMM and weight at certain levels as well. Using this monthly works for me, although weekly would probably be better. It gives very direct insight into how my overall training program and nutrition are working towards helping me achieve my goals. This is why we as coaches push the Inbody so hard. We all use it to track our progress and see such amazing validity in the data it provides.
The last tool and perhaps the most effective is the good old 4 H’s system. The 4 H’s is something I learned while studying with James Fitzgerald and OPEX. It stands for Happy, Horny, Hungry Healthy. The happy part is pretty self explanatory. Are you always a glass half empty kind of person? Are you living a fulfilling life? How is your mood day to day? It could tell us a lot about how you’re doing mentally and hormonally. Horny…well this is pretty simple. Gentlemen are you waking up regularly with an erection? Ladies, is your cycle normal? Again this is a simple and intuitive way to measure how you’re doing. Hungry? Do you have a normal appetite? Are you eating a normal amount during the day or do you find yourself never hungry or stress eating? Again this ties into the health of your nervous system. The last H is healthy. How is your immune system functioning? Are you constantly sick and battling colds? The 4 H’s while primitive can give you a ton of insight into your overall health and well being.
I use these three tools regularly to check in on myself and my private clients. They are extraordinary ways to measure the effectiveness of what you’re doing inside and outside the gym. Outside of regular blood work which I also do 2-3 times per year, these methods are tried and true ways to track your overall health.
As always I’m here to chat and help you become the best version of yourself. If you need any help with that, all you have to do is reach out 🙂
– Coach Chris