Fitness is at the center of what we do.
To Tilla Fit, fitness isn’t optional.
It’s something that every person needs.
Over the past year, we shared 52 reasons WHY people need fitness.
Now we shift to the next question.
HOW do you start?
HOW do you stay consistent?
HOW do you build a lifestyle that lasts?
HOW do you get results?
Over the next 52 weeks, we’ll answer those questions.
Here is week 22 of 52 on HOW to approach fitness.
“How to Track Your Fitness Progress”
Imagine this.
You’ve been working out three times per week for the past two months.
You’re making better nutrition choices.
You’re walking more.
You’re putting in the effort.
But when you step on the scale, your weight hasn’t changed.
Are you making progress?
Absolutely possible! But how would you know?
This is where tracking your fitness becomes incredibly important.
One of the biggest mistakes people make in their fitness journey is relying on how they look or what the scale says to determine whether their hard work is paying off.
But fitness is so much more than that.
Your strength, cardiovascular health, body composition, energy, and physical capabilities can all improve without a significant change in body weight.
And if we aren’t measuring those things, we might never recognize how much progress we’re actually making.
Why Should You Track Your Progress?
At Tilla Fit, measuring results is a big part of what we do.
When someone first starts with us, we often establish a starting point before they even begin their training.
We identify their goals, select a few measurements that matter to them, and create a plan.
Then, every three months, we come back together to remeasure their results.
Why?
Because tracking progress serves two incredibly important purposes.
1. It Keeps Us Motivated
Imagine discovering that you can now lift 30 pounds more than when you started.
Or that your resting heart rate has decreased.
Or that you can complete a workout two minutes faster.
Those are real, measurable improvements!
And seeing those results can be incredibly motivating.
It reminds us that the time and effort we’re investing in our health are paying off.
2. It Tells Us Whether Our Plan Is Working
Here’s the other side of tracking progress.
Sometimes the results aren’t what we hoped for.
And that’s okay.
Because now we have information!
Maybe we need to adjust our workout frequency.
Maybe we need to improve our nutrition.
Maybe we need to prioritize sleep or recovery.
Instead of guessing, we can make educated adjustments to our plan.
Tracking progress isn’t about judging ourselves.
It’s about understanding what’s working, what’s not, and what we should do next.
So, what should you measure?
1. Strength — Are You Getting Stronger?
One of the simplest ways to measure progress is by tracking how much weight you can lift.
You don’t need to test your absolute maximum strength to do this.
Choose a few basic movements.
A Squat.
A Deadlift.
A Press.
Record the weight you use and how many repetitions you complete.
For example:
Starting Point: Goblet Squat — 25 lbs x 10 Reps
Three Months Later: Goblet Squat — 40 lbs x 10 Reps
That’s a 15-pound improvement while performing the same number of repetitions!
You can also measure strength through bodyweight exercises.
Maybe you started with five Push-Ups and can now perform fifteen.
Or you couldn’t complete a Pull-Up and now you can.
Keep the movement standards and technique consistent so your comparisons are meaningful.
How to track it: Use a notebook, the Notes app on your phone, or a workout-tracking app. Record your weights and repetitions, then compare them over time.
2. Cardiovascular Fitness — Is Your Endurance Improving?
Cardiovascular fitness is another important indicator of your health.
And it’s something we can measure in several ways.
Maybe you want to improve your running.
Start by timing how long it takes you to complete one mile.
Starting Point: 1-Mile Run — 12:30
Three Months Later: 1-Mile Run — 10:45
That’s an improvement of one minute and forty-five seconds!
You can do the same thing with walking, biking, rowing, or even a consistent bootcamp workout.
Choose a repeatable test, record your results, and perform that same test again in the future.
Try to keep the distance, equipment, and testing conditions similar.
How to track it: Use a stopwatch, fitness watch, or exercise machine. Record your time, distance, or performance and compare it every few months. Or complete a Tilla Fit Benchmark workout!
3. Resting Heart Rate — Is Your Heart Becoming More Efficient?
This is one of my favorite measurements because many people don’t realize how easily they can track it!
Your resting heart rate is the number of times your heart beats per minute while you’re at rest.
As your cardiovascular fitness improves, your heart often becomes more efficient at pumping blood throughout your body.
And as a result, your resting heart rate may decrease.
For example:
Starting Point: Resting Heart Rate — 78 BPM
Three Months Later: Resting Heart Rate — 66 BPM
That’s a meaningful improvement!
And the best part?
You might already have this information available.
How to track it:
If you wear an Apple Watch, open the Health app on your iPhone.
Select Heart, then Resting Heart Rate.
You can view how your resting heart rate has changed over weeks, months, and even years.
Other fitness watches and health apps offer similar features.
If you don’t have a watch, you can measure your pulse manually first thing in the morning before getting out of bed. Count your beats for 60 seconds and record the result.
Try to measure under similar conditions and look at the overall trend rather than one individual reading.
Generally, a lower resting heart rate over time can be a positive sign of improved cardiovascular fitness.
4. Body Composition — Is Your Body Changing?
This is where many people get discouraged.
They start working out, step on the scale, and don’t see the number they were hoping for.
But here’s something important.
Your body weight and your body composition are not the same thing.
You can gain muscle and lose body fat without seeing a dramatic change on the scale.
For example:
Starting Point: 160 lbs — 35% Body Fat
Three Months Later: 160 lbs — 32% Body Fat
Same body weight.
Different body composition!
At Tilla Fit, we use InBody scans to help our members monitor measurements such as skeletal muscle mass and estimated body fat percentage.
These measurements aren’t perfect, and hydration and other factors can affect the results, but they can help us identify trends over time.
How to track it: Use consistent body composition assessments, waist measurements, progress photos, or the way your clothes fit.
Try to measure under similar conditions and avoid putting too much importance on small fluctuations.
5. Everyday Capabilities — Is Life Getting Easier?
This might be the most important measurement of them all.
Because ultimately, why are we improving our fitness?
To live better!
Maybe when you started, walking up a flight of stairs left you out of breath.
Now you can climb those stairs without thinking twice.
Maybe getting off the floor used to be difficult.
Now you can do it confidently.
Maybe you couldn’t keep up with your kids or grandkids.
Now you can!
These are improvements that don’t always show up on a scale or in a workout score.
But they’re incredibly meaningful.
How to track it: Write down two or three everyday activities that currently feel challenging.
Maybe it’s carrying groceries, walking a certain distance, getting off the floor, or working in the yard.
Every few months, revisit those activities and ask yourself whether they’ve become easier.
Sometimes the biggest improvements in fitness happen outside the gym.
6. Energy, Confidence, and How You Feel
Not every improvement needs to be measured in pounds, minutes, or heartbeats.
Your energy levels matter.
Your confidence matters.
Your mental well-being matters.
Maybe you used to feel exhausted every afternoon.
Now you have the energy to finish your workday and spend time with your family.
Maybe you were intimidated by exercise.
Now you look forward to your workouts.
Those are results worth recognizing.
How to track it: Once per week, rate your energy, confidence, or general well-being on a scale from 1–10.
Write down a short note about how you’re feeling.
Over time, look for patterns and improvements.
These measurements are subjective, but they can still provide valuable information about how your fitness journey is affecting your life.
This Week’s Challenge
This week, I want you to establish three measurements of your current fitness.
Here are three simple ones you can start with:
1. Strength: Record how many quality Push-Ups you can perform.
2. Cardiovascular Fitness: Record your resting heart rate or time yourself walking or running one mile.
3. Everyday Capability: Write down one physical activity you want to become better at.
Save those results somewhere you can find them.
Set a reminder for three months from now.
And when that day comes, repeat your measurements!
You might be surprised by how much your body has changed.