TRYING TO GET IN SHAPE? THROW YOUR SCALE AWAY!
Dateline: 04/13/98
Post your comments at the Exercise Forum!
Trying to Get in Shape? Throw Your Scale Away!
The scale is one of society's worst enemies when it comes to getting in shape. It discourages, frustrates, taunts, and more. If you don't like what it tells you, get rid of it! The scale should be only be used by people who are trying to gain weight and/or are doing strictly cardiovascular exercise and not weightlifting.
Before starting your exercise program, you should consider having a fitness test to measure your progress. You will be able to see how well you are doing more accurately rather than going by a scale or how you feel, etc. These tests usually include muscular strength and endurance, cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, and body fat percentage. Sometimes they take certain bodypart measurements as well. Body fat percentage is the key here. This is a much better standard to rate your progress than the scale. You will be using weights as a part of your program, and muscle weighs more than fat. The scale might tell you that you have gained weight, but actually you may have lost body fat. You may have lost some inches as well.
When inquiring about a fitness test at your local gym, ask about an instructor's credentials first. I would suggest having somebody who really knows what they are doing. For more about this, see a previous feature. Some gyms hire fitness instructors who are not certified. They are shown the basics a few times and that is it. You want your results to be as accurate as possible. You should also have the same person do the tests each time for consistency. People's skills at administering these tests are different and may vary from person to person. An example would be taking someone's body fat percentage. Most gyms measure the sum of skinfolds at various body parts. If you know what you are doing, you will make sure the test subject flexes (contracts) at certain points like at the tricep and thigh muscles. If part of the skinfold that they have grabbed pulls away, this means that it is muscle and not fat. This can make a big difference in your body fat percentage.
You should not have these tests taken too often. This can be discouraging. You know the saying about Rome not being built in a day right? Well, the same can be said about your body. We need to exercise patience as well as our muscles. The person who administers your fitness test should be able to tell you how often to test your progress based on your fitness level. If you are really out of shape, you should see results with consistency in your training and diet. People at a higher fitness level like myself need more patience as it will be harder to see change.
Remember to not only exercise right but eat right too! This will maximize your efforts. Take care and keep exercising!
Use this pull-down menu to view related articles to help
you lose weight. Click on "Go" after choosing an utility. Be sure to
bookmark this page!
If you have any questions or comments on exercise, nutrition, fitness, weight loss, etc., go to the Exercise Forum where we are talking about the following:
Subscribe to the Exercise Newsletter to be informed on the latest in exercise information, new utilities added to this site, and more.
Use this pull-down menu to view articles on this
site.
Use this pull-down menu to use the great utilities on this
site.
