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We often judge the effectiveness of a workout on physical factors, including how much we sweat, our level of fatigue, muscle soreness and an elevated heart rate.
While in the short-term, these metrics can show whether your fitness routine was productive, they are not the end-all-be-all to measure effectiveness. Here’s what you should know.
Heart Rate Isn’t Everything
Target heart rate indicates how hard you should be working out. Generally, you want to aim for 50 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate.
Yet, certain factors outside your fitness routine can elevate heart rate, even when you’re not pushing all that hard:
- In hot and humid conditions, your body will sweat more to cool down the core and your heart rate will rise. However, you may not physically be working any harder.
- Certain medications, particularly those for managing blood pressure, can actually lower your heart rate. During exercise, this might make it seem like you’re not working as hard.
How to Track Your Fitness Routine’s Progress
While you can monitor heart rate with a fitness tracker, also consider the following factors.
1. Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE)
The Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) takes more variables into account and is intentionally subjective.
RPE uses a numbering system from 6 to 20 and factors in an individual’s physiology. A rating of “6” reflects your body at rest or in a more passive activity and 20 represents extreme exhaustion, telling your body to rest. RPE further accounts for the fact that as we make progress in our fitness routine, what once seemed harder now feels relatively easy, so you’ll naturally need to up the intensity.
At the same time, the RPE system takes “off” days into account, where you feel as if you’re working harder and putting more intensity into your routine but the numbers for your heart rate and speed are not where you want them to be.
2. Measuring Metrics
Many people measure their fitness routines based on speed, distance and reps. This might include:
- Increasing the number of reps over time, be it for pushups, squats, lunges or pull-ups.
- Calculating your endurance, based on number of miles, the length of your workout or overall pace. Seeing your distance and speed improve over time indicates you’re increasing endurance.
- Strength, more specifically for weightlifting, shows that you’re able to bench press more or complete a routine with heavier weights.
3. Visualize Your Progress
In addition to looking at the numbers, examine other ways your workout is having an impact by:
- Taking a Picture: Especially if your routine involves resistance training, which causes the body to build more lean muscle mass, a picture can indicate how your workout is physically changing your body, even if the numbers on the scale have stayed about the same.
- Taking Measurements: Also related to the development of muscle, measuring the circumference of your arms, legs and torso can indicate your body is becoming more muscular.
- Looking at Body Mass: A body composition assessment measures fat and lean mass, as well as water, bone and lean muscle mass, subcutaneous fat and visceral fat. Gyms have tools like body scanners, hydrostatic weighing and bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA), and at-home smart scales provide a snapshot, although not a complete picture.
- Assessing Energy Levels: Especially when upping the intensity of your fitness routine and watching what you eat, you may find your energy levels gradually start to improve. That mid-afternoon slump starts to disappear and you feel more alert and energetic for longer.
- Sleeping Better: Exercise can have a positive impact on your sleeping habits. Particularly, a routine that’s having some effect may cause you to wake up refreshed and energized. By contrast, poor sleep can cause you to feel groggy and less alert. When you work out, lack of sleep can decrease your endurance.
Work with our team to establish a fitness routine and track your progress over time.
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