8 - 2016 - Choose2be Nanaimo Fitness

Fitness Testing and Progress Tracking: A Practical Way to Measure What’s Changing

by Veronique Rioux | Aug 25, 2016 | Fitness, Online Program

A fitness test can be a useful way to understand where you are starting and notice progress that may not show up on the scale. Strength, balance, endurance, mobility and confidence can all improve over time, and having a few simple measurements can make those changes easier to see.

You do not need to test everything or chase perfect numbers. The goal is to create a simple baseline, repeat the same tests under similar conditions and use the results as information.

Why Track Fitness Progress?

Progress can show up in many different ways. You might be able to hold a plank longer, perform more controlled squats, walk farther, use heavier weights, balance more confidently or recover more quickly between exercises.

That is why I like fitness testing as a complement to body weight or measurements. It gives you a broader picture of what your body can actually do.

If you are following a structured program, you might repeat your test every four to eight weeks rather than testing constantly. That gives your body time to adapt and makes the comparison more meaningful.

Choose What You Want to Measure

You do not need to take progress photos, measurements or body-fat readings unless those tools are useful to you. Some people enjoy having that information, while others prefer to focus on performance.

Possible ways to track progress include body measurements, strength, endurance, balance, mobility, energy, consistency and how everyday activities feel.

If you do choose to use measurements or body weight, try to look at trends over time rather than reacting to a single number.

Simple Fitness Tests to Try

Choose a few tests that match your goals and repeat the same versions each time. Stop any test that causes sharp or unusual pain.

1. Wall Sit

Place your back against a wall and slide down into a comfortable seated position. Your knees do not need to be exactly at 90 degrees. Choose a depth you can maintain with good control and record how long you can comfortably hold the position.

When you retest, use approximately the same depth so the comparison is meaningful.

2. Sit-to-Stand or Squat Test

Use a chair or bench to create a consistent target. Sit down and stand back up with control, and count how many repetitions you can complete in a set period, such as 30 or 60 seconds.

A controlled sit-to-stand is often more useful than turning the assessment into a maximum-effort jump-squat test.

You can also read The Sit-to-Rise Test: What It Can Tell You About Strength, Mobility and Healthy Aging for another way to explore functional strength and mobility.

3. Plank

Choose a plank variation that suits your current strength, such as a forearm plank, straight-arm plank or elevated plank. Hold the position while maintaining a comfortable, controlled trunk position and record your time.

For progress tracking, use the same plank variation each time.

4. Lunge or Split-Squat Test

Choose a stable split-stance or reverse-lunge variation and count how many controlled repetitions you can perform on each side in a set period.

Your knee does not need to touch the floor. Use a range of motion that feels appropriate and keep the test consistent each time you repeat it.

5. Core Control Test

A hollow-body variation can be useful for assessing trunk control. Lie on your back with your knees bent or legs raised and slowly move your legs away from your body while maintaining a comfortable, supported trunk position.

Stop when you can no longer maintain control. You do not need to force your lower back completely flat if that position feels uncomfortable.

Keep the Test Consistent

For a progress test to be useful, try to repeat it under reasonably similar conditions. Use the same exercises, the same variation, a similar warm-up and approximately the same rest periods.

You might record the date, your results and a few notes about how the movements felt. Numbers are useful, but so are observations such as “better balance,” “less shaky,” “more confident” or “felt easier.”

Progress Is More Than Weight Loss

One of the best things about fitness testing is that it can reveal progress you might otherwise miss.

Maybe your body weight has barely changed, but you can now squat with more control, hold a plank longer, carry heavier groceries or get up from the floor more easily. Those are meaningful improvements.

If you are interested in the difference between body weight and other ways of measuring progress, read Body Composition 101: Why Muscle Matters More Than the Number on the Scale.

Set a Goal From Your Results

Once you have a baseline, choose one or two areas you would like to work on rather than trying to improve everything at once. For example, you might decide to build your single-leg strength, improve your plank control or become more consistent with strength training.

You can use SMART Goal Setting for Health & Fitness to turn those results into a realistic plan.

If you would like help choosing appropriate assessments and building a training program around your goals, learn more about Personal Training in Nanaimo. Fitness testing and progress tracking can also be used as part of Eight Weeks to Health Coaching.

Use Testing as Information, Not Judgment

A fitness test is simply a snapshot of where you are today. It is not a grade and it does not define how fit, healthy or capable you are.

Choose measurements that are meaningful to you, repeat them occasionally and use the information to guide your next steps. The most important progress is often becoming stronger, more confident and more capable of doing the things you want to do.

Once you finish the test, make sure you keep your results somewhere safe, where you can use them again on week 4 and week 8 to monitor your progress. Then start reading Goal Setting. If you have any questions, just let me know. Have fun!

Goal Setting for Health and Fitness: How to Create Goals That Actually Help

by Veronique Rioux | Aug 22, 2016 | Fitness

When it comes to improving your health and fitness, having clear goals can give you direction, help you notice progress and make it easier to stay consistent.

A good goal does not need to be extreme. In fact, some of the most useful goals are simple, realistic and connected to what you actually want your life to feel like.

In this article, we’ll look at why goal setting matters, how to use the SMART framework, and how to create health and fitness goals that are both meaningful and achievable.

Why Goal Setting Matters

Goals can help you focus your energy and make your intentions more concrete.

Without a clear goal, it is easy to jump from one idea to another or feel discouraged because you are not sure whether you are making progress.

A useful goal can help you:

identify what matters most to you
create a realistic plan
track progress over time
stay accountable
recognize small wins
adjust when something is not working

Goal setting can also support confidence. When you follow through on something you planned, even in a small way, it can reinforce the belief that you are capable of making meaningful changes.

Use the SMART Framework

SMART is a simple framework that can help turn a vague intention into a clearer goal.

S is for Specific

Your goal should be clear enough that you know what you are working toward.

Instead of:

“I want to get in shape.”

Try:

“I want to strength train twice a week for the next eight weeks.”

Specific goals are easier to plan around and easier to evaluate.

M is for Measurable

You should have some way to notice whether you are progressing.

That does not always mean using a scale or a number.

You might track:

how many workouts you complete
how much weight you can lift
how long you can walk or run
how many push-ups or squats you can do
how consistently you stretch
how confident you feel performing a movement

Choose a measure that actually relates to your goal.

A is for Action-Oriented

A goal is more useful when you know what actions will help you reach it.

For example, if your goal is to run a 5K, your action steps might include:

walking or running three times per week
gradually increasing your running intervals
doing strength training once or twice per week
scheduling your workouts in advance

Focus on the actions you can control.

R is for Realistic

A good goal should challenge you without requiring perfection.

Your goal needs to fit your current schedule, experience, health, responsibilities and available resources.

If a goal feels impossible to maintain, make it smaller.

For example, instead of deciding you will exercise six days per week when you are currently exercising once, you might start with two or three consistent sessions.

Progress does not have to happen all at once.

T is for Time-Based

Giving your goal a time frame can help create structure and give you a point to review your progress.

For example:

“For the next eight weeks, I will complete two strength workouts each week.”

At the end of the eight weeks, you can ask:

What worked?
What did not?
What changed?
What should I continue or adjust?

The deadline is not meant to create pressure. It gives you a natural point to reflect and reassess.

Goal Setting Worksheet

Use these questions to create a goal that works for your real life:

What would I like to improve over the next one to three months?
Why is this goal important to me?
Which days of the week can I realistically exercise?
How much time can I comfortably commit?
What barriers might get in the way?
What strategies could help me work around those barriers?
What is one small action I can start this week?
How will I know I am making progress?
What support would make this easier?
How do I want to feel as I work toward this goal?

You can also think about goals over different time frames:

short-term: 1 to 3 months
medium-term: 3 to 6 months
longer-term: 6 to 12 months

Your shorter goals can become stepping stones toward the bigger ones.

Health and Fitness Goal Ideas

Your goals do not have to focus on weight.

Some examples include:

get stronger
build a consistent exercise routine
improve mobility or flexibility
improve balance
walk or hike farther
run a 5K
learn a new movement skill
improve lifting technique
feel more confident in the gym
join a group fitness class
prepare for a recreational event
improve energy and daily movement
become more comfortable getting up and down from the floor
make movement a regular part of your lifestyle

Choose goals that feel meaningful to you, not simply goals you think you are supposed to have.

Focus on Progress, Not Perfection

Goals can be helpful, but they are not meant to become another way to judge yourself.

Life changes. Schedules change. Motivation changes.

If you miss a workout or your original plan stops working, that does not mean you failed. It simply means you have information you can use to adjust your plan.

Consistency usually comes from flexibility, not perfection.

If you want support creating realistic health and fitness goals, learn more about Personal Training in Nanaimo or Health & Lifestyle Coaching.

For a broader reflection on creating a life that feels meaningful and satisfying, you can also read Building the Life You Want: Finding Pleasure, Satisfaction, and Meaning on Vancouver Island Holistic Counselling.

Body Composition 101: Why Muscle Matters More Than the Number on the Scale

by Veronique Rioux | Aug 11, 2016 | Fitness

When people think about changing their body, the focus often goes straight to weight. But the number on the scale only tells part of the story.

Body composition looks more closely at what your body is made of, including muscle, fat, bone and other tissues. Two people can weigh the same and still have very different levels of strength, muscle mass and body fat.

That is why it can be more useful to pay attention to strength, function and body composition rather than relying only on body weight.

Muscle and Fat Are Different Tissues

One pound of muscle and one pound of fat weigh exactly the same: one pound.

The difference is that muscle is denser than fat, so it takes up less space.

That means your body shape and measurements can change even if your body weight stays similar. You may become stronger, gain muscle and lose some body fat without seeing a dramatic change on the scale.

This is one reason the scale can sometimes be frustrating or misleading when used by itself.

Why Muscle Matters

Muscle supports much more than appearance.

Maintaining and building muscle can help with:

everyday strength
mobility and balance
physical performance
healthy aging
bone health
confidence with movement
maintaining independence
supporting overall energy expenditure

Muscle tissue does use more energy at rest than fat tissue, but the difference is often exaggerated. Strength training is valuable for many reasons beyond “boosting metabolism.”

You can read more about this in How Muscle Mass Affects Metabolism and Why Strength Training Matters.

What Is Body Composition?

Body composition refers to the relative amounts of fat mass, lean mass, bone and other tissues in the body.

Body fat itself is not “bad.” We need body fat for energy storage, hormone production, insulation and other essential functions.

The goal should not be to eliminate body fat. A healthier focus is supporting an appropriate balance of muscle and fat for your individual body, health, lifestyle and goals.

Ways to Estimate Body Fat

There are several ways to estimate body composition. None of them are perfect, and some are much more precise than others.

Skinfold Calipers

Skinfold measurements estimate body fat by measuring the thickness of skin and subcutaneous fat at specific sites.

They can be useful for tracking changes over time when the same trained person uses the same technique consistently.

Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis

BIA devices send a very small electrical current through the body and use the result to estimate body composition.

Many home scales use this technology.

The numbers can vary depending on factors such as:

hydration
food intake
recent exercise
time of day

Because of that, it is usually better to look at trends over time rather than focusing on a single reading.

DEXA and Other Laboratory Methods

More advanced methods, such as DEXA scans or hydrostatic weighing, can provide more detailed estimates of body composition.

These methods may be more accurate, but they are usually more expensive and less practical for everyday fitness tracking.

You Do Not Have to Measure Body Fat

Body-fat percentage is only one possible way to track progress.

You can also pay attention to:

how much stronger you are becoming
how your clothes fit
changes in waist or other body measurements
improvements in endurance
mobility and balance
how consistently you exercise
how you feel during daily activities
progress with specific exercises or skills

For many people, these measures are more useful and motivating than repeatedly checking body-fat percentage.

Focus on Strength, Not Just Weight Loss

If your goal is to improve body composition, strength training is one of the most useful tools available.

A good strength program can include movements such as:

squats and sit-to-stands
rows
presses
deadlift or hip-hinge variations
lunges and step-ups
carries
core exercises

Cardiovascular exercise, walking, mobility work and recreational movement also contribute to overall health.

You do not need to choose between strength training and cardio. A balanced routine can include both.

Progress Is More Than a Number

A smaller number on the scale does not automatically mean someone is healthier, stronger or more capable.

Instead of focusing only on losing weight, consider asking:

Am I getting stronger?
Am I moving better?
Do I have more energy?
Am I building habits I can maintain?
Can I do things now that felt difficult before?

Those questions often give a much fuller picture of progress.

If you would like support building strength, improving body composition and creating a realistic exercise plan, learn more about Personal Training in Nanaimo.

You can also explore Health & Lifestyle Coaching if you want support with broader habits around movement, nutrition and everyday well-being.

Food Journaling vs. Calorie Counting: Which Approach Is More Helpful?

by Veronique Rioux | Aug 3, 2016 | Holistic Nutrition

Food journaling and calorie counting can both help people become more aware of their eating habits, but they focus on different things. Calorie counting emphasizes the amount of energy you consume, while food journaling can also include patterns such as hunger, fullness, mood, timing, food choices and how meals make you feel.

Neither method is automatically better for everyone. The most useful approach is the one that helps you learn about your habits without becoming overly restrictive or stressful.

What Is Food Journaling?

Food journaling means writing down what you eat and drink, but it can include much more than that. You might also notice when you ate, how hungry you were, how full you felt afterward, what was happening emotionally and whether the meal felt satisfying.

The goal does not have to be perfect tracking. It can simply be a way to become more curious about your patterns. Over time, you may notice that you skip meals and become extremely hungry later, snack when you are stressed, eat very differently on weekends, or feel better when your meals contain more protein or fiber.

What Is Calorie Counting?

Calorie counting involves estimating how much energy you consume through food and drinks. It can be useful for some people because energy intake does matter when body weight is changing, but calorie counts are still estimates rather than perfectly precise numbers.

The calories listed on packages, apps and restaurant menus may vary from what you actually consume, and your own energy needs can also change depending on your body size, activity, age and other factors. Calorie counting can provide information, but it does not tell you everything about food quality, hunger, satisfaction or your relationship with eating.

Why I Often Prefer Food Journaling

For many people, food journaling gives a broader picture than simply recording calories. Instead of asking only, “How many calories did I eat?” you can begin asking questions such as: Was I actually hungry? Did this meal keep me satisfied? Did I eat enough earlier in the day? Am I getting enough protein, vegetables or fiber? What happens to my eating habits when I am tired or stressed?

This kind of awareness can help you make practical changes without turning every meal into a mathematical exercise.

Food Quality Still Matters

Calories are a measurement of energy, but foods with the same calorie content can offer very different amounts of protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals and fullness. For example, fruit, vegetables, beans, whole grains, eggs, yogurt, nuts, fish and other nutrient-dense foods can contribute different things to your overall diet than foods that provide mostly energy with little protein or fiber.

That does not mean you need to label foods as “good” or “bad.” A sustainable eating pattern can include nutritious everyday foods along with treats and convenience foods you enjoy.

When Calorie Counting Can Be Useful

Calorie tracking may still be helpful for some people, especially for a short period of time when they want to better understand portion sizes or how much they are eating. It can provide information that is difficult to estimate by intuition alone.

However, it does not need to become permanent. If counting calories makes eating feel obsessive, stressful or overly restrictive, another approach may be more appropriate.

How to Start a Simple Food Journal

You do not need a complicated app or a food scale to begin. For a week or two, you can simply record your meals and notice a few patterns. You might write down what you ate, roughly how much, your hunger before eating, your fullness afterward, your mood or stress level, and anything else that seems relevant.

You can also ask yourself at the end of the day: Did I eat regularly? Did my meals keep me satisfied? Did I include protein and produce? Was I eating because I was hungry, or because I was bored, stressed or exhausted? What worked well today?

The goal is information, not judgment.

Focus on Sustainable Habits

Whether you use food journaling, calorie counting or neither, sustainable health habits matter more than perfect tracking. Regular meals, enough protein and fiber, fruits and vegetables, enjoyable foods, adequate sleep and consistent movement can all contribute to your overall well-being.

If your goal involves body composition, remember that nutrition is only one part of the picture. Strength training and everyday movement also matter. You can read Belly Fat: Common Mistakes That Can Get in the Way of Progress for a broader look at body-composition habits.

If you would like support exploring your eating patterns, movement habits and realistic lifestyle changes, learn more about Health & Lifestyle Coaching. Food awareness and habit tracking can also be useful within the Eight Weeks to Health Coaching program.