Monitoring Your Fitness Progress: Don't Guess- Measure!

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Please consider this free-reprint article written by:

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Article Title: Monitoring Your Fitness Progress: Don't Guess-

Measure!

Author: Ellis

Word Count: 553

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Mass Gaining program is incomplete without the timely

measurements to monitor Your Progress. The only way to know if

your mass or fat loss program is successful is by monitoring

your measurements, weight and body fat levels.

'One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions.'

- Admiral Grace Hopper, U.S. Navy

Depending on the program, I recommend that everyone take their

body fat levels every 1-2 weeks.

There's a lot that these readings reveal to a trained eye! For

example, I was recently on a fat loss diet, and I did not lose

any weight for three weeks. At first I thought that I needed to

drop my calories further because the current levels were not

working for me. I did not want to do this because as a

hard-gainer, dropping my calories too low can result in too

much muscle loss. So, before I committed to a more drastic

diet, I checked my body fat records.

Was I in for a shock! According to my body fat calculations I

was actually getting leaner. Even though my weight did not

change during that three-week period, my body fat levels went

down 3%! Since I did not lose any weight during that time, the

fat must have been replaced by muscle (an added benefit, but

this does not happen most of the time). I would have never

known this by simply looking in the mirror.

Another example is last year when I was on a mass cycle. I was

eating a tremendous amount of calories and gaining weight like

crazy. I stopped the diet once I began to notice that my fat

gains were larger than my muscle gains. I would never have

noticed this if I had not closely monitored my body fat levels.

I expect to gain some fat on a mass diet, but I always want to

gain more muscle than fat. If I had not kept track of my body

fat levels, I would have gained too much fat.

TRACKING RESULTS

There are many methods of measuring your body fat and some are

quite expensive. While many consider underwater weighing to be

the most accurate, no method is 100% precise -- they all have

some margin of error. It's not important to know the exact

number -- what's important is to use the same method each time

you take your measurements so you can have a consistent record

of your progress. I just use an inexpensive skinfold caliper.

They cost anywhere from $29-$80 and are simple to use.

A good caliper is essential. Without it, you won't know how

exactly your body is responding to your diet and training

routine. You may also want to consider using a tracking

software like The Composition Tracker at

http://www.comptracker.com ... It will help you analyze your

data and tell you if you are actually building more muscle and

losing more fat!

Just looking in the mirror and guessing is not acceptable!

If you want to start getting great results, you must develop

the habit of accurately tracking your progress. If you don't,

you will continue to go in circles. This may seem like a

'hassle', but nothing worth having is ever easy to attain.

About The Author: Former " skinny guy " Ellis is the

author of Gaining Mass! The most widely used weight gain

program in the world. This unique program designed to help

people gain weight and build muscle, is currently being used in

over 90 countries Click here for more information

http://www.musclegaintips.com

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