For many individuals, a trip to the gym involves a decent
workout followed by a trip to the scale for their daily weigh in. At that
moment their attitude for the next few hours is determined by where that number
levels off. Gained 2 pounds? Lost 2 pounds? Hooray! Oh no! That single outcome
can either make or break your motivation. Bodyweight without any other
statistical consideration means absolutely nothing, but using it will cause
havoc to you healthy lifestyle. The following article explains why it is best
to avoid the scale at the gym and also provides some suggestions for better
progress analysis.
Reasons to Avoid the Scale
- Poor judge of actual weight gain/loss. The scale does one thing: weigh whatever you set on it. There is no consideration of the composition of the individual. Muscle is much denser than fat, and which in turn means that it weighs more. Many individuals who start a diet and training program will actually weigh more than when they started due to stimulating lean muscle growth. Muscle has a calorie debt to maintain it, meaning the more muscle, the more calories you consume and the more fat you will burn. The scale will only show that you are getting heavier, when in fact you are becoming a more and more efficient fat burning factory.
- Frequent weigh-ins can affect your mental state. Weighing yourself day in and day out and seeing little or no change will frustrate just about anyone. The body will only make water retention changes day by day; there is no point to weigh yourself more than once a week at the most. At that point you can start to see some small variations. Stay away from the scale and focus more on training and diet formulation.
- Poor accuracy: Many gyms offer a scale for members to use. Over time these scales will require recalibration to maintain correct data. Most gyms never calibrate and the scale slip further and further off the correct mark. If you are curious how far a scale is off, place a 25 pound weight on a scale and see what the reading displays.
- Other variables: How much clothing you are wearing while weighing yourself, water retention, even the time of day can affect the outcome.
Alternative Methods
- Body fat percent. Many scales on the market now have a body fat measurement device built in. This device uses a small electrical impulse to calculate you total body fat percent. Fairly accurate and extremely simple to use, it gives you a better judge of your progress. Be sure to follow the instructions of each device exactly. I use this method myself. Once a week I use the device upon waking after using the restroom. I record the results on a table each week so I can look back and track the ongoing progress. Also if I see any negative correlations I can make adjustments to diet and/or training to get things back on track. There are many other ways to check body fat, but the scales with the body fat option are by far the easiest method.
- Measurements: Use a measuring tape and measure chest, waist, thigh, bicep, and calf. Conduct measurements once a month and compare results. For most individuals I have had use this method they almost always decrease in waist while increasing in the other areas. This is a very cheap and accurate method to track results.
- Performance: Chart your exercises, weight used, and reps completed. Each week review and adjust to keep things challenging. At the end of each month review your progress and see where you have improved. Seeing the weights increase over a month’s time is a great motivator.
- Personal feel: You should ask yourself how you are feeling. With starting a health and fitness regimen comes pain, sweat, and more pain. You shouldn’t feel miserable either. At the end of your workout you should feel tired but in a good state of mind. You want to push your body to its fullest capability, but not the point where you are being detrimental to your health or your results. This lifestyle change should be a healthy and enjoyable experience, but you should always push towards the next goal.
After observing individuals at the gym, and seeing how many
use the weight scale day in and day out, I felt it was necessary to address
this issue. Weight as a measure of fitness is fine as long as you are using it
along with one of the other techniques listed above. The more variables you
use, the more accurate your progress can be calculated. Motivation can be hard
to come by at times, don’t add further aggravation by jumping on the scale
daily. Good luck on all of your health and fitness goals.
Michael
Petrinjak, CFT
Evolve
Training Systems
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