How To See Progress In Your Exercise Routine
I want to give you some advice that I give everyone who talks to me about their health and fitness. And that's to strive for progress not perfection.
If you're always waiting for the 'perfect time' to start working out, or eating better, or doing something for you…then I'm here to tell you to stop.
Stop waiting for anything to be perfect, because rarely anything in life is!
It's the same when it comes to our fitness, whether during pregnancy or after having children. There's never going to be an easy, or straightforward, or perfect time to start.
Ways of measuring progress
How you feel - When you're exercising regularly and moving your body in a way which makes it feel good, your energy levels will increase, you're more likely to sleep better (or will hopefully be more prepared to deal with sleep deprivation!), and your mindset is often more positive. Feeling positive mentally makes a huge difference to how you feel doing your everyday tasks. So if what you're doing has been making you feel better in some way…then that's huge progress.
How you move. When we start something new, it's completely normal if it feels hard. When it comes to exercise, certain you may find some movements difficult and some routines challenging. However if these movements start to feel easier, or your body is moving more easily, or you can even increase the difficulty of the movement…then that's amazing progress!
Physical differences. With a consistent exercise routine, you will see physical differences as time goes on. Yes, weight loss can be a marker of progress for some people, but so can building muscle, feeling stronger, being able to play with your children on the floor without struggling to get back up. Never underestimate how amazing it is to be able to do things that you struggled to previously. If your body feels stronger, fitter and healthier physically…that is brilliant progress!
After reading this, I hope that the next time the thought crosses your mind that you haven't achieved your goal, or you haven't done something you wanted to… try and remind yourself that if you are closer to your goal than when you first started and if you have seen benefits of the changes you have made, then that's progress! And that's incredible!
If you ever need help starting your journey into fitness, whether it's during pregnancy or after having your baby…you know where to find me!