Dave Schumaker said:I would like to track my progress from "fat" to "fit". Does anyone
recommend any software or charts to track progress. What types of
information have been found beneficial in tracking progress? I would
like to use the information as a positive motivator and mini-goal
setting.Thanks.
Dave S.
Stop with the gee-gaws: you only need paper, a pencil, and a stop-
watch. Mirror, measuring tape, and scale optional.
What you do is do push-ups and ab crunches and jogging. For the first
week, only do them three times, every other day (for example, tonight,
Wednesday, and Friday -- yes, the day after Thanksgiving!). Next
week, do it four times, like Sunday, Tuesday...Saturday, only be sure
to mark your stats Saturday, like how many push-ups and ab crunches in
two mikes, and how many mikes to go four laps around a standard track
(which is a mile in distance). Keep to your routine, at four sessions
a week, with a "test" every two weeks where you record your progress
on just those three exercises.
Keep at them for two months, or four test periods. After two months,
start adding exercises like triceps dips and chin-ups. By the end of
three months, you should be strong enough to add respectable newbies
weights to your regimen (like at least 185-lbs. on the bench press to
start, as opposed to a measly 135-lbs. or even 95-lbs. typical of
total newbies). You should also be running a mile (an all-out mile,
that is, as opposed to the first mile of many) in no less than seven
minutes.
Really, it's that simple. Three or four months is all it'll take --
though you could see results in as little as two weeks, and many see
substantial gains within only a month -- for you to get from fat to
fit (assuming you're not genetically predisposed to being fat, of
course [which you'll know within four months of diligence, for
sure]). No need for software, spreadsheets, gear, or memberships
(until you get to the free weights, anyway).
If you need a "magic acorn" in the form of software, spreadsheets, or
photos of half-naked guys to motivate you properly, well, you're
probably not cut out for the physical life of an athlete -- and if
you're not looking to be an athlete, then just walking on the
treadmill, eating yogurt for lunch, and subscribing to muscle
magazines is good enough for you to win your general practitioner's
seal of approval.
Just work out, eat right, and rest properly, and you'll be fine,
genetics aside. I know that's not the sexy answer, but it's the only
true one. "Everything I need to know about physical fitness I learned
in kindergarten."