February 12, 2016

As you continue your work out regimen both inside and outside of Blue Lion Fitness, we’ve got ways to measure your success.

If losing weight is your goal….

The scale is going to be your indicator of success, sort of. If your goal is losing weight then lowering that final number is what you want to do. However, there are two things you need to consider when looking at weight loss:

1. Muscle weighs more than fat
2. Height, gender, and body frame will affect the final number

Muscle weighs more than fat so as you gain muscle and lose fat, there is a limbo phase where you’ll most likely put on a couple pounds due to the muscle mass. There are also certain weights that are both unreasonable and unhealthy to aim for based on your height and gender. You don’t want to be underweight or lose weight at too fast of a pace as both can be harmful to your overall health.

If being more active is your goal…

You want to be more active? Then get your ass in gear. Measuring success in being more active is all about the time you put in. Set a number for yourself. I want to work out X amount of minutes for X days per week. It doesn’t even have to be about the actual work out, remember your measurement is time.

If getting stronger is your goal…

You want to measure by a one-rep max. If you’ve been in our Blue Lion classes enough times, you’ll become very familiar with the one-rep max and why it’s important. The one-rep max, as the name suggests, is the max amount of weight you can lift. There’s a one-rep max for your front squat, back squat, bench-press, power clean, and for every other lift. Knowing your one rep max is important for classes, because there’s a percentage that the BLF instructors are going to tell you to start or stop at. If you can up your one-rep max number, that’s a sure sign that you are getting stronger. Getting stronger means constantly improving, even if you struggle with lifting the barbell by itself at the beginning, you have all the opportunity to grow.

If creating a healthy lifestyle is your goal…

You want to measure by all or none of the above. Why all or none? Well, a healthy lifestyle is something you know about deep down. It’s not necessarily judged by a single number or even a dozen, it’s about how you eat, and how active you are, but most importantly it’s about how you feel, both physically and mentally. That being said, you can certainly set benchmarks for yourself based on the above criteria whether it’s a one-rep max or a how much you’d ideally want to weigh. Living a healthy lifestyle means you can do more, lift more, stretch more, sleep more, move more. You can also lose stress, anxiety, and self-loathing while gaining confidence and a kick-ass attitude. A healthy lifestyle is about more than just the way you look, as the name would suggest, it’s about how you live.

Embrace your strengths and expect the best from yourself and just remember to channel this lion: