We hear many excuses as to why people don’t want to measure or assess. Sometimes those excuses come from someone brand new. Sometimes they come from someone who’s been with us for a while. They are excuses nonetheless.
Weight, body composition, blood pressure, cholesterol, strength, mile time, and so on. The list of how you could assess progress is endless. Let’s look at what the value of measurement and assessment is and then tackle your excuses.
What do you think? Is your excuse on the list below?
But Why Assess?
Baseline
If you’re brand new to adding exercise and changing your nutrition, assessment gives you a baseline for tracking change. You have to know where you’re starting to make really good goals.
Accountability
You cannot hide from measurements. They are what they are. Knowing that you have some sort of assessment in a very fixed amount of time (extra points if it is already on your calendar) will create an additional layer of accountability for what you said you wanted to do. The assessment will show you if you ‘stayed the course’ or if you ‘fell off the wagon.’
Problem Identification
Do not forget that when it comes to getting to your goals, there is a formula. Let’s say you make what you feel to be the necessary changes but nothing changes when you measure again. This reassessment is a chance to see what formula didn’t work and then change some values in that formula.
Think of it as an experiment: what is the combination of variables that get you the results you want? I would think you want that formula!
Celebration
This one is a major one and it is probably the most overlooked. As a human species, we are wired to find the negative as that was part of surviving at one point in our history. Now, while it can have value, it is a tough way to live.
Celebrating your progress is an acknowledgement of your hard work and discipline. Making changes is tough. Making changes for a long enough period of time that they become habits is tougher. This is worth celebrating!
What’s Your Excuse?
“I Need Time To Get In Shape Before…”
This is one I get way more than I ever thought I would. It most commonly comes from someone just starting out but intermediate trainees are not immune.
My response? Try a thought experiment: let’s say you made it to your goals. Wouldn’t you want to know the total change you made? Your total weight lost? How about your total muscle gained? Your complete improvement in fitness?
This excuse makes no sense to me. This would be like saying, “I need to get clean before I can take a shower.”
“Seeing My Results Will Ruin My Day”
While along the same lines as the one above, this one carries a lot more validity. However, maybe ruining your day, your mood, or making you sad or upset is not a bad thing. Maybe that is the fire you need to get up and get going!
Perhaps you need that kick in the ass to understand that the time to make these changes is right now!
Rip the bandaid off, pick up your other baggage, and let’s go.
“I Didn’t Do What I Was Supposed To Do”
This is a common excuse from someone who has been training for a while.
My response? You hired me to get you somewhere and part of that is accountability. So just like above, maybe the sting of seeing little or no change is the “rock bottom” you need to actually make that change.
Cowboy up, let’s assess, and execute this time.
“I Haven’t Improved”
First of all, how do you know you haven’t improved? We did all these initial measurements and it is time to see if you did or you didn’t. And, if you didn’t, we can adjust variables in that formula to make sure you do.
Second of all, these are vital markers for us to understand if what we are doing is working or it isn’t. If you are doing what you’re supposed to be doing and nothing is changing, this is a sign we have some other changes to make.
Third, you are training for results. Let’s do the things we need to do to get you your results. Don’t hide from it.
“I Already Know I’m [Insert Self Judgement Here]”
Let’s side step the fact that you are saying something which makes you feel worse about yourself. This goes back to a baseline measurement and knowing where you’re coming from so you can figure out where you’re going.
My favorite thing to do in this scenario? I assess this person and don’t give them the results. What I use this assessment for is in 3 months time when they’ve changed then I can say, “hey! You’ve lost 22lbs and gained 3lbs of muscle!”
Whether YOU actually know your starting point is irrelevant. We just need a start point!
You Tell Me
After all that, you tell me what excuse you have to not measure and to not re-measure. I can think of very few instances where we might not measure and while they have happened through the years, they were temporary.
As for you, you have no reason not to. You might have an excuse or three but you don’t have a good reason to not measure.Looking for your initial measurement? Perhaps you’re looking to add a layer of accountability for yourself? Click HERE to get started or send me an email at [email protected].
