Do You Measure?

Do you? Do you measure your progress?

This morning I went out for a short run. Yes, a run. If you’ve been reading my posts you know I don’t like to run. But … it works. This morning’s run made me think about how we measure our progress in fitness.

What gets measured gets done. (Often attributed to Peter Drucker)

As Cube Dwellers most of us are involved in driving business improvements. That could be cost improvements, process improvements, or even breakthrough innovations. We also know that each effort is only worthwhile if we know our current state. The same is true in our fitness.

Measure with a Heart Monitor

I wear my Garmin FR60 Heart Monitor when I run. It gives me that measurement and feedback on how I’m progressing.

Like I’ve said before, “I’m not a runner” and it shows when you look at my pace. I run 9.5 minute miles on my 3.5 mile loop. That pace hasn’t changed much over the years. Where I see differences is in my heart rate and heart rate recovery period.

Here are the improvements I noticed this morning compared to the same run back in February:

• Small speed improvement – 9:21min/mile instead of 9:38min/mile.
• Lower Average Heart Rate – 6bpm lower.
• Fewer recovery periods – after running up inclines I too less time to recover
• Faster recovery after uphill sprints

Other Ways to Measure Progress

In whatever type of fitness training you do, measure. That is one of the things that I learned from Crossfit – measure, measure, measure.

Here are a few ideas on how to keep track and measure your fitness progress.

• Training Log
• Personal Records – keep track of peak performance
• Timed Workouts
• Count Exercises in a Set Time Period

So how do you measure your progress?

About Troy Pesola

Troy is the founder of Cube.Dweller.Fitness. He's an innovation catalyst in several areas of life including business, marketing, and process improvement. Outside of work he's actively involved in fitness, health, and living vibrantly in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.