Ten Lesser-Known Signs Of Progress

Screenshot 2021-09-19 at 17.14.36
Sean Wilson

Sean Wilson

You may have started training to change your body shape, but what other areas are you noticing progress in that you may not have anticipated?

Are you just judging your progress on scale weight and visual progress? If so, you are not alone. Many people start resistance training because they want to change their body shape, which is a huge reason in itself.

However, as you go through your fitness journey, you will start to notice other areas of your life-changing for the better. These are changes that you may not have anticipated at first, but you will appreciate immensely the more they appear.

So, what are these signs of progress? And how can they have a positive impact on your life?

Better Routine

Do you feel more in control? Are you in a routine when it comes to your training, nutrition, activity levels, sleep and recovery? These are important indicators that you are making huge progress. Success comes from consistency, and that is not achieved without routine and habits instilled on a daily basis. So, if you are in control and have found the best way of sticking to the plan, you are on track towards your goals.

Favourite Clothes Fit

Another big sign of progress is fitting into your favourite clothes. When it comes to visual progress, it takes time to notice significant changes. However, early on you should notice that you are feeling slimmer and having fewer problems trying on clothes that you were too big to try on in previous months. For males, adding muscle and filling out a t-shirt is another big sign that you are progressing. This should give you a huge amount of confidence and happiness, especially in social settings.

More Strength

One of the biggest differences you should notice is how much weight you can lift week on week. Building strength takes time and it’s not going to happen overnight, but you will notice that a certain weight becomes comfortable to lift and that you can gradually increase it, the more consistent you are with your training. More strength leads to a better quality of life, less pain and also more self-confidence.

More Confidence

When you begin your fitness journey, it is very possible that you are adopting a fixed mindset. You can’t do this, you can’t do that, you will never be able to achieve this, it is not possible to be successful at that. This is often why a lot of people fail, not just with getting in better shape but with any goal in life and is also commonly why many don’t even bother to start. So much about fat loss is in the mind, and it requires belief and confidence as well as discipline, consistency and routine. All of this has a knock-on effect on the belief and confidence you have in yourself, which then has a huge impact on your happiness, relationships with people and overall outlook on life. This is a gamechanger if your goal is to be more joyful and inspired life.

Toning

The more you train, the more you should start to notice muscle development, regardless of your goals. However, this is particularly evident with fat loss, as body fat will drop significantly and muscles will be more prominent and developed. You may notice this more in certain areas than others, depending on the muscle development beforehand and the fact that your genetics determine which areas of your body see the quickest rate of fat loss first.

Happier

Happiness is not something that is easy to achieve. However, it is vital that you search for it so that you can enjoy your life to the full. Making progress with your body shape helps you achieve this because it gives you confidence that you can achieve something, as well as a better body shape for you to enjoy, especially in social environments. Ultimately, the reason you wanted to change is because you were unhappy, so achieving this should make you a happier, more confident person.

More Nutritional Knowledge

Your fitness journey should be an educational process, and therefore your knowledge of nutrition will show signs of improving. You should know more about the nutritional values of the foods you like to consume, which foods are best for your goals and which ones are best to avoid. Better nutritional knowledge also gives you control and allows you to live a balanced lifestyle that still encourages progress.

More Energy

Many people suffer from low energy throughout their lives. This can stem from many areas, such as being out of shape, not living an inspired life, having a baggage of emotions, having poor quality nutrition and poor sleep and recovery. As a result, this impacts your enjoyments of life, performance at work and relationships with people. The more you train and the more your body shape improves, the more your energy levels should start to increase.

Less Pain/Aching

Many people get aches and pains because they are not strong enough in key areas of their body. It can be common for people to start training ‘abs’ because they want them to be more visible, but then often complain of lower back pain and are more susceptible to injury, especially when playing sport. If your muscles are not strong, areas such as your lower back tend to take more of the workload in the positions you get into. Training these muscles in isolation will strengthen them and shift the pain away from areas, such as your lower back, that are unable to take the pressure being placed upon them. Less pain and aching will lead to a better quality of life.

More Belief

When you start your fitness journey, you will likely be suffering from a lack of belief in yourself that you can achieve your goal. However, the more you train and the more you make progress, the more you will believe that you can do it. Furthermore, you will be intrigued to see how far you can push yourself and that can have a positive impact on other areas of your life.

Summary

So, while you may have started training to get in great shape, it is important to recognise the other areas in which you are making progress. These include having a better routine, your favourite clothes fitting, more strength, more confidence, toning, happiness, more nutritional knowledge, more energy, less pain/aching, and more belief in yourself. These are life-changing areas of progress and the more you appreciate them, the more you will enjoy your journey.

Photo Credit: Envato Elements

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