How do you measure progress?

Most people begin an exercise/diet plan to improve their physical condition, improve health, and decrease stress.  Some people just hit the gym to look good naked and really don't care about their long term health or the way they move, but they still want to make progress in the gym and more importantly noticeable progress in the mirror.

Whether your goal is to improve your lipid profile or compete in "Flex-Off 2011", there are ways to monitor your progress that will help determine if what your are currently doing is working for YOU.  

If you want to improve overall health, blood work, and body weight/composition - going to a physician and getting a full panel of tests done as well as a body composition measurement (skin caliper, physiograph, underwater weighing, bodpod) would be a very efficient start.  Getting an accurate reading of your blood pressure and resting heart rate would also be an important part in gathering some starting statistics.

You should be logging your food, calories, and nutrients as well as keep an exercise journal.  If you don't see any positive changes after 8-12 weeks it might be time to alter you food choices and exercise selection.  If you are 100% committed to achieving results, and don't cheat on your diet or skip or slack in your workouts you will see results.  But where will you see results, the scale, caliper, mirror, loose fitting jeans?  All of those will be sufficient forms of measurement.  However for your cholesterol, vitamin mineral deficiences, and hormone levels, more blood work is needed. 

If you just want to look good in a pair of board shorts or a bikini, a mirror isn't the only way to evaluate progress.  I take it that you are already fairly lean, so skin caliper testing done every 7-10 days will help determine if you are on the right track to a banging beach body.  Keeping track of what you are doing in the gym and what you are putting in your pie hole are extremely important.  If your results aren't headed in the right direction you might need to add protein, cut the carbs, increase the fat or decrease your calories.  It is also necessary to keep track of your lifting/cardio sessions.  You might be doing too much cardio, and not lifting a sufficient amount of weight - which is usually the case.

One of my all time favorite "core" exercises! 

My opinion is that if you train to get stronger, everything else will fall into place.  Strength is one of the easiest, most reliable things to measure.  You can evaluate your progress each time you enter the gym.  Strength can be evaluated by dumbbells, a barbell, or even your own body weight.  Chances are that if you improve the amount of pull-ups you can do and increase the amount of weight you front squat, you are going to look better naked.  I you can do more push-ups, that very well could be the result of reducing some unwanted body weight.  

Chances are that if you can do weighted pull ups,  your pretty darn lean!

As far as overall health, increasing the amount of weight on each exercise will have a positive effect on structural stability which could lead to better movement efficiency.   Increasing the volume of your lifting sessions will also have positive impact on bone density.  When better food choices are thrown into the mix, it's a win-win for improvements in blood work. 

A good way to start measuring your progress when it comes to gaining strength is to get an idea of how much weight/reps you can perform in the following movements. (if not limited by injury) 

-Amount of total push ups, pull ups/inverted rows you can perform. (timed for a minute if needed)  

-Amount of weight you can perform on a front squat for a 3 rep max. 

-Amount of weight you can deadlift for a 1 rep max. 

-Amount of weight on a bench press/overhead press for a 3 rep max.
-I'm not a big fan if distance running, but timing yourself in a mile run can be a decent measurement for cardiorespiratory endurance.
-If you prefer shorter distances you can do some intervals on the track, run 100 meters in a specific time frame (12-20 seconds) and rest 45 seconds,  run as many as you can without exceeding your rest time.  Once you fatigue, the number of 100's you can complete will be your measurement, try to improve on that each week.
-After 6-8 weeks of intense training, it's time to retest.  

If your eating is on track, once these lifts/movement/exercises  are increased you will be one step closer to achieving measurable, efficient progress in the gym or on the track and of course- the mirror.  Don't just settle for going to the gym for a workout, actually start TRAINING to get STRONG- everything else will fall in place.    

The Smith Machine - A waste of valuable gym space?

Over the years I've omitted certain exercises, machines, or movements for various reasons.  The main reason I've taken a stance in avoiding certain "gym things" is safety and movement efficiency.  A VERY close second reason would be the BENEFIT of an exercise. Some exercises are extremely beneficial, but not everybody has the stability and mobility to perform them effectively, which could lead to injury.

If a client can't move efficiently, such as not being able to perform a squat or lunge properly. Or if they can't perform a  push up or row variation with proper body alignment and shoulder function, we'll mainly work on activating certain muscles and working up to the full range of motion with the above movements.

I didn't always train that way, I used to just run clients though various exercises and machines at the gym and try to make them sweaty and sore.  Yes, I was a moron.

Of all the exercises  I see people performing at the gym with major movement dysfunction, the Smith Machine would rank #1.

Some of the problems I see with the Smith Machine:

-A fixed plane of motion.  The bar slides up and down a guided path and for most exercises such as squats and bench press, and our most of the time this can lead to shoulder, knee, and lower back issues.  Our bodies should operate on a more "functional path".  This guided path takes the lower back out of the equation during squats and places more sheer force on the patella.  During the bench press, the fixed path can take all of the shoulder stabilization out of the exercise, which would be avoiding one of the benefits of the exercise- on purpose.

This causes pain in MY shoulders...... 

-False sense of resistance.  Whether you are providing more force with your right or left arm (or leg), the bar will still travel in an even path.  Using free weights such as an Olympic Bar or Dumbbells, it is extremely noticeable which limb is providing more force.

-Its a trainer-no brainer.   A lot of trainers who are uneducated or just don't feel like taking time to teach an actually "free weight" movement will just stick they clients on the Smith Machine because "it's easy".

-Misrepresentation of the actual load lifted.  If you push the bar in a forward / backward motion while moving the bar upward, you are using the guide track to help with the resistance.  There are some gym goers who bench two 45lb. plates on each side and claim to bench 225lbs.  Once they step outside of fairly tail land and get on a real bench,  they'll get a 225lb. bar to the chest that doesn't budge.

When I see all of the money gyms waste on these machines, it amazes me.  You could get 2 or 3 power/squat racks for the price of one Smith Machine- but you need employees that are capable of teaching certain exercises out of those racks, which is hard to find now a days.

This dude is also using a "sissy pad" - awfulness! 

The Smith Machine does have some uses in my book.  It's a great place to strap the TRX or a great place to anchor resistance bands.  For certain cases, such as bodybuilding, it is adequate for movements solely designed for hypertrophy.  

Most people just want to get leaner, get in better physical condition, and move more efficiently and pain free, the Smith Machine is far from the  best tool for accomplishing those things.

The last thing regarding the Smith, that I find pretty humorous is listening to a personal trainer brag about how they are an expert at functional training and then seeing their clients perform 1/4 rep squats using that damn machine.

Next time you're in the gym head to the squat rack or dumbbell area, let your body do the work instead of some lame ass machine.....