Why We Don’t Always Use Scales to Measure Exercise

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Lifestyle | Mental Health

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April 1, 2023

While your body weight on the scales can sometimes be an indication of overall health, in many cases it’s misleading, inaccurate and demoralising.

Most scales are inaccurate or difficult to interpret accurately, even expensive ones. Moreover, if we lose body fat and gain muscle at the same time, our weight on the scales may stay the same but our body can look very different to when we started.

Our weight can also fluctuate due to factors such as water retention or menstrual cycles so it’s not a reliable measure.

Many times, we’ve seen people working hard only to be discouraged when standing on a scale. They’ve achieved amazing feats, built muscle, their clothes might fit better but all they can focus on is the numbers on the scale as if they were a measure of their self-worth.

For these reasons, scales can be intimidating and can lead to negative body image. So, we have found other ways to measure our progress:

What’s your resting heart rate and do you recover from workouts quicker now?
Body composition, how do your clothes feel on you now?
Endurance – how long can you sustain activity compared to when you started?
Strength – How much weight do you lift now compared to when you first started?
Flexibility – Can you move more freely in your range of motion than before?
Balance – Can you stand on one foot for longer or have your single leg exercises improved?
Power – How quickly can you complete an activity compared to previous?
Energy Levels – is your metabolism higher? Do you have higher energy levels overall?

These are a much more positive and effective measure of overall progress. Celebrate the progress you’ve made so far, celebrate that you’re started a new regime because it’s only going to get better from here. Sometimes it might not happen the way we expect it to, but it will happen with consistency.

Fitness Revolution in Bassendean welcomes everyone but specialises in the over 40’s in a fun and safe environment. Learn more about our personal and group training.

Founder/Director Angela Gawthorne