Muscle 4 Hardgainers

So you’d been into natural bodybuilding for a while now. You seriously want to burn belly fat, build muscle and get ripped. You’re hitting the gym regularly, sticking to your diet, and you’re working really hard.

So how’s your progress so far? Do you know how exactly your body responds to every change you make? Do you know exactly how and what to tweak in order to get a particular effect?

As we’ve discussed in another article, the best bodybuilding program for you is the one tailored specifically for YOU. Programs like “Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle” and “No Nonsense Muscle Building” will show you exactly how to craft your personalized bodybuilding program, but you will still need to tweak and make some changes to get the optimal combination of training and nutrition that will work for YOU. And crucial to this tweaking process is knowing whether what you are doing is working for you or not.

Serious bodybuilders are those who are prepared to do whatever it takes to reach their goals, but you can’t really get to your goal if you don’t know where you are. That’s why, apart from working hard and following strict practices, you also need to constantly evaluate your progress.  In this article, we’ll explore why tracking and measuring your results meticulously will help you achieve your bodybuilding goals faster and more efficiently.

Measuring gives you feedback

Why Track and Measure?

Feedback

Tracking and measuring is how you find out whether or not what you are doing are moving you closer to your goals. For example, if you have been taking a weight gain supplement for 6 months now and you’re still the same weight, then you know something isn’t working; If you noticed that you’ve made much more gains ever since you started resting for for 48 hours instead of 24 hours, then you know you’re onto something worth sticking to.

Motivation

Tracking your results can also serve to motivate you. If you looked back to last quarter’s results and saw how much progress you’ve made and the changes that occurred in your body since then, you might find the results inspiring. If they aren’t making you proud, then you know you need to change something. Looking at the things you’d been doing will give you some clues as to what might not be working.

Focus

An almost automatic effect of tracking your progress is that it keeps your goals at the forefront of your mind. This helps program your subconscious mind to work toward your targets faster.

How To Track and Measure

1. Keep a Training Journal

What you write in your journal is up to you, but the idea is to document and record factors relevant to your bodybuilding, including non-tangibles like your thoughts and feelings. You might want to record the following:

• Training routine you do each day
• How you felt when you stuck to your diet or when you overate
• Your mental attitude to you workout
• The excuses you used to give yourself permission to sabotage your goal
• The stories you noticed you said to yourself
• When do you seem to be most energetic – morning or late afternoon?
• Are you progressively lifting  heavier weights?
• What could be the reason why you didn’t work out 3x last week, or why you ate 4 cheat meals instead of just 1?
• How did it feel when you tried running for 30 minutes instead of the usual 10?
• Did you do something you’re really proud of this week?

If you do this long enough, you’ll notice patterns in your performances, or your way of thinking and doing that will give you an insight on how to keep changing for the better.

2. Measure Your Body Every Week

You may include your body measurements on your journal. I personally prefer to Keep an Excel Spreadsheet which I use to record my weekly results. I use a simple Tape measure (the type that tailors use) to measure my :

• Left arm and Right arm
• Chest
• Waist
• Hips
• Left and Right Thigh
• Left and Right Calf

You might want to measure these stats in centimeters (not inches) to make it easier to notice the slightest progress you make. You’ll find it motivating when you see your results, no matter how small.

Then of course weigh yourself, and then measure your body fat percentage. There are many tools you can use – there are body fat calipers, Body fat analyzers, or the body fat & body water scales. I myself use the AccuMeasure Personal Body Fat Tester, because it’s simple, inexpensive, accurate and easy to use.

3. Nutrition Log

Bodybuilders who are really serious about their program tracks and measure their calories, and their protein, carbs and fats intake. Keep a log of everything you eat so you can observe how your diet are affecting your results. You might just want to jot these down in your Training Journal, or you can use a Excel Spreadsheet, like the one shown below:

Keep track of what you eat

Recommended Tools

FatTrack Digital Body Fat Caliper Description:Digital Fat Calipers: Ideal for anyone in a fat-burning fitness, exercise, bodybuilding, physique transformation, or weight management program who wants to measure their progress. With the reliability and gold-standard accuracy of underwater-weighing tests…with digital performance…the FatTrack II Digital Body Fat Caliper helps you track your progress as you see fit.Suggested Use:Simple to use. Detailed instructions included.

Personal Body Fat Tester Description: Accu-Measure Fitness 2000 comes with an original Personal Body Fat Tester, men’s and women’s Body Fat Measurement Charts, and a 22-page Fat Loss Plan with body fat measurement instructions, diet and exercise guidelines, fat loss tips, and fat facts.The Inside Scoop: Percent body fat calculations were within 1.1 percentage points of underwater weighing results, the gold standard of body fat measurement.Suggested Use: While standing, firmly pinch the suprailliac skinfold(approxzimately one inch above the right hipbone) between your left thumb and forefinger. Place the jaws of caliper over the skinfold, and press with thumb where indicated on the AccuFitness caliper until you hear a slight click. Repeat three times and use the average of your measurements.