Reps and Weights Beat the Scale in Measuring Success

By: CrossFit Fortify

Are you doing everything right in the gym, but the scale won't budge? Maybe that anxiety-producing number has even gone up a little. Before you get too discouraged or give up on CrossFit, you should know that the scale isn't the only marker of fitness success. In fact, your body weight is a pretty poor indicator of your overall fitness when you're in a training program. So what are some better ways to tell how you're doing?

Using Reps as a Marker of Progress

The number of repetitions you can do is a great marker of your fitness progress. Your reps represent your endurance and will steadily increase over time as your body adapts to the loads you're lifting. Your reps generally show weekly progress. That said, your reps will naturally go down briefly when you increase your lift weight and will gradually come up again.

The Numbers on Your Weights Beat the Scale

The amount of weight you can lift reflects your strength. Your strength will increase over time but not as quickly as your reps. It may take a few weeks at a given weight to "outgrow" it, but it's measurable progress — just as your reps are. Measuring your strength is much more informative than the scale.

Tracking Reveals Your Progress Over Time

Tracking your reps and weights may feel like a chore, but think of it as a way to prove your progress to yourself. Whether you track your weights and reps digitally or on paper, you'll be able to see your fitness grow from week to week and month to month. Your workout journal will tell you most of what you need to know about where you are in your fitness journey.

As you can see, using your reps and weights as the goalposts on your fitness journey paints a truer picture about where you are than the scale does. Look to your renewed energy and greater strength for signs of your fitness progress and as a supplement to your tracking numbers. The scale doesn't reflect all the changes going on in your body, so don't let it derail your confidence.

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