Track How Far You’ve Come

Making the commitment to becoming more physically active is an accomplishment in itself, but being able to look back and see how far you’ve come is the real reward. It might be hard to believe, but even after only a few weeks of moderate exercise, you will have already made much progress toward your fitness goals.

Although we all move at a different pace, we’ve plotted out a Move It Monday roadmap to guide you through a month-long fitness journey. Week one, we recommend talking to your doctor about important health measurements and numbers such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels, heart rate, and Body Mass Index (BMI). Week two focuses on using daily activities, like chores and hobbies, to slowly ease the transition from a sedentary lifestyle to a more active one; and by week three, you’ve recommitted to your workout routine, and recognized how incremental progress adds up if you just stick with it.

This Monday, start reaping the benefits of your hard work by celebrating how far you’ve come. A few weeks not seem like enough time to see or feel any physical improvements, but you’ll be surprised at how quickly your body can change and adapt. You may have noticed that you have more energy, that your groceries feel lighter, and that it’s easier to go up and down the stairs.

When making a lifestyle change, especially one related to your physical fitness, periodically tracking your accomplishments allows you to enjoy the journey as it’s happening; but more importantly, a monthly re-evaluation will motivate you to continue to persevere when the pace of improvement slows as well as assess which aspects of your routine need an adjustment.

Because success is not as much an outcome—it’s a process. So, keep up the good work and use this Monday to see far how you’ve come.