I’ve spoken a lot recently about non-scale victories, but for some this may still be an unknown term… especially for those who may be new to their fitness journey. A healthy lifestyle doesn’t always have to be about just losing X amount of weight – this is where the term “non-scale victories” can come into play.
Several of my clients have started to see past the sole idea of aesthetic goals – scale weights can be a great goal for some people, but it’s not the be all and end all – as with the idea of progress photos to show a before and after from training, both things can be daunting and uncomfortable, which is not something I would want my clients to feel. I suggest both of these things when clients start a new programme, but I do not insist on them and also try to suggest other ideas too in which they can track improvements in health and fitness.
Non-scale victories should be considered when starting a new training programme; it sometimes means that certain things can be achieved fairly quickly, and this helps to build a good trainer-client relationship as well as helping the client to maintain motivation through momentum in their training. To put this idea simply, an increase in running distance and speed would be considered a non-scale victory. Alternatively, being able to squat a certain weight for a goal number of reps could be another non-scale victory. Have you ever considered the changes that can be made to your diet – improving the number of fruit and veggies that you consume each day - are you able to improve upon this? The biggest difference I’ve noticed recently however, is the improvement in my clients’ mobility and flexibility.
With more and more of us stuck at home, or in an office at the desk, I’ve noticed an increasing number of complaints about everything feeling a little tighter and achier. It’s important to get up during the day and take regular stretch breaks, or at the very least take 10-15 minutes to stretch at the end of your exercise session. This isn’t just so you’ve got some new party tricks for show… more for the fact that it’ll make all of your daily movements and workouts a little more comfortable, perhaps increasing motivation to want to train and reducing the risk of injury – meaning less time out of training, therefore maintaining momentum to your training.
I suppose the main thing to take from this is to start broadening your goals for a healthy lifestyle. Continue with your ideas for scale weights and progress photos, if this is what you wish to do, but also consider some fitness and food related goals which may in turn lead you towards your goal weight or fitness aesthetic you’ve been wanting to achieve. Lots of smaller steps can add up to big results, motivation continues and there’s less likelihood of monotony. Non-scale victories are not to be considered any less of a victory, especially if we start to move better, feel better and live better - they're personal to each of us.
What are the non-scale victories you’re working towards right now?