How To Track Strength Training And Cardio Fitness Progress
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The Best Activity Fitness Trackers To Measure Your Workout Progress
On today’s episode of Live Lean TV, I’m sharing how to track strength training and cardio fitness progress with your workouts.
Before we get started, I want to give a quick shoutout to all our inner circle members at our Team Live Lean members site.
I keep hearing how much you are loving all the exclusive:
- monthly 4 week workout programs
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How To Track Strength Training And Cardio Fitness Progress
Without further ado, let’s get this post started on how to track strength training and cardio fitness progress with your workouts.
For those of you who aren’t using some type of activity fitness tracker, you’re missing out.
Let me put it this way.
If you’re not tracking your progress, how do you know if you are actually improving?
Let’s first look a how to track strength training progress during your workouts.
How to Track Strength Training Progress
The most basic activity fitness tracker to track your strength gains is a pen and paper.
Simply record how much weight you’re lifting each set in your workout journal.
By recording your lifts, next time you do that exercise again, you can test your strength gains by lifting heavier weight, for the same amount of reps.
These strength gains equals progress.
This is a simple way for you to track your strength training progress over the course of that phase of your workout program.
How to Track Cardio Fitness Progress
Next, let’s talk about how to track your cardio fitness progress during your workouts.
You can do this with a heart rate monitor.
Not only do heart rate monitors track the calories burned from your workout, they will also track your heart rate zone.
I’m a big believer in HIIT workouts for optimal fat loss and overall conditioning.
Therefore a heart rate monitor can be a great tool to tell you if you’re training with enough intensity, to get the maximum results from your cardio workout.
I’ve shared a simple formula on how to calculate your HIIT heart target zones for optimal HIIT workout results.
During your high intensity interval, your heart rate monitor will tell you once you get into the high intensity heart rate zone.
Once you complete the high intensity interval, your goal is to allow your heart rate to drop for a period of time, before you move on to your next high intensity interval.
Your heart rate monitor will tell you once your heart rate is low enough before raising it again.
How Do I Know If My Cardio Fitness Is Improving?
A heart rate monitor allows you to track the progression of your cardio health.
After completing a high intensity interval, the faster your heart rate drops back down to the low intensity interval, the stronger your cardio fitness health.
It does this by measuring how fast your heart rate goes back down, after a high intensity interval.
Example Of How To Track Your Cardio Fitness Progress
In week 1 of training, you tracked that it takes 90 seconds for your heart rate to lower back down after a high intensity interval.
Then in week 6 of training, you tracked that it now only takes 60 seconds to drop your heart rate back down after a high intensity interval.
Since your heart rate dropped faster, it is proof that your cardio fitness health is improving.
What Is My Favorite Heart Rate Monitor?
I’ve used many different heart rate monitors.
My favorite heart rate monitor has been my Apple watch synced to my Polar H10 chest strap.
Even though some people don’t like using a chest strap, I find it gives you the most accurate measurements.
In a previous post, I’ve talked about the weight loss benefits of getting 10,000 steps a day.
I also use the step counter inside my Apple watch to measure my daily steps.
Tabata Interval Timer
I also like using this tabata interval timer during my workout finishers.
I simply set my interval timer to a 20:10 work rest ratio, push the start button, then workout to the beeps.
It’s very simple to use and helpful to keep your tabata workouts on track.
Bottom Line On How To Track Strength Training And Cardio Fitness Progress
I’m a big believer in the things that get measured, get results.
Having a properly structured workout program is the first step.
This will help you stay accountable, as you will know exactly:
- When to workout
- What to do during your workout
Then you just need to track the amount of weight you’re lifting, to see progress along your journey.
Remember, as a Live Leaner, we’re always striving for progress, not perfection.
There you have it Live Lean Nation.
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Brad Gouthro is the founder of Live Lean TV, a media company focused on helping men and women “Live Lean” 365 days a year. Brad’s programs and content have helped millions of people all over the world learn how to get in shape, and more importantly, sustain it for life.
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