Assessing Progress

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So, I was originally planning to finish an article on coffee, but I ended up getting sidetracked after reassessing my last bulk.  Instead, I’m going to tell you, from my experience, the best way to assess your progress.

Optimum Cycles

I have found that the best length of time per cycle is two months, or more specifically eight weeks.  When bulking, an eight week cycle allows me to have a two week sub-maximal ramp-up (it’s the same as a deload, except you do it at the beginning of the cycle instead of the end) followed by six weeks of constant improvements in the weight room.  At this point, many of my lifts start to plateau (except for back exercises for some reason).  So I use this time to assess my bulk and either decide to cut or perform another bulk. 

It works the same for a cut with a few exceptions.  First, since I am in a caloric deficit I don’t do a sub-maximal ramp-up, but instead try to maintain my strength (usually follow the RPT Strength routine).  Also, if I reach my goal early (in terms of weight and/or bodyfat %), I will end the cut early. Like most, I’m always eager to start building muscle as quickly as possible. I will not let the cut go longer than eight weeks though due to hormonal down regulation from extended caloric deficits.  I tried a long term cut at one time, which resulted in a sever lack of energy and libido as well as stagnated weight loss despite taking in an average of 2000 calories a day.

Measuring Progress

I measure progress three ways, three that are purely objective and one subjective; bodyweight, diametrical measurements, strength, and photos.

Bodyweight is the most commonly used tool to measure progress; however, I believe most people do it incorrectly.  As I constantly have to explain to my mom, just because the scale increased by a pound today, doesn’t mean you put on a pound of fat overnight.  Bodyweight actually fluctuates quite a bit depending on what you ate and how much you drank the previous day.  Therefore, to get the most accurate measurement, take your weight on three consecutive days and average them for a single weight.  Also, take your weight shortly after waking up in the morning, after using the restroom, but before eating or drinking anything.

Diametrical measurements are becoming more popular.  I take measurements at the following locations, recording both the flexed and non-flexed state: Upper Arm (largest point), Chest (at the nipple height), Shoulders (at the armpit height), Waist (at the bellybutton), Hips (height where largest), Upper Thigh, Calf (at largest point), and Neck.  Just like weight, it is best to take these measurements in the morning after waking up and using the restroom, but before eating and drinking anything. Make sure that the measuring tape is parallel to the floor – it’s easy for it to slip (you might find it useful to get help with this, just make sure that they can continue to take your measurements as consistency is important).

The last measurement that you compare is actually something that you should have been recording all along: your lifts.  While you can compare the increases (or decreases if you are not so lucky) in weight over your last cycle, I prefer to concentrate on monitoring progress in the big four lifts: deadlifts, bench press, military (or overhead) press, and squats.  To compare if you have gained or lost strength, take the weight and amount of reps of your best set and put it into a 1RM calculator (just google search it).  When bulking, I hope to see the weight I lift go up twice as fast on bench press and military press as the number on the scale, and five times as fast for deadlift and squat.  When cutting, I hope to just maintain strength in all of my lifts, and any progress, however small, is welcomed.  However, typically strength does decrease and as long as your bodyweight drops much quicker than the weight on the bar (like 5-10 times quicker depending on the lift), you are doing ok. 

The last measurement, and the only measurement that is not explicitly quantitative, is photos.  I always try to take these photos directly after taking the above measurements (before eating or drinking anything).  Try to wear the same clothing in each progress photo, take them in the same location (for both you and the camera), in the same lighting conditions.  This will help you to make an accurate comparison, removing as many outside factors as possible.  However, things will never be exactly the same.  For example, the last set of progress photos I took in the middle of winter, so I look pale compared to the photos I took a couple months ago, making me look even softer and less defined.  Just something to remember when comparing photos.

Success or Not…

With these measurements, you can accurately see whether you have gone in the right direction or not on your last cycle.  Did your waist measurement increase much on your last bulk?  How about your weight?  Maybe you even dropped weight but added an inch to your chest and ¼ inch to your arms?  How has your strength faired?  Or, the one many of us hate, how do you look in the pictures?  No matter what, you will be able to see if the last eight weeks were a success or maybe you learned another thing that does not work for you.  Let me know, how do you measure progress?