Sore muscles or the amount of sweat is not an indicator that the exercise was good and successful and that you are really making progress.
To make sure that exercise has not only helped your health, but also the goals you want to achieve with it, you should not rely on signs such as muscle soreness or the amount of sweat you shed during exercise. Instead, focus on concrete indicators that will tell you how far you've already progressed, wrote on the Lifehacker portal.
Can you do more than you did last month?
You're not comparing today's workout to yesterday's workout, you're comparing it you compare it to what you did weeks, months or even years ago. Your strength is not the same every day and depends on how much you slept, how much you ate, how much you are under stress and how you feel. Also, even if you don't realize it, every hard workout brings some fatigue that lasts for days to come. Maybe last week you lifted 20 pounds with no problem, but today you can barely lift 15 pounds. This is perfectly fine and does not in any way mean that you have weakened.
Instead, compare your results with what you achieved a few days ago. Now you are lifting 15 kilograms, last month you were barely 10. Now you can run continuously for half an hour, but last month you had to take several short breaks. Well, that's progress!
Are you consistent?
You may not be able to compare your results to last month's results because you did different exercises then, or not at all. But remember that it is the secret of progress in perseverance and consistency. Taking the time to practice is a victory in itself. This is the most important achievement, because only if you are persistent will you progress. You can compare your persistence to last month, so ask yourself if you are as consistent today as you were then.
Has your minimum gone up?
Weightlifting is an exercise that requires technique and focus in addition to strength, and good days can be great as well as rare. The first sign of progress is the achievement of new personal goals and moving the limits of the minimum. Last week you deadlifted 40 pounds and now you can easily deadlift 48 or 49 pounds. This is great progress and at the same time another way to follow it. If you've been practicing for a long time, it's also one of the most useful ways to see the progress you've made.
If you run, you may have noticed that the time you used to take for one kilometer is now sufficient for five kilometers. If you exercise with dumbbells, at first you could barely do the exercise with a kilogram heavy dumbbell, but now you can do it completely and with a much greater load. So don't worry about what you can achieve on your best day, but focus on what has become easy for you every day.
Are you in better shape?
If you're doing things better today than you did before, that's progress, even if it didn't affect the numbers. Can you squat deeper? Progress. Any type of exercise that requires technique and you perfect it over time is a success. Even if you just started recreation, you can brag - if the results are small, it does not mean that they are not important. The little things add up!
Are you feeling well?
Have you ever finished a workout and had more energy than when you started? This is not a rarity. Especially if you accept the fact that you can with exercise improve your mood, but not that you have to suffer with it.
Exercise can make every moment more beautiful. It's also a wonderful sense of accomplishment that comes after a workout, especially if you've broken a personal best or seen some progress. The positive effects of exercise can last throughout the day. Exercise thus leads to better sleep, better mood and has the power to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. An improvement in mood and mental health is a particularly beneficial response of the body to exercise and shows that you have used your time well!
