Track the wins the scale can't show you

Progress shows up in many ways. Canada's movement guidelines and the World Health Organization list benefits of regular activity that include better sleep, mental health, quality of life and physical function. Many of these you can notice yourself.

Seeing your progress also helps you keep going. A 2021 review of exercise adherence research listed progress monitoring and feedback among the key factors that help people stick with exercise.

Try this today: Start a simple log in a notebook or on your phone. Once a week, jot down:

• How many times you can stand up from a sturdy chair in 30 seconds (use your hands if you need to, and do it the same way each time)
• How the stairs, groceries or gardening felt
• Your energy and mood on a 1 to 10 scale
• How you slept
• One thing that felt easier this week

Seated option: Count how many seated marches or arm raises you can do in 30 seconds.

Compare every four weeks. Small changes add up, and they're easy to forget unless you write them down.

Safety note: When testing yourself, keep the effort comfortable, and if you're unsteady on your feet, have someone nearby.

Sources

• Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Adults 18-64 (CSEP) (opens in a new tab)
• World Health Organization: Physical activity fact sheet (opens in a new tab)
• Collado-Mateo et al. (2021), Key factors associated with adherence to physical exercise: an umbrella review, Int J Environ Res Public Health (opens in a new tab)