Measure to improve

The key to any improvement is to measure what one does against what one has done before.

Essentially we try to create a continual state of creating base lines that we will measure ourselves against.

But if you are not tracking, analysing, and resetting you are doing yourself a disservice.

So what should you measure. The answer to that is up to you, but here are some things you can measure

You can measure heart rate, power, and / or rate of perceived exertion during your workout.

You can measure your distance, volume, and / or time.

You can measure your heart rate, weight, body fat, hours of sleep, calories, and even state of mind.

The reality is that one can measure pretty much anything...what you need to do is find the measurements that will best help you improve.

Here is what I measure for each workout:

1) Time
2) Distance travelled
3) Pace/Speed
4) Type of workout (recovery, tempo, speed, technique)
5) Equipment used (hours and distance)
6) Physical and mental markers (felt good, felt tired, mind not on workout)

Every month

1) Weight
2) Heart rate

Then at regularly scheduled intervals I review my data to see if this matches my goals.

I keep track of my data on line at beginnertriathlete.com The site offers multiple tools, and is free. For a few dollars a month you can upgrade to tiers that offer even more tools.

If you don't like on-line tools an inexpensive notebook can work just as well.

Just keep it simple, be consistent in tracking, and be objective when you analyse.

Until next time, keep tri'n.