Favorite Way to Measure Progress?

Dan John has a new article on T-Nation here about measuring progress, and it got me thinking about the lifts I use most to see if I'm heading in the right direction. And realizing there's a ton of different kinds of "strength athletes" here I thought it'd be interesting to see what others measure themselves by.

Personally, I train mainly to get better at my sport (recent transition aside) and prevent injuries from my other activities. So I find the OH squat and power clean to be able to tell me more about how effective my latest program has been more than anything. They're 2 brutally honest lifts, and one thing I like is that they actually seem to get easier the leaner I get which is another area I focus on at least part of the year.

 

I use the skulls of my enemies and the lamentation of their wives as my marker.
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I measure progress with everything I do whether it be a certain lift, 1 mile time, 5k time, etc. etc. Whatever I do I just make sure I do better next time.

I write down all of my workouts and I try to either lift more weight, do more reps, run faster or farther, or do a circuit longer or faster.

 

I measure progress with everything I do whether it be a certain lift, 1 mile time, 5k time, etc. etc. Whatever I do I just make sure I do better next time.

I write down all of my workouts and I try to either lift more weight, do more reps, run faster or farther, or do a circuit longer or faster.

 

as long as the distances, times, and/or weights aren't getting lighter everytime i hit the gym, its progress.

 

That CNS stuff was interesting.

 

I measure my biceps to the nearest centimeter every 6-8 weeks

 

Considering I plan on competing in powerlifting eventually...the Big Three.

OHP and Rows are a close second.

Maybe chins...but I suck at bodyweight exercises.

 

LOL!

This is similar measuring another favorite body part every once in a while...

 

Yeah but you know you measure that to the nearest hundredth

 

3RM chin-up, 1RM back squat, and broad jump.

 

Looks like someone has been reading Eric Cressey's new book.

 

I just bought that book. I started reading it today.

 

I mark my progress based on body composition. The more athletic I look, the more athletic I am.

edit: Oh yeah, my deadlift, too.

 

squat, deadlift, times of specific workouts (1k-2k rows, crossfit's cindy, etc.)


most importantly... competition.

 

you just shattered the world of half of the guys at my gym.

 

Yeah but it's not free form so it doesn't count.:icon_lol:

 

I was disappointed with it. A poor effort by Cressey.

 

damn

 

It's ok. I would have just expected better from him. Let me know what you think when you finish it (in about 1.5 hours).