This post is an ode to one of my favorite ways to pass time: digging into metrics.
If you are not a fan of metrics and data, I can understand. Pouring through pages of numbers and measurements without context is akin to trying to read American history from an Arabic translation. There might not seem like much sense can be made out of what should seem familiar.
But if you understand the context, from where and when your data set were gathered and compiled, then you hold the key to translating a tome of stories that in my opinion could rival any passage in Holy Bible. Or, just provide some box scores for a church league basketball game.
Metrics became my life for about 18 months in the Air Force as I managed a government program that processed the nation’s security clearances. The program was under fire from being lead by a string of bad managers before my squad was called in to get the work done by the book. The retired General who was now the head of the agency was required to give bi-weekly briefings before Congress for about 7 of the months I was attached to the program. So our data had to be spot on with its accuracy but also had to tell a story that the General could spin into yarns the Congressmen might like to hear. This would hopefully get them off his back for the next two weeks, allowing my team a chance to get some work done fixing the program.
Crafting the right ‘stories’ was not an act of deceit, but just what was done. The first lesson learned in the world of metrics is whoever collects and holds the data is the authority of the data. Just like history books are written by the winners of wars who get to say what they please, the person pulling the data can tell whatever tale of glee or woe they desire, and get away with whatever said as gospel for as long as they are the sole protector of the data. Eventually, independent analysts will get a copy of your data, or gather their own if they don’t trust you, and will tell the story they want to tell. That story will have the same points of fact as yours, but your ‘historically valiant loss’ can be written as your ‘horrific mental blunder’ if it fits their narrative better.
And what does that have to do with goal setting? And fitness? A lot actually.
I wrote a very short post titled Keep A Eating & Exercise Journal with the focus on just that, keeping a journal to document your eating and exercise habits. Because in the world of metrics and performance tracking, whatever doesn’t get documented didn’t happen. You cannot go back and test your progress or lack there for your goals if you don’t have a clear path from where you started and how you ended up where you are.
So while you may have your aversion to getting on a scale because some fitness expert blog post said you can just track your fitness goals by how tight your pants are, you really might find a better gauge of your weight fluctuations if you wrote down a measurement on regularly dated intervals. You can see a real number progression or regression, and even tie events to certain dips in progress. Two great and common examples include gaining some weight while on vacation or losing too much weight because of a serious illness.
Just as important to track on a daily basis is your food intake. You don’t have to have a complicated calorie analyst for every item consumed, but you do have to log what you had for specific daily meals and snacks, and it would be helpful to put a timestamp on when you ate them. Seeing a log of what you are eating while comparing just how close you are to reaching or blowing your weight and fitness goals will motivate you to keep up the good work, or scare you into doing a better job of cleaning up your eating and snacking act.
Of course, it is imperative to log your exercise routines and progression. This importance might seem totally obvious until you arrive at the gym and realize you don’t have an adequate way to document your work out, and quickly shrug your shoulders and give up on the concept. While smartphones and tablets with various recording functions and self-contained fitness apps may seem like an awesome way to go, I have found that carrying a cheap spiral notebook and a few disposable pens to the gym is the best technology for recording my workouts. Manually transcribing your data to whatever eventual electronic form you will use to store (and I love me some spreadsheets!) will force you to review your sets, reps, and times on a regular basis. You can gauge your need to increase or decrease the intensity your workout based on a quick glance of recent performances, and chart your progress toward whatever your target fitness goals are (with spreadsheets!).
So for the sake of increased physical fitness, you must start with an attainable target goal with a realistic timeline for achievement. Perform a baseline exercise routine to see exactly where you are starting from, and maintain your metrics as your ‘scorecard’ for the progress of the goal. Don’t let lack of progress or a total breakdown of your workout routine turn into a point of depression. Just reset the goal, set another baseline, and start over, knowing you’ve gained more knowledge of what you will ultimately need to succeed.