It doesn’t matter whether you are doing the Insanity workout, or another workout like Les Mills PUMP or P90X.  If you want to really get a good picture of your results, you have to take measurements.  The scale is not an accurate tool for fitness assessments, because it only gives you one metric: Total weight.  The scale doesn’t distinguish between fat and muscle.  It simply tells you how much your body weighs.  That includes your bones, the water in your body, blood, organs, muscle, fat, etc.  It just doesn’t give you complete picture of what’s going on with your body.

Example:  Tony Horton and I are both about 5’9″.  He weighs about 180 and I weigh about 170.  No one in their right mind would say that Tony is 10 pounds fatter than I am.  If you look at the two of us it is pretty clear that he’s got more muscle on his body than I do, but if we went by the scale alone you might be tricked into thinking he’s fat.

That’s  a pretty extreme example, but I’ve seen this over and over.  People begin a new fitness program and start seeing that scale move down and get really excited.  They keep going, but eventually their body starts building muscle at about the same rate it burns fat.  That causes the scale to start to equalize, which can be very discouraging if that’s the only metric you use.  The picture to the right shows the difference between 1 pound of fat and 1 pound of muscle.  The fat is nearly 3 times as large, but both weigh 1 pound.  This is why taking measurements is totally key.  The scale won’t give you this information.  If your body is shrinking, but your weight is either staying the same or growing, then you are building muscle and that’s a very, very good thing.

Who cares how much you weigh if you look like Tony Horton or can fit into your favorite pair of jeans or that little black dress?  Use the scale, but understand what it is telling you, and more importantly, what it isn’t.  Here’s a short video explaining how to properly take your measurements.

About Us and Free Fitness Coaching

My wife Monica and I are both Team Beachbody Coaches.  We started and completed Insanity in  2009 when it was first released, and we’ve worked ever since to bring you resources that will help you succeed with Insanity.  The most popular of those posts is the Insanity Workout Nutrition Guide breakdown, along with the Calorie Calculator spreadsheet and the videos explaining how to make that nutrition guide work for YOU.  We are also P90X Certified Trainers, so we know a thing or two about these things.  You can find out how to receive our Free Fitness Coaching by CLICKING HERE.  What happens in with the Insanity Report and in the Insane Ward is going to really help you.  This is a much more personalized level where you’ll get to tap into our knowledge base with these programs and how to fuel your body for optimal results.  We will also provide support for a wider range of Beachbody fitness programs than we will in these Insanity specific communities.