Don’t Look at the Scale If You’re Lifting Weights
Sep 25, 2024 mindpumpUsing a scale can either be a very useful tool or the biggest detriment to your progress, depending on how you utilize it. For most, it can be the latter. It can help to understand why using a scale may not be the best tool.
When It Works
Before going into why you don’t need it, I will quickly address when and how it can be useful. I find the only people using the scale that benefit from it are bodybuilders or data driven lifters. What this looks like is they are able to remove the emotional component from what the scale says. They are weighing themselves every day to use all that data to see trends. Our weight can easily shift five or more pounds a day. By doing it every day, it factors in big shifts in weight and allows them to see that over time their weight is trending where they need to. Again, this only works if you can look at the scale as a number and not base your entire success on it.
When It Doesn’t Work
Newbie Gains
If you are new to lifting, chances are you are going through what’s called a body recomposition. That is, you are putting muscle on and shedding fat. If this is the case, you may find your weight stays the same the entire time. As you can see, if all you saw was the scale never changing, it’s very easy for you to get frustrated and think what you are doing isn’t working at all. This isn’t the case. Bring in other factors. Is your strength going up week to week? Then you are getting stronger and you are adding muscle. You may even find in some cases your weight goes up which throws you off even more. Again, keep in mind you may just be in this sweet spot where you are only adding muscle. Taking progress pictures, and tracking your performance in the gym will be key here so you can look back and notice muscle being added to your body and not fat.
Eating Habits
The other thing that can mislead the results on the scale is your eating. Did you go out and party and eat pizza the night before your weigh in? This can cause you to retain water and make it seem like you’ve gained weight. I’m sure we’ve all had that experience after a bad night of eating where the scale told us we gained all this weight. This is just water retention from all the excess sodium intake of the processed foods.
Track Your Progress
As mentioned before, instead of using the scale, take pictures weekly. Track your lifts in the gym. Take waist circumference and other measurements on your arms, legs, and chest. These can all be metrics that allow you to more accurately track progress in a way the scale just can’t properly inform you. Also keep track of how you are feeling. Most people who are getting stronger and losing fat, find their energy increases. You may find your mood is lighter as well.
The biggest issue with using the scale, is for the majority of people it takes a psychological toll. Constantly focusing on trying to bring the scale number down can lead to stress and anxiety. This can all lead to negatively impacting your overall performance and mental health. Focus on what matters and that is your energy and strength.
