Are progress pictures motivating or do they push you further away from your goals?
If you google search progress pictures you will be bombarded with transformation pictures as well as information as to how to take the best most helpful shot. I must say, there is quite an art to it! The correct lighting, the same pose and preferably same location and outfit. In fact, in most you will notice the after picture including a tan and makeup! But I digress, what I want to really focus on is whether the average gym girl should be taking weekly/monthly progress pictures.
Personally speaking, it is a wonderful way to track progress.
Previous blog discussion was around the scale. How using that tool may actually be able to keep you on the right track. However for some of you, a visual representation of what your body is doing may be a little more helpful. It is
completely individual of course, but personally as a trainer I really enjoy watching clients be blown away. By a few of the “not so noticeable” physical changes that happen over a prolonged period of course.
It isn’t just about the size of the belly or legs. But the fact that you can start to notice certain body parts taking shape too. So although your jeans may fit the same, you may not have noticed how perky your peach got! This kind of visual representation of your hard work paying off, coupled with reaching new scale lows, can do absolute wonders for motivation.
There is another aspect to this however.
There is one school of thought from a group of therapists, to be precise. They recently noted that having a goal body picture on your fridge may actually stall your efforts to reaching your goals. Stay with me here, I know these arent exactly progress pictures. But it is a visual representation of where you want to get to. Their belief is that: while that picture sits there every day and you watch it every time you walk past, you may actually begin to believe that you have arrived at that body. And therefore not work any harder to achieve it. This so desired body in the picture actually does the opposite of what it is meant to. Crazy to think that right.
How do you think you would react to having a goal body bombarding you daily? Any more or less motivated? Their thoughts were more on a subconscious level so this will be a tough one to answer straight out.
How do progress pictures from others affect you?
Transformation pictures that so many famous online coaches post, may be completely disheartening to you. She really changed that much in 4 weeks? How did he get a six pack in 8 weeks? This can affect so many people in so many ways. For some, it fires them up to believe that if ‘so and so’ can achieve that amount of change in that amount of time, then so can they! Albeit that that person ate, slept and even dreamed about transforming and pushed their absolute maximum. For others, it may completely put them off to the thought of even starting because the transformation seems to far from their reality.
Whatever the case may be, start finding your own way to keep in check and follow along how far you have come. Sometimes you just won’t see it unless you really look back.
Happy transforming lovelies and until next week,
Izzy
xx
