Each week you will be required to perform a weekly body assessment of your progress.
This assessment is a requirement for using the WLC System.
Don't worry…
It's very quick and easy once you get the hang of it.
You could say that the weekly assessment just may be the most important part of any program.
So pay attention here, and you'll be making progress towards your goals each and every week.
The weekly assessment must be performed under the same conditions each week.
A slight change in conditions could give you numbers that are less accurate than you need. For example, your body weight can change by 5 pounds or so from morning to night.
You need to do as much as you can to perform the weekly assessment under the same conditions. How do you do this?
How to Take Measurements Under the Same Conditions Every Time
- Choose a day of the week that's most convenient for you.
I prefer Sunday because that's the beginning of every week, and it's the most convenient for me. The weekdays are tough because I try to get the maximum amount of sleep, wake up, workout, get ready for work, and go.
I don't want to add something else to my morning routine that I may forget when rushed for time. This works the best for me. Find something that works good for you.
- Perform the assessment first thing in the morning before eating or drinking.
You should use the bathroom as soon as you wake up and then head straight for the scale.
Once you weigh yourself, you can continue taking fat skin fold measurements and other body measurements. This ensures you take measurements under the same conditions every time.
- Ensure that the previous day's diet is the same each week in terms of macronutrients.
It's very important that you understand this point. Let's say that your weekly assessment day is Sunday each week.
If you've been eating a lower carbohydrate diet all week and weigh yourself on Sunday, you will be carbohydrate depleted and you will weigh less.
If you eat a higher carbohydrate diet the next week, your body weight will be a few pounds higher from having full carbohydrate stores.
Do not put yourself in this situation. You will get false results.
If you eat higher carbs on Saturday, make sure you plan to eat that way every week, or you'll get false results on Sunday. Eating differently (in terms of carbohydrate intake) the day before your assessment each week will affect your results.
This is EXACTLY What You Do During the Weekly Assessment
Now that you know when to perform your weekly assessment and how to do so under the same conditions, we can talk about exactly what to do during this assessment.
Let's go through the steps you need to take to perform your weekly assessment…
- Wake up and use the bathroom immediately.
- Go straight to the scale and weigh yourself. Record the result.
- Get your fat calipers and take skin fold measurements. Record results.
- Take waist measurement. Record result.
- Take other body measurements as needed.
- Resume normal morning routine.
That's it — If you have your log sheets ready and you're measurement tools, it only takes a few minutes.
Calculating the Data You Need to Make Adjustments
You must now make some quick calculations based on vital information you've recorded in your workout log book and from the weekly assessment.
The results of these calculations will tell you if you need to adjust your program to make further progress.
- Average Daily Calorie Intake
- Average Daily Protein, Carbohydrate, and Fat Percentages
- Body Fat Percentage (based on skin fold measurements)
- Change in Muscle Mass
- Change in Fat Mass
- Change in Waist Measurement and/or other important body measurements
- Total Calories Burned thru Cardio
The log book I am including as a part of this course will perform the above calculations for you once you enter the correct information.
If you keep your log book updated each day as required, the calculations will be made as you go.
I've made it all easy for you if you use the tools available to you.
Each week you're going to look at the results of your weekly assessment, including the calculations discussed.
From there, you will make adjustments to your program according to your satisfaction with your results each week.
An Example Adjustment
For example, let's say your goal is to build muscle and you are aiming to gain 1 pound of muscle per week. After the first week, you gained 0.5 pounds of muscle mass with no increase in body fat.
Your calculations show that you are eating an average of 3300 calories per day at your muscle building calorie level 1.
You decide to increase to muscle building calorie level 2 to continue gaining muscle mass at a slightly higher rate.
You always have tons of options to choose from and it's your job to find out what works best for your body.
We will give you the guidelines but it's your job to execute.
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