What to Look for in My Weekly Fitness Review

Your Weekly Fitness Review Is Failing. Here Are the 3 Metrics That Matter

When figuring out what to look for in my weekly fitness review, you only need to track 3 things: your average weekly bodyweight, your total weekly training volume, and one key body measurement. That’s it. You can ignore almost everything else.

You’re probably feeling stuck. You go to the gym, you try to eat “better,” but when you look in the mirror or step on the scale, nothing seems to be changing. The frustration is real. You’re putting in the effort, but you have no idea if it’s the *right* effort.

Most people make the mistake of tracking the wrong things. They track daily scale weight, which bounces around like crazy due to water, salt, and carbs. They track how “sore” they are, which is a terrible indicator of a good workout. Or they track how they “feel,” which is influenced more by sleep and stress than by actual progress.

This approach is why you feel like you’re spinning your wheels. It’s not a review; it’s an emotional reaction to random data points.

A real weekly fitness review is unemotional. It’s about looking at a few key numbers that tell the real story of your progress. It’s about replacing “I think it was a good week” with “I know it was a good week because the data says so.”

The three metrics that cut through the noise are:

1. Average Weekly Weight: This smooths out daily fluctuations and shows the real trend.
2. Total Training Volume: This tells you if you’re actually getting stronger, not just feeling tired.
3. Waist Measurement: For fat loss, this is often more reliable than the scale.

By focusing only on these three, you turn a confusing, emotional process into a simple, 15-minute check-in that gives you a clear yes or no answer: did my plan work this week?

Know if your week actually worked.

Track your food and lifts. See your progress in one place.

Click Here to Download

The Data That Proves 'Trying Hard' Is a Terrible Metric

If you’re judging your workouts by how much you sweat or how tired you feel, you’re measuring effort, not progress. The two are not the same. A workout can feel incredibly hard because you slept poorly or are dehydrated, even if you lifted less weight than last week. Data is the only thing that tells the truth.

Let’s look at training. The core principle of getting stronger is progressive overload. This means you must gradually increase the demand on your muscles. The only way to know if you’re doing this is to track your total volume-the total amount of weight you lift in a session.

The math is simple: Sets x Reps x Weight = Volume.

• Week 1: You bench press 135 lbs for 3 sets of 8 reps. Your volume is 3 x 8 x 135 = 3,240 lbs.
• Week 2: You bench press 135 lbs for 3 sets of 9 reps. Your volume is 3 x 9 x 135 = 3,645 lbs.

You got stronger. The numbers prove it, regardless of how you felt. Without tracking volume, you’re just exercising and hoping for the best. You have no proof of progress.

The same logic applies to your diet. Eating “healthy” is a vague goal that produces vague results. A salad can be 300 calories or 1,000 calories, depending on the dressing and toppings. Your body doesn’t care if the food is “clean”; it cares about the total calories and macronutrients.

If your goal is to lose fat, you need to be in a calorie deficit. If your goal is to build muscle, you need enough protein (around 1 gram per pound of body weight) and a slight calorie surplus. You can’t know if you’re hitting these targets by “eating healthy.” You only know by tracking.

Tracking turns fitness from a game of guesswork into a process of engineering. You have inputs (food and training) and you get outputs (changes in your body). The weekly review is when you analyze those outputs and adjust the inputs for the following week.

You see the logic now. Total volume for lifts, total calories for diet. But can you tell me, with 100% certainty, your total squat volume from last Monday? Or your average daily protein intake from the last 7 days? If the answer is 'I think so' or 'no,' you're not reviewing your fitness. You're guessing.

Your progress. Tracked and proven.

See exactly what's working. Watch the results happen.

Click Here to Download

The 15-Minute Weekly Review That Guarantees Progress

This isn't a vague journal entry. It’s a systematic check-in you perform once a week-same day, same time. Sunday morning is perfect. It takes 15 minutes and gives you a clear plan for the week ahead. Here is the exact protocol.

Step 1: Gather Your Data (5 Minutes)

Before you can review anything, you need the numbers. Throughout the week, you should have been tracking these things. Now, you just pull them together.

• Average Weekly Weight: Add up your weight from all 7 days and divide by 7. If you only weighed yourself 5 times, divide by 5. This number is your single source of truth for weight trends.
• Key Body Measurement: For fat loss, measure your waist at the navel. For muscle gain, you might also measure your chest or biceps. Use a soft tape measure and pull it snug, but not tight.
• Training Volume for 1-2 Key Lifts: Pick your most important exercises (like the squat and bench press). Calculate the total volume (Sets x Reps x Weight) for each of those lifts from your workouts this week.
• Nutrition Averages: Look at your food log. What was your average daily calorie intake? What was your average daily protein intake?
• Progress Photo: Take one photo from the front, in the same lighting, wearing the same thing. This isn't for weekly review, but for monthly comparison. Just take it and file it away.

Step 2: Analyze the Trends (5 Minutes)

Now you compare this week’s numbers to last week’s numbers. This is where the insights happen. Don't compare today to yesterday; compare this week's average to last week's average.

• If Your Goal is FAT LOSS:
• Is your average weekly weight down by 0.5 to 1.5 pounds?
• Is your waist measurement down by about 0.25 inches?
• Is your training volume on key lifts staying the same or (ideally) increasing?
• If you can answer YES to these, your plan is working perfectly. Change nothing.
• If Your Goal is MUSCLE GAIN:
• Is your average weekly weight up by 0.25 to 0.5 pounds?
• Is your training volume on key lifts increasing consistently?
• Is your waist measurement staying roughly the same?
• If you can answer YES to these, your plan is working perfectly. Change nothing.

Step 3: Make One Small Adjustment (5 Minutes)

If your analysis shows you’re not on track, you make one-and only one-small change for the upcoming week. Trying to change too many things at once makes it impossible to know what worked.

• If FAT LOSS has stalled (weight and measurements are the same for 2+ weeks):
• Option A: Decrease your average daily calorie target by 100-150 calories.
• Option B: Add 15-20 minutes of walking to your daily routine (about 2,000 steps).
• Pick one. Do not do both. Stick with it for the next week and see what the data says.
• If STRENGTH has stalled (volume on a key lift is the same for 2+ weeks):
• Option A: Keep the weight the same but change the rep scheme. If you were doing 3x5, try 5x3.
• Option B: Reduce the weight by 10% and aim for more reps, like 3x8 instead of 3x5.
• This changes the stimulus and helps break through the plateau.

This simple, 3-step process removes all the emotion and confusion. It gives you a clear, logical system for making continuous progress.

Your Weight Went Up. Here's When to Actually Panic (Almost Never).

Your weekly review will inevitably show your weight jumping up by 2-4 pounds overnight. Your first instinct will be to panic, thinking you’ve gained fat and ruined your week. This is wrong. It's almost always water weight, and it's meaningless noise.

Your body's weight can fluctuate wildly based on:

• Carbohydrate Intake: For every gram of carbohydrate your body stores, it also stores about 3-4 grams of water.
• Sodium Intake: A salty meal can cause you to retain a significant amount of water for 24-48 hours.
• Stress & Sleep: High cortisol levels from stress or poor sleep can cause water retention.
• Sore Muscles: Intense workouts cause inflammation, which involves holding onto water to repair muscle tissue.

This is why we use the *weekly average weight*. It smooths out these daily spikes and reveals the true trend. A single high weigh-in means nothing if the 7-day average is still moving in the right direction.

Here’s what to expect and when to take action:

• Week 1-4: Expect chaos. Your body is adapting. Your weight will fluctuate. The goal in the first month is not perfect results; it’s perfect consistency in tracking. Just gather the data. Don't overreact to it.
• Month 2-3: A clear trend should emerge. When you plot your weekly average weight on a chart, you should see a gentle, consistent slope down (for fat loss) or up (for muscle gain). Your training volume chart should be a steady climb upwards.
• When to ACTUALLY be concerned: The only time to be concerned is when your *weekly average* has been flat for two or more consecutive weeks. A single bad day or even a bad week is not a problem. A two-week flatline in your trend is a signal that it’s time to make one small adjustment, as outlined in the protocol.

Progress isn't a straight line. It's a jagged line that trends in the right direction over time. Your weekly review is the tool that helps you see that trend and ignore the noise.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Role of Progress Photos

Progress photos are a crucial tool, but not for weekly review. You won't see noticeable changes week-to-week. Use them for monthly or quarterly comparisons. Take them in the same place, with the same lighting and pose, to see the real, slow-and-steady changes that the scale can't show.

Tracking "How You Feel"

While objective data is king, subjective feelings have a place. Tracking metrics like sleep quality (on a scale of 1-5), daily energy levels, and mood can provide context. If your training stalls and you see your sleep score was a 2/5 all week, you've found the problem.

Adjusting for a "Bad Week"

If you get sick, go on vacation, or have a week where tracking is impossible, don't panic. Simply get back on track the following week. Do not try to overcompensate by drastically cutting calories or doing extra cardio. Just return to your plan. One off-week is a blip, not a disaster.

The Best Time for a Weekly Review

Consistency is key. Pick a time you can stick to every week. Sunday morning or Monday morning are often best. It allows you to reflect on the past week and set a clear, data-driven intention for the week ahead before it gets busy.

Minimum Data to Track If Overwhelmed

If tracking everything feels like too much, start with the 80/20. Track only two things: your average weekly weight and your average daily protein intake. Getting these two metrics right will drive the majority of your results for either fat loss or muscle gain. You can add more later.