When most people talk about getting fit they usually think of changing their diets and joining a gym. While these things are important, there comes a vital step to take before starting any fitness routine: you need to know your numbers. When a baseball pitcher is trying to work his way up through the minor league system he doesn’t just climb the mound and start throwing; coaches measure his speed, accuracy and take physical assessments in order to use those numbers to help drive him up to major league levels. c2one Fit Labs understands that your fitness is no different. You will want to have a trainer take down all of your numbers in order to provide you with a starting platform.

Body comp

A body composition (or body comp) test involves a trainer recording vital data about your body so it can be used to track your progress. You might remember being a kid in gym class and having a coach pinch the fat on your arm with that claw-like device to measure your fat content. Today’s body comp tests have come a long way, and most gyms and professional physical institutes use two main methods: one is a hand-held device that calculates your gender, age, height and weight before sending mild electric currents through your body to get a body fat percentage reading.

The second most used device is a scale that requires the client to remove their shoes and socks before standing on the metal plates. A mild electric current is sent through the body to not only give a body fat percentage rate, but it also breaks down your entire body weight by telling you your water weight, bone weight, and muscle weight. Knowing these numbers is important because, based on what your future readings will be, a trainer will know what kind of adjustments you need to make in your routine to get the best results possible.

Strength test

Before starting a training regiment, you will want to have a strength test in order to know where you need to start out and what your timely goals should be. A trainer will have you lift weights using various muscle groups including chest presses, bicep curls, bench presses, leg presses, and an array of others. The trainer may also ask you to do timed pushups and sit-ups. As you lift weights, you tear muscle fibers that repair themselves over night and add extra muscle. In time, you will be able to increase the amount of weight you can lift.

You will also want to ask your trainer about taking supplements. In Bodybuilding.com’s review of the 10 best supplements they rank creatine and casein-whey protein as the top two. By combining these into a shake and drinking it within an hour after a strength-training workout, you will be promoting better muscle recovery and over time this will help you drop weight and pack on more muscle at a better rate. You can even take energy supplements like Jack3D or Bio Burn to get you amped up and ready to work out with maximum intensity. But again, ask your trainer before starting these.

Body measurements

If you have ever been measured for a custom suit then this will be a breeze. Your trainer will take a measuring tape and record the dimensions around your waist, hips, chest, arms, legs and neck. This will help you and your trainer track the physical results from your efforts to add muscle and lose body fat in all the right places.

Be proactive

If you are dedicated to work out and you really do want to get results, ask your training center if they can do a body assessment that covers all of these bases. Once you know your numbers, you can set out to improve those digits.