Assessing Your Progress: How to know if what you're doing is working

Jake Hicks
Aug 12
6 min read

Most people are missing this big time and it's leading to unnecessary frustration and sometimes burn out. Don't worry I've got some great tips on better ways to assess how you're doing and ensure you have a long runway. One of my current athletes is a world champion powerlifter with all time world records. We've been working together for 5 years and she is still making progress and hitting PRs.

I recently got a great question: how can I know if I'm making enough progress? That’s a simple question with a lot of nuance. In this piece I’ll share how I think about measuring progress—especially when strength is a priority—what mistakes to avoid, practical monitoring strategies, and alternative ways to track fitness and health. I’ll also give you concrete actions you can use in your training so you get more reliable feedback and steady wins.

To watch the video version on YouTube instead of reading this CLICK HERE.

Why the way you measure progress matters

Too many people decide their entire progress is determined by a single number or a single lift. That narrow view leads to frustration, plateaus, and sometimes burnout. If strength is your primary goal, you need a broader approach. Allow me to introduce an analogy

"I see the exercises as vocabulary, and strength is the language."

Common mistakes people make

Obsessing over three lifts: Bench, squat, deadlift become the only measures of progress. This would be a mistake even for a competitive powerlifter. If you're an offseason powerlifter or someone who doesn't compete at all and just wants to lift and get stronger, it has to be about more than just 3 exercises.
Fixating on one-rep max: Treating the 1RM as the only meaningful progress indicator. If it doesn’t move every week, people get discouraged. I've seen people attempt 1 rep maxes literally every session. You are setting yourself up to be frustrated. Instead you want to work on other reps maxes and have many different rep maxes to see improve.
Training doesn't align with your goals: I've talked to high school coaches that will have a testing day for 1 rep maxes and then train for 8-12 weeks and never do a single set of 1 rep until the next time they test. This would be a mistake, you want more shots on goal and more specificity to align with how you're assessing your progress.

Expand your strength vocabulary

Think of exercises as vocabulary and strength as the language. If you want to be fluent, practice more words with a more diverse vocabulary. That means adding exercises variations to increase your "vocabulary" and become more fluent in the "language". You want to get stronger on all of them as they will each play a key role in continued progress.

Squat variations: back squat, low bar, high bar, parallel, ATG, front squat, safety squat, box squat, Anderson squat, pin squats
Bench variations: flat bench, incline bench, close-grip bench, Spoto press, paused bench, DB bench, single arm DB bench, incline DB bench, single arm incline DB Bench
Deadlift variations: conventional, sumo, deficit deadlift, block pull/rack pull, Romanian deadlift (RDL), trap bar deadlift.
Pull ups with varying grips, Chin ups, Barbell Rows, Power Row, 3pt DB Row, 2pt DB Row, 1 arm DB Row
Standing strict barbell overhead press, seated barbell overhead press, standing DB overhead press, seated DB overhead press, single arm standing, single arm seated

Each variation strengthens different parts of the movement and helps you build a more robust strength base. That variety also gives you many more opportunities to register progress. Progress stalled on your back squat? Cool move to front squat and work on those numbers for a bit. Some of the exercises I listed don't even get thought about for strength such as 1,2 and 3 rep maxes etc, but they should be. Unless you want to limit your potential or your runway, don't limit the exercise variations. While I'm at it, forget about labeling lifts primary or secondary or accessory lifts. They can ALL be primary strength lifts, and the ones I listed should be!

Measure progress in multiple ways—not just 1RM

One-rep max is useful, but don’t let it be the only metric. Use multiple measures so you have more reliable ways to track improvement:

1RM, 2RM, 3RM for each different exercise variation
AMRAP sets (as many reps as possible) at submaximal loads I like to use 70, 75 and 80% for these

That gives you several “PR” possibilities—on different lifts, rep ranges, and percentages—so a single missed lift won’t tell the whole story. Are you not seeing progress on your 1 rep maxes? Cool, switch to AMRAP sets for a bit. Generally anytime you're in a rut or can't get over a plateau it's a sign you need to do something different!

Understand recovery and variability

Strength doesn't move in a straight line. It waxes and wanes. Central nervous system fatigue and other factors mean you might hit a PR one week and miss it for the next one or two weeks. CNS fatigue can take up to 14 days to recover fully in some cases.

Ups and downs happen: sleep, stress, nutrition, workload—these all affect day-to-day performance. Don’t panic when a single data point looks bad for one week or so.

Zoom out: obsess over the trend, not the data point

Instead of reacting to last week's numbers vs this week's, look at longer windows. Compare month-to-month, three months, six months, and annual progress. When you zoom out you'll see trends emerge:

Is the trend upward? Keep doing what you’re doing.
Is it flat? Adjust volume, intensity, variation or recovery.
Is it downward? Investigate sleep, nutrition, program design, and life stressors. Or possibly hire a coach or find a structured program.

Think of the scale when you’ve tracked weight: it bounces day to day, but over time you’ll see the real direction. There are many ways to see progress and I would argue increasing many of these rep ranges should ultimately help push your 1 rep maxes.

Monitor more often—don’t rely only on scheduled tests

I prefer monitoring inside training over infrequent, dedicated test days. Give yourself opportunities inside workouts to attempt progress—heavy singles, doubles, AMRAP sets, or targeted progression schemes. That gives you more shots on goal and a richer dataset to interpret.

If you want to test one-rep maxes, make sure your training reflects that. You should be practicing heavier loads and lower-rep sets regularly if you're expecting to hit big singles. Maxing out is actually a skill. So if you're only doing it every 9 weeks, you're not getting enough practice. Increase your opportunities while you train. If you never touch heavy singles in training, it’s unrealistic to expect a big jump on a "test day".

How to measure other goals

Not everyone’s primary concern is maximal barbell strength. Match your measurement method to your goal:

Body composition

DEXA scan is the gold standard many clinics and healthcare systems offer—consider testing every 3–6 months to track body-fat and lean-mass changes, bone density, visceral fat and more. Google mobile DEXA Vans and find one in your area.

Cardiovascular fitness

VO2 max is an underused, powerful metric. There are simple field tests that estimate VO2 max—like the Rockport Walk Test—if lab testing isn’t feasible. Google the Rockport Walk Test protocol and formula for an easy and noninvasive measure to track over time.

Relative and functional strength

Bodyweight measures: How many push-ups or pull-ups can you do now compared to when you started? Another great body weight exercise people forget about is the inverted row. And if you can't do any of those, use isometric holds.
Grip strength: especially useful for older populations or when barbell testing isn’t practical. Dynamometers are fairly inexpensive tools for accurately testing grip strength.

Health markers

Bloodwork and biomarkers: cholesterol, blood glucose, inflammatory markers, hormones—get routine tests done through your primary care provider to track meaningful health progress.

Endurance Tests

Mile Run
Mile Walk
Beep Test

Practical checklist: what to do next

Decide your priority (strength, body composition, fitness, health) and pick metrics that align with that goal.
Increase exercise variety—add movement variations and accessory lifts to grow your “vocabulary.”
Track multiple measures (1RM, 2–3RM, AMRAPs, percent-based PRs) to reduce noise from day-to-day variability.
Monitor progress inside training rather than relying solely on infrequent test days.
Zoom out—assess trends over months, not just weeks.
Get routine health checks and body-composition tests if those are part of your goals.
Look for a win every session—small wins compound into big results.

Final thoughts

Progress is not a single number. It’s a pattern. Expand the ways you measure progress, make sure your training matches what you test, and give yourself time and consistency. Track wins in many forms—lift variety, rep-scheme PRs, fitness tests, body-composition scans, and biomarkers. Be patient: small, sustainable efforts over time lead to big results.

If you want to dig deeper into a specific measurement approach for your goals—strength programming, DEXA interpretation, VO2 testing options, or how to add the right exercise variations—tell me what you care about and I’ll give you a tailored plan. My custom programs includes an in depth discussion and questionnaire to learn what your goals are and how to properly get there. I take all the guess work out and will create the plan for you! Shop my programs or to start the custom programming/remote coaching process fill out a questionnaire or schedule a free call!