When working with a client, we want to know if they’re making progress.
Seems pretty obvious.
But how we actually measure that progress isn’t always so straightforward.
We have more data available to us than ever before. Bodyweight. Body fat. Heart rate. Calories. Steps. Sleep. Training volume. Running pace. Strength numbers.
And as coaches, we absolutely should be using it.
But there’s another side of the equation that is just as important.
How does the client actually feel?
Because there’s a big difference between collecting data and understanding the person standing in front of you.
Quantitative data: What is actually happening?
Quantitative data is anything we can measure.
For a client, that might include bodyweight, body composition, strength numbers, running pace, heart rate, training attendance, steps or sleep.
These numbers give us something objective to work from.
Rather than saying, “I think you’re getting fitter,” we can look at the evidence.
Maybe you’re lifting more than you were eight weeks ago.
Maybe you’re running the same pace at a lower heart rate.
Maybe your waist measurement has dropped despite the scales barely moving.
Maybe you used to train inconsistently, but you’ve now trained three times per week for three months.
That’s progress.
And without tracking anything, it can be surprisingly easy to miss.
Then there’s the qualitative side
This is the part that doesn’t always fit nicely into a spreadsheet.
How are you feeling?
How are your energy levels?
Are you enjoying training?
How stressful is work right now?
How hungry are you?
Does your current routine actually feel sustainable?
These questions matter.
Because a programme can look perfect on paper and still be completely wrong for the person trying to follow it.
Imagine a client’s training drops from three sessions per week to two.
Quantitatively, their adherence has gone down.
But maybe work has become incredibly busy. They’re travelling more. They’re sleeping five hours per night. They’ve got young children at home.
Suddenly, two sessions per week doesn’t look like failure.
It might actually be a pretty good result.
Context matters.
The numbers can challenge how we feel
It works the other way too.
We’ve probably all had periods where we feel like we’re getting nowhere.
“I don’t feel any fitter.”
“I don’t think I’ve improved.”
“My weight hasn’t changed much.”
This is where objective data becomes incredibly useful.
You might not feel fitter. But eight weeks ago you ran 5km in 30 minutes and now you’re running it in 27.
You might not feel stronger. But the dumbbells you were pressing for eight reps are now the ones you’re using for 12.
Sometimes our perception of progress isn’t particularly accurate.
The numbers can remind us of that.
But numbers need context
This is where coaching becomes important.
If someone’s weight hasn’t changed for three weeks, the answer isn’t automatically:
“Eat less.”
If someone’s performance has dropped, the answer isn’t automatically:
“Train harder.”
We need to understand why.
What has their sleep been like? How has work been? Are they recovering? Are they enjoying their training? Is the programme realistic?
Data should create better conversations.
It shouldn’t replace them.
A coach might notice that a client’s sleep has dropped and ask, “What’s changed?”
Or see that training attendance is slipping and ask, “Is the current programme becoming difficult to fit around work?”
Those conversations can tell us far more than another graph.
More data isn’t always better
There’s another trap we can fall into.
Tracking everything simply because we can.
More data doesn’t necessarily mean better coaching.
If you’re tracking 25 different metrics but none of them influence your decisions, you’re basically just collecting numbers for fun.
Track what matters to the client’s goal.
Then combine those numbers with regular conversations about how things are actually going.
That’s where the useful information is.
Progress doesn’t always look how we expect it to
Progress isn’t always losing another kilogram.
Sometimes it’s someone training three times per week consistently after years of starting and stopping.
It’s completing their first 5km.
It’s becoming stronger.
It’s having more energy during the working day.
It’s going out for dinner without feeling like they’ve “ruined” their diet.
It’s someone who has spent years jumping from one quick fix to another finally building habits they can maintain.
Some of those things are easy to measure.
Some aren’t.
Both matter.
Because if we only look at the numbers, we can miss the person.
And if we only listen to the person, we can sometimes miss what the numbers are showing us.
Good coaching sits somewhere in the middle.
Use the data. Have the conversation. Then use both to decide what comes next.
-Coach Patrick