Instead of waiting for changes in your body, keep a fitness journal. Each time you exercise, jot down exactly what you did, including how many reps and sets you actually completed and at what weight, or how long you spent doing cardio. Be specific.

It’s also good to write personal notes to yourself, such as, “I felt tired and had a hard time today,” which can explain why your performance was less than stellar, or “My energy was so high today that I had the best workout ever!”

Then, come back to that information a couple of weeks later. You may be surprised to see that on week one you could only complete 10 push-ups, whereas on week three you completed all 20, and then some!

Keeping a workout diary is a simple and tangible way to see how much you’ve progressed and it will help you to stick with your goals longer.