For far too long working out has been conflated with weight loss. Even now fitness Instagram remains saturated with before-and-after collages, showing bodily changes said to result from a whole bunch of exercise programs, from strength training and Pilates to running and biking. This perpetuates one of the most pervasive myths in fitness: that the only reason to move your body is to change your body.

And that’s a problem. Beauty ideals about thin bodies are rooted in racism, unattainable for many, and perpetuate bias against larger bodies that has mental and physical consequences, Jessica Thompson, a certified kettlebell instructor and wellness coach, as well as the owner and program director of GetFIT615, an anti-diet-culture gym based in Nashville, tells SELF.

“People who may want to come to the gym may want to move their bodies [but] feel a lot of trauma around being in the gym because they’ve been judged and stigmatized for their bodies,” Thompson says.

This focus can turn off people—especially those in larger a body—from starting with, or rejoining, fitness. The pervasive, aesthetics-based culture makes them believe “they’re not enough as they are, and they need to change and fit a mold,” Thompson says.

When people feel like fitness isn’t for them, it excludes them from the myriad other benefits that come from regular motion, including a longer life. In fact, per a research review published in 2021 in the journal iScience, studies have found boosting the amount of physical activity can reduce the risk of an early death anywhere from 15% to 50%. Meanwhile, intentionally losing weight doesn’t reliably translate into extra years.

But this doesn’t mean you have to throw out the idea of progress altogether. While some people simply enjoy unstructured movement—say, walking, hiking, or dancing with no point other than enjoying the moment—others are motivated by working toward a goal. (Chances are, you might have both tendencies at different times too.)

So if the number on the scale isn’t necessarily a true indicator of success—or isn’t what you want to prioritize—how do you know, from day to day or week to week, whether you're reaping the benefits of your fitness program? Fortunately, there are many markers of success far more potent than weight. Here, 19 better signs your fitness routine is working that have nothing to do with weight loss.

1. Your consistency improves

Most people just getting started with fitness have an erratic relationship with exercise, Morit Summers, an NSCA-certified personal trainer and CrossFit Level 1 trainer who owns the Brooklyn gym Form Fitness, tells SELF.

“Many people are not consistent with movement,” she says. “One week they’ll go on a really long walk, and then the next week they’ll do nothing.” This can make it more difficult to get into the fitness groove and even harder to hit any fitness goals you may have.

So the first goal she sets for them—the foundation upon which everything else is built—is to develop a regular movement practice. Depending on where they’re starting, it might be moving for twice a week for a month straight, then three times per week. This can vary based on the person, and it doesn’t need to be hard workouts, either. It’s more about creating a habitual spot for movement in your life, and then continuing to meet that on a regular basis.

Establishing that regularity is a definite sign of progress, says Summers, who’s also the author of Big and Bold; Strength Training for the Plus-Size Woman. In fact, consistency is perhaps the most important element in reaping any benefits from fitness whatsoever—moving every day, even if it’s only for 10 minutes, improves your health and opens the door to setting other, more specific goals.

2. When you skip a day (or a few), you miss it

Summers aims to build most of her clients up to some form of movement every day. Again, the workouts don’t have to be intense or even formal—sometimes it’s just 10 minutes of mobility work or walking.

But you’ll know your fitness routine is paying off when you don’t quite feel right without incorporating something physical, Chicago-based certified personal trainer Kelly Amshoff of ImwithKelly Fitness, tells SELF. Note: This isn’t the same as feeling guilt or shame if you miss a workout. Rather, it’s a craving for movement that brings a sense of contentment when fulfilled.

Amshoff noticed this herself during the lockdown phase of the pandemic. Yes, she was teaching online fitness classes but often spent the rest of the day sitting. Her hip flexors tightened, her posture slumped, and her mood tanked. Now, if she doesn’t have a formal workout scheduled, she makes sure she takes neighborhood walks with her kids at least a few times a day—a ritual that brings both physical release and emotional connection.

3. Your endurance is improving

When you first start or return to working out, a 10-minute walk, bike, or jog might leave you short of breath or dripping with sweat. (Side note: If this is you, it’s okay to slow down—you don’t have to be dripping, panting, or tearing your muscles to shreds to have a great workout.)

With time, presenting your body with manageable challenges causes all sorts of adaptations. Consistent aerobic exercise strengthens your heart muscle, so it can deliver more oxygen-rich blood throughout your body with each pump. Your muscles, in turn, sprout more tiny capillaries through which that nourishing fluid flows.

Over time you’ll likely notice you can push harder, for longer—maybe walking or running for 15 minutes, then 20, then 30. That stamina can ultimately extend your life: In one 2018 study of more than 120,000 adults published in JAMA Network Open, better performance on an exercise treadmill test corresponded to a longer life.

4. You stand up straighter and move more fluidly

After about three decades in the fitness industry, certified yoga and Pilates instructor Ellen Barrett tells SELF that her primary goals right now are posture and mobility. The two are intimately connected, she says. If your spine and joints aren’t in the proper position, you may feel imbalanced—for instance, noticing you can twist your back farther to one side than the other. Your range of motion may also seem limited.

A workout routine that regularly includes yoga, Pilates, or barre moves—think postures that both stretch and strengthen—takes your body out of just one plane of motion and improve your alignment, she says. Success, to her, means avoiding a rounded, hunched back and keeping your head over your shoulders rather than out in front of your body. Not only does good posture reduce pain and improve motion; it can simply make you feel better too, she says: “It’s great for confidence; it’s great for presence and awareness.”

5. You have more energy

Yes, there’s sometimes a benefit in pushing yourself a little bit beyond your comfort zone in a workout—and that can leave you feeling tired for a little bit. But over time a successful workout program will actually decrease your overall fatigue, Thompson says.

Here’s how: The fitter you get, the more mitochrondria sprout inside your muscle cells. These tiny powerhouses convert glucose and oxygen into fuel, powering your body along. Other changes—such as balanced levels of stress hormones and increased circulation of oxygen-rich blood—can also leave you more invigorated.

Energy levels can also tell you if you’re working too hard or have underrecovered, Barrett says. Your body needs time in between challenging sessions for all those adaptations to occur. If workouts that once left you feeling more perky start to leave you dragging instead, you might need to dial them back or incorporate more recovery, sleep, or fuel to reap the benefits. But if you’re feeling fresh and ready to take on the world, that can mean your routine has hit that all-important balance of challenge versus recovery—so consider that one of the signs your fitness routine is working for you.

6. You’re happier

Scientists once believed compounds called endorphins produced the type of euphoria after exercise sometimes called “runner’s high.” Now they offer more of the credit to endocannabinoids, natural versions of marijuana-like chemicals.

They’re powerful compounds: Study after study has shown exercise provides a mood boost during and after a session, both for people with depression and similar disorders and those without.

If you’re consistent over time, you can likely notice even more stabilization of your mood. “I’m a much better and happier person when I wake up earlier and take that time to make sure I’m taking care of myself,” Erin Schirack, a Chicago-based trainer, certified Pilates instructor, and founder of fitness platform Chi-Society, tells SELF.

Of course, many people need treatment like medication or talk therapy for mental health issues like depression—and if you’re looking for a therapist, here’s how to find one. But physical activity can be part of an effective plan to manage mood disorders, either enhancing the effects of other treatments or working on its own, according to a 2020 research review in the journal Frontiers in Psychology.

7. You’re mentally sharper

Working out also bathes your gray matter in a compound called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF. This can pay off in an improved ability to think, learn, and remember, and may encourage the growth of new brain cells and protect you from neurologic diseases like Alzheimer’s. If you already have a form of cognitive impairment, exercise may slow its progression or improve your existing brain function.

Plus, working out relieves stress, which can leave you calmer, kinder, and more focused. Thompson often sees her clients report this shift in their daily life: “It’s like, oh, now that I’ve got this movement practice, I’m finding I have more clarity at work and more mental space for connecting with my family and friends,” she says.

8. You’re stronger

There’s one instance in which it can be universally helpful to track weight—that is, the weight of the dumbbell you’re able to pick up or kettlebell you can swing. In a progressive strength training program, like the ones Summers creates for her clients, you’ll gradually be able to do the same moves with a heavier load.

Keep in mind, though, that what you want to see is an upward trend over time. You don’t necessarily have to go heavier each and every time you lift. If you have a day when you’re stressed out or tired, it’s far better to use lighter weight or no weight and practice your form. “It’s the pattern that matters most,” Summers says. You can try again with heavier weights when you feel ready.

9. And you can harness that power in many scenarios

While throwing around heavy things in the gym can be impressive and empowering, what’s even more meaningful is being able to use that force in everyday activities.

“I just carried my daughter who’s 30 pounds for an hour through the zoo the other day, because she was having a meltdown,” Schirack says. “That’s something that, had I not been physically fit, I probably would not be able to do.” In fact, one of her primary measures of success is whether she can carry both her toddler twins up and down the stairs without worrying she’ll drop them.

10. You’re using affirmations—and believing them

Amshoff often issues monthly challenges to her clients, and recently she focused one of them on positive thinking. She asked people to choose sayings that were meaningful to them—phrases like “I am strong” and “I am capable”—then display them around their home or workplaces.

These types of messages can boost your motivation and desire to move. In one 2019 study of 117 athletes published in the journal Sports, those who were trained in positive self-talk were less anxious and more self-confident in their abilities and performed better in their sport over time. This empowerment can translate to other fitness goals, as well other areas of your life, including work and relationships, Amshoff says.

11. You’re feeling ready for an event or competition if one is on your to-do list

Through her decade and a half in the fitness industry, Summers has competed in events like powerlifting, weightlifting, and Spartan obstacle course races. “That gave me something to train hard for,” she says. “I’d have this date to look at and say, ‘You just have to keep going and you’re going to have this awesome day where you get to perform.’”

Of course, competing can also come with stress and anxiety. While the benefits have outweighed the downsides for Summers in the past, things changed when the pandemic hit, events were canceled, and she had to figure out how to keep her gym afloat. At that time she realized she needed a break from the pressure of performance.

Now she’s gone back to a goal of consistency: moving her body every day, including four days of heavy lifting, two of cardio, and one of rehab. “It’s working for me—right now I’m actually stronger than I’ve ever been,” she says.

In the future she might find competition thrilling again instead of stressful, in which case she’ll get back to it. When you’re in the right mindset, these types of goals can offer fulfillment, connection to a team, and a chance to accomplish something you weren’t sure was possible, she says—a confidence that can carry over to other parts of your life too.

12. You’re developing an ability to know what your body needs and can handle

That type of flexibility with yourself and your goals is, in and of itself, a sign of a fitness program that’s working for you. At GetFIT615, Thompson and her colleagues have a name for this type of skill: “sweatonomy.” She defines it as, “You have the right to choose how you use this place to sweat.”

She knows people have truly developed a sustainable, effective program when they modify routines to fit their needs, rather than simply follow instructions or push as hard as possible every time.

“Body awareness is my favorite determining factor for success,” she says. “I love to see someone knowing their body well enough to look at the workout for the day and say, ‘Okay, I’m going to do these movements exactly as written, but I’m going do these other movements in a different variation.’” For instance, you might pick up a lighter kettlebell instead of following instructions to grab a heavier one, or sub in some time in child’s pose for a yoga sequence that you just aren’t feeling.

13. Some lab markers are improving

Many other numbers tell you more about your heart health than weight, and physical activity tends to improve just about all of them. These include blood glucose levels, cholesterol, and blood pressure.

Consistent exercise can reduce both the top and bottom numbers of your blood pressure to the tune of 5 to 7 millimeters of mercury; reduce levels of LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, and boost HDL, or the “good” kind; and cut your risk of developing diabetes by as much as half.

Sometimes those changes go hand in hand with weight loss, but they might not—and they don’t need to, Michael Aquino, P.T., DPT, a physical therapist with a Los Angeles–based practice called Deconstruct Health, tells SELF. He often sees patients whose physicians have told them losing weight will solve all their health problems but find they still have pain and concerning lab tests even in a smaller body. So instead of focusing on the scale, he helps them find ways of moving that are comfortable and enjoyable, and improve their symptoms and risk factors over time.

14. You’re making other positive lifestyle changes too

There are other habits that also influence these measures of cardiovascular health, including the foods you eat and the amount of sleep you get. Often locking into a fitness routine encourages you to start optimizing other factors, aiming to give your body what it needs to feel and perform its best, Amshoff says.

This type of shift isn’t the same as being restrictive or feeling guilt or shame around eating certain foods. Rather, it’s about finding what Thompson calls a “gentle structure” that helps keep you focused on long-term goals and values. For her this means putting some time into planning meals and workouts. This can look different for you, depending on what your own goals are. Maybe you plan to take in more vitamins and minerals through food sources, or perhaps you want to log at least seven hours of shut-eye each night. Whatever you deem important, you may find yourself making the moves to achieve it.

15. Sleep comes more easily

Speaking of that sleep goal: Working out not only may encourage you to make sleep a higher priority but often leads to sounder slumber. Researchers crunched the numbers from 14 other studies into a 2019 meta-analysis published in the European Journal of Physiotherapy, and found moderate exercise improves sleep quality; in another 2020 study, this one of more than 155,000 people published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, moving more reduced the risk of obstructive sleep apnea, which disrupts sleep and increases health risks. So if you find yourself sleeping longer—and better—it might mean you’ve found a solid balance in your workout routine.

16. You feel less pain—or you can better manage the pain you do have

If you’re constantly hurting, you’re not alone. About one in five U.S. adults has some type of chronic pain condition, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Pain can create an aversion to certain movements (say, bending over, if that’s triggered an episode of back pain) that leaves you fearful of doing any exercise at all, Dr. Aquino says.

But moving more, provided you start slowly and progress gradually over time, often provides significant relief, he says. If you’ve been sedentary, your body may simply have become more sensitive to movement. Once you cross that initial hurdle and begin building strength, flexibility, and mobility, aches often subside.

For some people pain persists even if they do have a consistent movement practice. In those cases Dr. Aquino works to untangle which type of pain means they should stop (pain that will make an injury worse, for example) and which type of pain can be tolerated.

“A lot of times people don’t necessarily become pain-free, but they become more able to do things despite having pain,” Dr. Aquino says. Of course, it’s always a great idea to check in with a doctor or a physical therapist if you have questions about whether certain movements are good for your body, or ask how to proceed if your pain worsens or doesn’t improve over time.

17. You’re making progress toward a specific exercise or movement

Often clients approach trainers with a vision of what they’d like to do with their body, such as complete 10 push-ups, do an unassisted pull-up, or walk or run a certain distance without stopping.

You’ll know you’re on the right track if you’re getting closer to that target, Summers says. For instance, if your goal is 10 push-ups, you might start out with incline push-ups, with your arms on a bench or box. The next step might be gradually lowering the step, before moving on to traditional push-ups from the floor.

Celebrating each step along the way—even if it takes you longer than you’d planned to reach your ultimate goal—can increase your chances of getting there, she says.

18. Existing relationships improve, and new ones form

The mood-boosting, stress-busting effects of physical activity often result in more compassion toward yourself and others, Schirack says. When she loses patience with her husband and daughters, she goes to work out. “When I come back, it’s like I’m a whole new person,” she says.

A good fitness regimen might also bring you a whole new set of friends. At GetFIT615, people don’t only sweat together; they attend book clubs, movie nights, and participate in local organizations to increase the well-being of individuals and society as a whole. “All of those pieces play into that human connection and growing through community,” Thompson says.

19. You’re doing more of the things you love

Dr. Aquino often that finds his patients don’t even know where to start with setting fitness goals or measuring progress, because it’s been so long since they’ve moved regularly.

He takes them back to moments of happiness: “I ask, ‘What’s enjoyable to you?’ or ‘What have you not been doing that you used to think was fun?’” Common answers include specific types of physical activities, like hiking, swimming, or cycling. They also may mention hobbies that aren’t specifically sports or exercises, but do require certain physical capabilities.

“One of my patients loves photography,” he says. “So we think about: What do you need to be able to take pictures? You have to have enough physical strength to hold up the camera, and you have to be able to move and position yourself in different ways to take the shots you want.”

From there, he designs a program to help them build the skills and capabilities they need, setting small goals for each week or session. If a goal isn’t met, that isn’t failure—rather, it’s an opportunity to reassess and pick something even more bite-sized.

Measuring success “is actually not as complicated as people think,” he says. “It’s finding what people’s value systems are and then working with those value systems. Once I find out what they actually care about, it becomes a lot easier to figure out what we can move toward.”

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