[Calculator] How Long Does It Take To See Results From Working Out?

Today’s Fit Test will take 5 minutes and along with the calculator will give an estimate on how exactly your fitness level (upper body, lower body, abs) will improve 1-2 months from today if you exercise for 16 minutes 3 times a week!

Before we get started here’s a bit of background:

When I first joined a gym I had no idea how long it’ll take to see results from working out. And I was embarrassed.

I saw a woman lifting 15-pound dumbbells. I was lifting like 3-pound dumbbells at the time. I knew I shouldn’t feel embarrassed but I couldn’t make the feeling stop! I was seriously wondering how long does it take to see results from working out?

And that was not the only time:

• When I was practicing for splits and was wondering how long it’d take me to get there, if I ever got there (the answer was 4 months.)
• When I first did HIIT and wondered when I’d be able to finish the workout without having the need of extra breaks (don’t remember the answer!)
• And of course I used to wonder when I’d be able to do my first pushup, then my first 10 pushups, and so on.

And I know I’m not the exception. It’s only natural to wonder how long it’ll take to see results from working out so that a very minimum you feel less embarrassed and so that you get this sense of accomplishment by seeing your fitness level rise.

But the problem is it’s really hard to estimate how long it’ll take to see results from working out and you can’t depend on other people’s experiences either.

Will it take a month? 6 months? 3 years? And even if you ask a couple of people about their own personal experience the answers may not be exactly helpful and may be conflicting to each other.

Your CrossFit friend got to his first pushup in a month while your yoga friend got there in 3 months. Your other yoga friend took 6 months but she was exercising less often however putting in 90 minutes into each session instead of 45. What does this all mean for you? It’s difficult to even try to come to conclusions when:

• Everybody has a different starting point in terms of fitness level and puts in different effort when training.
• Everybody is following a different training program and it’s quite common people don’t track it accurately either.
• Training program may differ both in nature (e.g., CrossFit vs yoga), in frequency (e.g., 3 times a week vs 5 times a week), in duration (e.g., 30 min vs 60 min, etc.)

Now I can’t do much about taking the first factor away but what I can do is share with you the improvements my Flat Belly Firm Butt grads got in 4-8 weeks after they started by:

• Specifically following the Flat Belly Firm Butt program, a High Intensity Interval Training online home workout program
• Exercising for 16 minutes 3 times a week
• Doing the same workouts following the Flat Belly Firm Butt schedule.

You’ll be using the Fit Test and the Calculator on this page to estimate what your improvement will be 4-8 weeks from today.

This is meant to give you a generic ballpark figure and not be used as an accurate estimate that you can set in stone. Now before we move on, the data comes from a trial of about 15 women:

• Some of them were already exercising but some of them were newbies
• They all followed the 16 minute-3 times a week schedule
• Following the FB16 workout schedule, doing specific workouts in every week
• If I were to estimate their age I’d say they ranged from mid-twenties all the way to late forties.

If you’ve never done HIIT before – what should you expect 4-8 weeks from today? How long does it take to see results from working out if you also choose to enroll in Flat Belly Firm Butt?

Overview: How long does it take to see results from working out?

So here’s what we’ll be doing today.

1. You’ll follow the 5-min Fit Test to measure your current fitness level (starting point at upper body, lower body, and ab strength)
2. You’ll use the calculator to estimate where you’ll be 4-8 weeks after doing HIIT for 16 minutes, 3 times a week. (ending point)
3. Don’t skip the exercise form instructions part. It’s important that you do the exercises right and not cheat on form.

Step 1: Measure your current fitness level (5 minutes.)

Show us what you can do. Below is part of Flat Belly Firm Butt’s Fit Test workout where you’ll be doing HIIT-style 3 exercises that target all areas of your body: pushups for upper body, squats for lower body, and the lady bug for abs specifically.

Mini Fit Test Instructions: Do as many reps as you can in 60 seconds, until the timer goes off. Then take your break and continue with the next exercise. Below are detailed instructions on form, so that you have no doubt you’re doing each exercise right.

(I also strongly recommend that if not today, then soon, you check out this article on proper squat form. It talks about the 5 mistakes people make when squatting. You’d be surprised just how many people think they squat right while in fact their form is wrong often putting their joints in danger or just not getting the max benefit of the exercise.)

How to use the mini Fit Test with the Calculator: Jot down how many reps you’ll get to as you do the Fit Test. Then put your total reps in the middle column of the Calculator that you’ll find later in this page. The numbers on the third column will automatically change to reflect your future reps 4-8 from today based on the data of past students.

Exercise Form Instruction: Push-ups

Works: Upper body

Get into a plank position with your palms underneath your shoulders and your feet together.

Now bend your elbows and lower your body until your chin or torso is almost touching the floor. Push yourself up to starting position and repeat.

Make sure that you’re neither sticking your butt out nor letting your hips sag down. This is not proper push-up form. Also, take care that your body remains in a perfectly straight plank position both when you’re going down and when you’re pushing yourself up.

Finally, pay attention. Are you lowering your body as close to the floor as possible? Or, are you only pretending you’re doing push-ups? Don’t take C for effort, give it your all!

Unless you can easily do more than 15 full full pushups, I recommend you go for the half push-up in the mini fit test.

Think about it – this is 60 seconds of as many pushups as you can. Do you really think you can be a full push-up machine for 60 seconds? (btw, if you can, then congrats!!)

Just like in the regular push-up, get into a plank position with your palms beneath your shoulders. Now touch your knees on the floor.

Lower your body down until your torso or chin almost touches the floor. Then push your body back up and repeat.

Here’s a hint that can slightly change how this exercise feels. The closer your upper arms are to your body, the harder push- ups become and the more you work your triceps, the muscles at the back of your upper arms.

If, instead, your arms are open, with your palms not beneath your shoulders but in parallel to them, your chest muscles get worked more and the exercise feels easier. Choose the arm position that fits your needs the best.

Exercise Form Instruction: Squats Touch and Reach

Works: Lower body

Bring your feet a bit more than hip width apart with your feet facing about 30 degrees out to the sides. Always maintain a straight back by pushing your chest out and by tucking your pelvis in.

Look forward, extend your arms above your head, take a deep breath, then squat down. Lower your seat down as low as you can, as if you were trying to sit on a chair behind you, while at the same time lowering your hands. If you can, touch the floor with your fingertips. Come back up to starting position and repeat.

Exercise Form Instruction: Lady Bug

Works: abs

Lie down on the floor with your arms next to your body. With your knees over your hips, bring your heels together with flexed feet to form a double V shape. Now raise your head and shoulder blades off the floor. Raise your arms a few inches above the floor. Keep your feet together as you straighten your legs to the front.

Now bend your knees and bring them back. Repeat. Make sure your head and arms remain lifted throughout the movement. The lower your legs when on the extended position, the harder this exercise becomes.

Make sure you keep your lower back flat on the floor as you extend your legs. Arching it ruins the form of the exercise and puts your lower back at risk. Extending your legs higher will make the exercise easier and decrease your tendency to arch your lower back.

Step 2: Estimate your fitness level 4-8 weeks from today with the fitness level calculator (1 minute.)

Ok now you know where you are. Now it’s time to learn how long it’ll take to see results from working out – fitness level results! How fit or strong will you be at 4 or 8 weeks? Just put the number of reps that you completed under the “Today” column.

The numbers in “after” will automatically change reflecting the estimated number of reps you’ll be doing 4-8 weeks from today based on the data of past students who have followed the FB16 system.

Keep in mind that this is an average estimate based on the self-reported data of previous FB16 students of varying fitness levels. But it’s still a ballpark number of people who followed the same system and that gives you a sense of what to expect.

Now you know exactly not just where you stand in your upper body, lower body, and ab strength, but you also have a ballpark number of what to expect 4-8 weeks from today.

Step 3: Here's what you'll need to do to get to that level 4-8 weeks from today.

Okay, so now you know have a sense of where you'll be in the near future. The question is - are you ready to get there? Or will you stay where you are by doing nothing?

If you're ready to change and give Flat Belly Firm Butt a shot, sign up below to get started!

And don't forget to leave a comment and let me know what your Mini Fit Test results were. How many reps did you in each exercise?