The numbers tell the tale: a known proverb. Throughout the day, people measure all sorts of things, from blood pressure in health care to forces in physics. In short: people have a tendency to measure things in order to gain more knowledge. This can also be applied in sports and exercise! In this sense, measurements are used in order to indicate specific exercise norms, for example that 51% of Dutch people do sports every week (Kenniscentrum Sport, 2017), but you can also keep track of individual progress through zero and final measurements.
In the past few years there has been an increasing interest to also keep note of personal progress, the so-called ‘self-tracking’, in order to gain more understanding of personal behavior and potentially change this. By using step counters, activity trackers and apps on cell phones, people gain more and more understanding of their own exercise behavior, but also their calorie usage and sleeping rhythms. Also you can keep track of how many calories you take in (for example by using MyFitnessPal) and there are ways of estimating your calorie usage, for example through here. Also with the Get Fit Cargo Bike you can test your general fitness during the Health Checks. If you participate in these regularly, you can easily see how you are progressing! On top of that, Sportcentrum Olympos has the possibility to measure not only your weight but also your fat percentage and muscle mass in the gym. And with the introduction of the Olympos Gym-app you can easily keep track of your own progress.