So you workout, maybe you do the same workout each week, or maybe you change it up but, no matter how good your workouts are a lot of you are still missing one thing; a journal.
How do you know whether your progressing unless you keep track? How do you even remember all the weights you did last week...and the week before that...?
One of the best ways to see your progress is by keeping a log. Writing your workout plan and making notes of weights and times is a really useful tool; it allows you to see what weight you did before (... and a month ago...a year ago...) and so on and so on - the following week you may choose to up the weight or, possibly that weight last week was too hard, so you know you need to either stick with it the week after or, lower it. This can actually work as a great motivator too - if you're making progress each week, flicking back to a month or two ago you can see how much stronger you have become.
Besides logging your weights you can also keep check of your times; whether its how much longer you ran for on Tuesday or how fast you completed your weight training workout on Sunday. It's also really beneficial to make little notes in your log which may effect your workout i.e drinking alcohol the night before, working out late after work, carb loading the day before, injured wrist etc etc... these little notes show you how and what effects your workouts.
Yet, it's not just about keeping track, another reason why writing your workouts down is good is because it forces you to complete the entire workout and refrain from skipping out exercises and slacking in the gym. It basically ensures that you walk into the gym knowing what you are going to do and how much. Going into the gym with a set plan gives you a goal to achieve, and I can almost guarantee those who go in with no idea what they're going to do, do not push themselves to their full potential! In addition, if you're starting a new program which includes exercises you haven't done before you can make extra notes alongside the routine to help you remember how to perform them properly.
Finally, keeping record of your workouts saves them to be re-used later on; maybe on your 3rd workout you got stronger, faster, so once finishing you 4th workout you want to go back no.3 as it gave you better results.
The format:
- Date
- Titled of workout i.e 'Leg day', 'Circuit 1'
- Table including a column for 'exercises', 'number of sets', 'number of reps', 'time to do activity' (if necessary), 'rest period times' (again i.n), 'tempos' (i.n), with columns for each set to add in weights/number of reps achieved.
- Optional extras: time starting workout and time ending, mood, additional notes like injuries etc, note adjustments; for example, if you had to use a different piece of equipment if the norm wasn't available or if you used straps for a specific lift, grade how you did, mark personal bests, hours of sleep prior, heart rate and any other measurements...
- Learn to use abbreviations. For instance my journal includes abbreviations such as 'L.S D.D.S' (= last set with double drop set), 'E.S' (= either side (used for single limb activities), 'DB' (= dumbell), 'BB' (= barbell), 'X' ( = usually means no weight), 'N. L' ( = no lockout), 'AMAP' (= as many as possible) .. You get the drift! These will come naturally... just make sure you remember what they mean...
