If you want to make progress in your fitness in some way—lose weight, get stronger, tone your arms, run faster—exercising is only a fraction of the equation. And no, I’m not talking about diet, which is also important (and another fraction). I’m talking about learning how to track your workouts in a workout journal—of where you are, what you’re doing, where you’re going, and how it’s going.
In order to get better, you need a reference point, right? I mean, better than what? Stronger than what? Thinner than what?
And not only that, but how? How can you tell if you’re getting stronger or running faster if you have no reference points?
Why you need a workout journal.
A workout journal helps you before, during and—yes—even after your workout. Imagine your workout goal as a destination. In order to get there, you need a map, right? You can drive and drive, but you need to know what direction you’re going. Otherwise, you might be going in circles.
My workout journal is my most important piece of equipment.
The other day, I was already mid-workout when my husband arrived to meet me. He said the guys at the front desk were watching someone work out for a moment and said, “Yeah, you know if they have a notebook, they’re serious!”
And once they said that, he knew they were talking about me.
I never work out without my journal. And if I don’t happen to have it, I take notes on an envelope or receipt or on my phone until I get to my computer and copy it all in my GoogleDocs.
I track my workouts and keep more notes than most, but I love it. I love it so hard.
I’m a tracker. I track things: workouts, spending, my tarot card reading of the day. For my workouts, I track what workout I do, how long it takes or how many reps I do (depending on the workout), and what weights I use (if any). I also take special notes for the day and give my personal rating (1–5) in four (yes, FOUR) categories: strength training, cardio, intensity and “fun factor.”
Keeping track of my workouts gives me not only a sense of accomplishment, but also a roadmap, a sense of autonomy, and results.
11 reasons you should track your workouts in a workout journal.
I strongly suggest you keep a workout journal. You don’t need to be as big of a dork as I am, but keeping notes of what workout you do, the weights you use, reps and structure are helpful for many reasons. Writing things down makes them real somehow. It makes you commit. And it can motivate you.
Here are all the reasons that you need to keep track of your workouts to take your fitness to the next level.
Before your workout:
1. It helps you choose or design the workout.
Having a workout journal to reference can help you choose a workout, if you’re looking to repeat one. Or, it can help you design a new one.
2. It helps you choose or design the weights, sets, or intervals.
A workout journal can also help you with choosing workout elements, like exercises, an appropriate weight or an amount of reps. Look at past workouts and see what you used, or any comments you might have had.
3. It helps you make a workout plan.
General goals get general results. Specific goals get specific results. If you want more defined shoulders, for instance, write out a plan to do that by consciously designing workouts with that body part involved. And as time goes on, plan out how you’ll progress. It’s also helpful for planning to see what you’ve been doing so you can adjust accordingly.
During the workout:
4. It motivates you with competition.
Competition is extremely motivating, and in this case, you’re competing against your former self. This not only keeps it local to you, so you’re not comparing yourself to anyone else, but it also shows you how much progress you’re making. Just be sure never to sacrifice form!
5. It helps you know when you’re completed with the workout or a section.
If you’re just going to the gym and doing whatever, it can be hard to know what to do or when you’re done. If you plan it ahead of time, you don’t have to think about whether or not you should do more because it’s planned out for you. Of course, you can make adjustments in the present if you need to.
6. It helps you finish the workout
If you’re having a hard workout, it’s much more likely you’ll see it to the end if you have it written down. It’s a workout goal. If you write it down, then you have two choices: accomplish the goal or abandon it. It’s a lot easier to abandon it if it’s not really a goal in the first place. Plus, keeping track in real time with your workouts keeps you engaged and invested.
There are exceptions to this, of course. You might design a workout for yourself that is way harder or takes much longer than intended. If that’s the case, stay flexible and be kind to yourself. Don’t torture yourself through a workout because you underestimated the difficulty.
7. It saves you time.
Having a plan means you don’t waste time wondering what to do. And once you finish a workout section, you can leave it behind, rest for an appropriate time, and continue. This means you spend minimal time working out so you can get back out and enjoy your life.
8. It means you’ll have a more balanced workout.
If you plan a workout ahead of time, you’ll likely plan it according to what’s logically appropriate, and not what you feel like in the moment. While I am a fan of doing what you feel like, always leaving those decisions to the last minute isn’t a beneficial strategy. You may end up replaying your “greatest hits,” which is NOT the best thing workout-wise. You want to make sure you’re getting variety so you don’t overuse muscle groups and neglect others.
After the workout:
9. It gives you a sense of accomplishment.
Do you ever make a to-do list, and write down a few things you’ve already accomplished, just so you can cross them out?
Finishing a workout is like that, and even more so if you’ve written it down. You set a goal, and you accomplished it!
10. It gives you guideposts for the next time.
Every piece of information that you keep track of is a guidepost for the next time you do these workouts or exercises. If you used 10lbs dumbbells and it’s not so hard, maybe next time you can plan to use 12.5s. Or maybe you realized that 10 reps wasn’t challenging the last time you did the workout, so you increase the number of reps or the amount of resistance.
11. It’s fun!
Yeah, I’m a nerd. But it’s fun. It’s fun to set goals and accomplish them, and with so many life goals not being linear (be successful, be rich, be happy) it’s nice to have some that are. That’s what fitness is great for. And after your workout, assessing how it was good, or not good, is really fun. You get to rate it!
How to track your workouts.
There is really no right or wrong way to track your workouts. You can be general or specific, digital or analog, objective or subjective. There are some things you should definitely include, however.
The workout journal.
Let’s start with the journal itself. You need one consolidated place to write things down where you can reference it later. Maybe your journal is a simple notebook, maybe it’s a notepad on your phone, or maybe it’s a bunch of these awesome workout log sheets I’ve included for you.
For a notebook, get a cheap but semi-durable and portable notebook. I get mine from Muji, and it’s about $3 for a pack of 5. Dollar stores are another good place to find inexpensive notebooks. You don’t need a fancy $30 Moleskine notebook. Quantity is better than quality here, since you will likely need many over the months and years. Also, a workout journal takes a beating. Save the Moleskine for your journaling or scripting exercises.
Me, I don’t keep it that simple. I have two workout journals: one I take with me to my workouts, and my main one in GoogleDocs that I transpose everything into for easy, searchable access. If I don’t have a workout planned, and I don’t want to make up a new one, I can do a search through my archives. Sometimes I’ll get specific and look for workouts with a certain exercise, or ones that are especially cardio-licious.
There are a lot of benefits to having an online record, but it’s not necessary. If you’re looking for simplicity, just have the one notebook you write in and you can search through it like we did in the old days. Or, if you want an online record, try an app or use your phone’s Notes feature.
What to track in your workout journal.
What you write in your journal is really up to you, but here are some ideas. Don’t feel you need to do any extras unless you find it useful and/or you really enjoy it.
The necessary:
The workout: the structure and exercises.
If you want to reach certain fitness goals, you’ll get more mileage out of planning your workouts ahead of time. This way you can use all your energy into the workout itself. You can do this days or moments before. I prefer to do it about an hour or two before I work out so that it’s in tune with what my body feels like doing, but I also have a little time to think it through.
Write down a plan of how the workout should go. If you’re doing a circuit, write down how many rounds, which exercises, and which reps. (For ideas on workout structures, see my post here.) If you’re doing an HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workout, write down the exercises in order, with room to write the reps for each interval. See my free printable below for a visual idea of what I mean.
Sometimes you just want to jump in without a plan. Make this the exception, not the rule, and be sure to write down what you’re doing as it goes. Or, if you’re too busy, write it down immediately after.
What weight or equipment you are using.
This one I forget from time to time, and I always regret it. The weight you use makes a huge difference in the workout effectiveness, and it’s a great way to track your progress. Also, write down which piece of equipment, as a 20lbs dumbbell is very different from a 20lbs kettlebell.
The workout variables.
The workout invariables are the static things you set ahead of time. The variables show your performance within that invariable.
For instance, if you’re doing an HIIT workout, the invariable is the time interval, since you set that in stone. In that case, you will write down how many reps you do in the interval. With a circuit workout, there is a set amount of rounds and reps, so the variable you write down is how long it takes you. If you’re just doing exercises until you get fatigued, write down what the sets and reps were that get you there.
The extra:
The workout program.
If you have a specific fitness goal, you might want to plan out a week or several weeks of workouts ahead of time. This way you can think out a logical progression to get from Point A to Point B.
Having certain limitations on your fitness can also be a good opportunity to make a long-term plan. When I injured my knee, it helped me feel less helpless to write out a workout plan that let me ease back into the lower body.
Workout ratings.
Keeping notes for how good, hard, effective or ineffective a workout is can be immensely helpful for next time. It can help you choose or modify an already existing workout, or it can help you choose an appropriate weight or rep amount. It can also help you if you want to design a new workout.
The extra extra.
Measurements and weight.
If you have a specific body size goal, like measurements, weight or body composition, you could mark that down as well in your workout journal. I suggest making sure you do it at the same time each day so you get a consistent reading, and always do any measuring or weighing before your workout, not after. That way, water weight fluctuations due to sweat or heavy lifting won’t tweak the measurement.
Diet.
You might find it easier to track your diet if you write down what you eat. Some diets require this, as you have to hit certain levels or macros.
If so, write down everything. Like, even that cookie you had from the break room. The lovely (and terrifying) thing about a food journal is that it forces you to see how much crap you eat on a daily basis.
Why you might not want to keep track
Most people do not keep track of their workouts and exercise, for various reasons. The best reason is that you don’t have a particular fitness goal at the moment. You want to keep in shape and enjoy the many health benefits of regular exercise, but you’re not looking to make progress.
Here is a list of some good reasons why you may not need a workout journal, in descending order of viability:
Good reasons to not track your workouts:
- You have no fitness goals other than maintenance.
- You exercise for the meditative or flow state.
- You have a personal trainer (that person tracks your workout for you).
- You regularly take part in a group program (that person hopefully keeps track of the group, if not you).
- The thought of keeping track overwhelms you. The most you can do is just exercise.
Some of these aren’t great reasons, but they’re understandable. Exercising for a flow state is all well and good, but if you have specific fitness goals, I suggest keeping track after the workout is over.
If you take part in a group class, the instructor has a plan (well, hopefully) for the group, but they aren’t reflecting on you personally. You could still keep track of how much weight you used, what you found effective, etc., in order to further reach your goals, if you have any.
And if keeping a journal is so overwhelming that it would keep you from workout out at all, then it’s not worth it. Any exercise is better than none. Period.
But it doesn’t have to be extensive or time-consuming, I promise. Find a way to ease into it.
The not-so-good list of reasons could go on forever, but here are a few:
- You improvise your workouts. (You could still keep track later.)
- It’s cumbersome to carry a workout journal. (You can have it on your phone.)
- It takes too much time and effort. (It doesn’t.)
Freebie workout journal pages!
Here are three workout journal pages you can download and print—for FREE—to use for your workouts. Because workouts can be all different shapes and sizes and formats, I’ve made three printables: one for an HIIT workout, one for a circuit workout, and one for a circuit workout with up to four parts. I also added a section in include equipment, a rating, and notes. They might not fit every workout perfectly, but you can alter them for your own purposes.