How to Create a Fitness Workout Log for 2020
Workout apps are great, but I strongly believe in the old-fashioned workout diary . Since last spring, I’ve been jotting down my workouts in a millimeter hardcover notebook and found that there was plenty of room on the blank pages for diagrams, reflections, reference material, and more. So here’s a quick overview of how I compose my training diary for 2020 based on what has worked for me in the past.
Start with a blank notebook
Like bullet magazines , the free form approach can work well, allowing you to customize the format as your needs and whims change. So, I start with a completely blank book.
My book is hardcover, with a lot of pages and a graph or dotted line on the inside because I know I want to make diagrams. Tape tabs, elasticated fasteners and inner pockets are good. I mostly describe Moleskine or Leuchtturm , but mine is not really a brand that I bought from a craft store for $ 6. If you want something even cheaper, I would recommend a composition notebook, such as with a stitched binding (since the spiral can get stuck in the gym bag).
Remember to write down your name and phone number somewhere in your diary. If you might want to keep the table of contents, take a few minutes to think about it by writing down the odd page numbers in the lower right corner. We decorate the lid. Or not. This is your book.
Write a note for posterity
One of the reasons a workout log is a record you can look back at. After five years, you might be thinking, “Hmm, I ran a really good marathon in 2020 – what did my training look like?”
So think about anything that you don’t want to write down because you take it for granted. Write it all down on the first page of your diary. Things like:
- Where do you train . For example, which gym do you currently go to?
- Your most common routes for running or cycling . This way, you can record a “lake loop” to train for a given day, and in the future you will know exactly what that means.
- What units are you using . My exercises were always in pounds, until I started going to the gym, where the kilos are indicated on the signs. I now log lifts in one gym in pounds and in another in kilograms, and in the future I would be very confused if I did not write this down.
- Which apps do you use to record your workouts . It’s okay to just jot down the basics each day and store the details in the app (for example, your split times for long runs might be in Runkeeper), but make sure you have this note so you know where to look for information in case you need this.
Mark your goals and PR
Make the page look like a time capsule: what are you doing best now? What are your goals for the year or for the coming season? If you are a runner, it may be race time; If you are an athlete, record your maximum one repetition on the exercises most important to you. Leave room for updates while you try your old PRs.
Prepare background material
Now it’s time for some handy charts. I find this pound to kilogram chart useful, especially if you train in pounds but must choose to compete in kilograms. (I attach it to the inside of the back cover with glue.) This rep percentage chart is another useful one for lifters.
The first few and last few pages of the notebook are also great places for other reference material. Perhaps your coach’s phone number? Dates of important competitions?
If you’re not sure what you want, just leave the inner covers blank and add them whenever you like.
Make charts based on your current fitness level.
This section combines the last two and is one of the nicest because someday it will soon be outdated and you can put together a whole new set of charts. If you’re doing any training where you need to search for numbers to know what to do during the day, customize those charts now. For instance:
If you are a runner, connect your last run time to this calculator and it will tell you what pace you should be running on long distances, your running pace, etc. It will also give you predicted finish times for other distances.
If you’re doing a percentage-based weightlifting or powerlifting program, make a chart with your PR percentages. For example, if my coach wants me to snatch 60%, 70%, and 80% of my max today, I don’t need to take out my calculator – I have a table with these numbers in the front of my notebook. Developed.
Log every workout
Finally, the best part. How to record each workout is up to you, but I’ll tell you what I did.
There was a period when I was lazy with a paper pad and basically just wrote down data in apps (Strong for climbing, Nike Run Club for running). So for each workout, I would just write down how many miles I ran and how fast, or I would note what exercises I did in the gym and what my hardest sets were.
But now I prefer to write down the details in a notebook. I use one page for each workout day and record my sets, reps, and weights. I also do something that cannot be done in the application: I will circle the new PRs. I will be writing notes on how my hard exercises felt. (Like I’m dying? Like I could definitely do more?) During my winter run, I often record my temperature and what I wore because every fall I find I forget what to wear in the cold .
Collect long-term trends
There is another important piece of data for each day: the workout experience. I think we should all write this down, in whatever form it takes. One easy way is to put a smiley, frown, or neutral face next to your post. Running coach Jenny Hadfield asks her athletes to write down the colors: yellow if they are doing well, orange if the workout was successful, and red if it was a fight. Over time, too many red or scowling faces can mean you’re straining too hard and risking burnout.
I take a more mathematical approach that I heard abouton the Barbell Medicine podcast . For each workout, I record how long I have been in the gym (usually 60 to 90 minutes) and then assign a number to how hard the workout was. On a scale of 1 to 10, where easy training is 6, normal is 7, hard is 8, and then 9 and 10 are reserved for really brutal, grueling effort.
To keep track of my progress, I multiply these numbers (90 minutes x rating 7 = 630) and then build a histogram on a separate page. Look, I’m a nerd, that’s what I am. This data becomes really valuable when you add up these numbers by week and see how the trend develops. If a typical week is 2500 to 3000 units, but then you increase your workout and suddenly your next week is 5000 units, you may have missed and you should probably backtrack a little. I don’t do these histograms every week, but if I’m trying to increase my workouts, I use them to make sure I am increasing them responsibly. It’s also interesting to notice when you set PRs – they often come in a week which was easier than usual.
Write down everything that matters to you.
As you practice, you’ll find something to add. Be sure to write down a summary of how the race or competition went. If your coach gives you some words of wisdom, or if you’ve learned something interesting from a YouTube video, write that down as well. Everything is under your control and the pages are empty. This is all yours.