Why keep a workout log?

Written by Pablo Ferrero

Friday, 10 October 2008 16:34

Looking for a way to optimize your training regimen? Keep a workout log of what exercises you do, as well as how many reps and sets, and notes on how to perform exercises - all of it is crucial to making gains in bodybuilding. Keeping a record of these activities is one of the fundamental things to do for consistent improvement. When you keep track of what you've done, that makes it easier to see what more there is to do.

You’ve all heard the slogan, “progress is our most important product," right? Well progress is what all us bodybuilders are all about. Yet, in every health and fitness club in the country, you see the same people coming in at the same time every day, doing the same routines, the same exercises with the same amount of weights, and the same number of repetitions. Day after day, week after week—nothing changes. And when they look in the mirror, they frown. You know why? They don’t change either.

These people just haven’t learned that the secret to success is not to take the path of least resistance—it’s more resistance that you want. Only then can you make gains in mass and measurement. Remember the story of the man who started picking up a baby calf every day that maybe weighed 50 pounds at birth? Well, each day, as the calf was gaining more weight, the man was lifting more, until one day, he found himself picking up a 600-pound bull, with ease!

Had he not done this feat gradually, there’s no way he could have lifted such a massive weight. But he knew the bull would increase in weight each day, and that his strength would also gradually increase. He didn’t need a workout log to tell him that, but your strength-building routine is a little more complex—so you do.

Unless you have a photographic memory, you are not going to remember the amount of weight you curled last week, or the number of squats you did last month, or the number of sets of bench presses. So, let’s face it. If your memory were so great you wouldn’t forget to take your towel home each time.

In order to improve and make gains, you must make progress in your training with each session. You can do this three, or maybe four, ways. One: work out with more weight on each session than in the previous session. Two: do more reps with the same weight. Three: do more work within a set time frame than you did before. And four: get a workout logbook and write it all down.

While you’re at it, make a note of these items as well: the time of day you worked out, how the movements felt, (too light, too heavy), what you ate and when, how you felt when you woke up, went to sleep, how much cardio you did, your body weight, etc. Even other aspects of you life can be informative later: e.g., whether you had a good day, whether you felt sleepy, or if it was raining.

By comparing notes from one session to the next, you will see how outside factors influence your performance in the gym. You may even get so good at it that you could predict your own behavior, and maybe even read your own mind!

by Bruce Heath, DnC

Your Health and Medical Consultant.

Last Updated on Monday, 02 March 2009 15:37