You don't have to take a lot of time to log your workouts, but you should do it. There are a lot of reasons for doing it and a lot of ways to do it. You can keep it simple, by creating a workout schedule that includes the exercises you do each day, the number of repetitions and number of sets of each. Just duplicate that for each week and adjusting the number of reps and sets as your fitness level improves. You can also make it more informative by including measurements and weight once a week and how hard or easy the workout was, so you know when to ramp it up and make the workout harder.
You'll save time when you have a workout log.
Have you ever started to exercise and had to stop and think about what to do next or finished and realized you forgot an exercise? It happens to everyone at some time. Even if you've done a workout for a long time, it can happen. However, we don't recommend doing any workout for longer than six weeks without changing it. Having that log can remind you what to do next and how many of each exercise to do.
You can track your progress easier and ensure you make progress.
Even if you start simple, such as doing a set of ten exercises and three sets of each, you may not progress at the same rate for each type of exercise. You might find some are easier for you to do because that particular muscle group started out more toned. Increasing the difficulty by increasing the number of reps and sets becomes more difficult the more accurate you are at challenging yourself. Logging your workout helps you even on those mornings you're not quite awake.
Keeping extra notes can help you look for alternate ways to address an issue. If a regular push-up is continuously too hard, opt for an easier version, like a knee bent push-up until you're strong enough for traditional ones.
Saving those logs and periodically looking back at where you started can be a big boost no matter what your goal. If you are disappointed in your ability to do a workout or shed a pound, seeing the progress can keep you motivated.
If you switch your workouts periodically, as you should, keeping old logs can give you a go-to plan months later. You can use some or all the workout but adjust the reps and sets upward.
At Habitat Health and Fitness, we track clients for a number of reasons. One of those is to ensure the workout is giving the best results. If you're not seeing the changes you want, it's time to take it up a notch or switch out some of the exercises.
