How Do I Start a Fitness Journal?

How do you track your workouts and fitness goals? Have you ever considered using a fitness journal? Fitness journaling is a way to track your reps and keep track of your workout progress similar to a traditional daily planner. Many people who use this method of tracking feel that it helps them better stick to their goals. By writing down the exercises done as part of your workout, you can better maximize your results in the future by creating a clear training plan with the knowledge of what truly works for you.

 

Why should I keep a journal?

Keeping a fitness journal gives you a consistent log to look back on, giving you an opportunity to plan for the future more efficiently. Fitness journaling can also help you recognize patterns or habits that may be holding you back from reaching your goals. For instance, let’s say that you find yourself regularly skipping your Tuesday morning workout. By keeping a journal, you can better identify what you might be doing on Monday that is making you too tired to complete your workout on Tuesday. Keeping a fitness journal can also be an opportunity to track other health goals, such as:

- Water intake

- Nutrition

- Sleep

- Motivation

Fitness journaling is an important next step in your fitness journey to put data behind the way you choose your workout. Not only can keeping a fitness journal help you realize why you’re skipping your workouts, but it can also aid in keeping yourself accountable.

 

How do I use a fitness journal?

Fitness journaling can be done in a paper planner, through apps like Strong Workout Tracker Gym Log, or on a simple excel sheet. If you’re using your journal to track workout progress, consider creating categories for Date/Time, Exercises Done, Weight, Sets, and Reps. Additional categories could be added for Mood, Stretching, Heart Rate, and the other categories mentioned above.

By using a bullet journal, fitness journaling can be customized any way you want to track areas you’re focused on! You can make your journal as complex or as simple as you want it to be. Here are some examples of creative bullet journal style fitness journals tracking a variety of goals!