Does anyone not log their lifts when they hit the gym?
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Does anyone not log their lifts when they hit the gym?
I used to write down everything in a training journal. Every set. How many reps, how much weight, etc. It helps a lot. I just got lazy and quit doing it
I used to but not anymore. Unless it's one rep max stuff
i track everything and have for as long as i can remember
Thats another reason why it works better for me to have some kind of competition that Im training for. When I am not as goal oriented, keeping a journal doesnt seem as important. I honestly dont care much for body building contests, the posing and walking around in speedos and all that just seems weird to me, but nothing will keep you more disciplined in all parts of your life than committing to doing it. Sending in your entry fee and not looking back. Fuggit
I track everything. Sometimes I look around the gym and ask myself are these guys even serious about improving when I see they track nothing. Maybe they remember who knows.
I do from time to time, but I should make it a point to do it every workout. I get lazy here and there and don't do it. I do notice that I tend to push myself harder when I log everything.
I have been doing it for as long as I can remember. I am so bad i must write a lift down almost immediately cz i forget. I do see other guys write nothing and they progress.
Do you there is there value to just going to the gym and lifting, and logging nothing??
you may be able to make progress without logging but how are you going to track anything? myself i track my supps, cycle, movements sets reps cardio, how i feel, rest and pretty much every aspect that i can think of. i do a semi mini version in my log here as well. going to be hard to progress on certain movements if you cant remember what you hit the week before and how you felt the week prior. maybe you were feeling a bit off the week prior so that extra 45-90lbs isnt actually an improvement in strength but more an improvement in some other aspect. i think you cheat yourself out a ton when you dont have any idea of what's going on in your body and trainingQuote:
Originally Posted by DethKlok
Yup. Your muscle head butt got me logging my supps and times along with my usual lift log : ) . That reminds me I need to buy stock in notebooks lol.Quote:
Originally Posted by guns01
Glad I read this. I used to as well but got away from it. Totally agree that if I'm tracking I push much harder, get those extra 2-3 reps that separate you from cruising and gaining! Follow-up question, how do people track? I assume old fashioned paper and pen but anyone got good app tips?
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Just good old-fashioned pen and paper for me. They probably have some pretty good apps for tracking, but I rarely take my phone on the gym floor with me unless I need it for music. If I find a really good app to help track, I might reconsider keeping it with me.Quote:
Originally Posted by slamshaft
i use paper and pen myself because it is more like a journal since i track everything to a t. my wife got one of the logs from salt water wraps here and it is a damn good one that is formatted nicelyQuote:
Originally Posted by slamshaft
Every gym session, every rep. And if i happen to screw up and forget my training log, it goes on the notes app on my phone til i can write it down in my log later. it's kind of a motivation thing the way i do it. i look at what my last session was for each exercise and if i don't improve on reps or go up in weight more for two consecutive sessions on an exercise, barring something like illness or an all niter from work, that exercise is tossed as i'm not reaching my goals and improving (i.e. plateau) and a similar exercise is inserted in its place next time. say, barbell curls have had no rep increase for two workouts with same weight, i'll drop it in lace of say ez bar cable curls or another basic type move. same with db laterals for delts, no increase, switch to cable laterals and progress til that the body adjust and hits a plateau and then back to db laterals. etc etc
i would be unaware of the reps and plateaus without logging. i can't train and feel good about it without logging.
I would print out a checklist for years. I felt restricted so i went pen and paper. Give me some freestyle room. Now I feel like its a notebook leash following me around the gym everyday.
Little update. Without the paperwork i completed my entire routine in less time and got a really good workout. I guess I am not the crazy overtrainer I once thought i was lol.
Always log
I was logging faithfully when I was doing a 5x5 routine. It was the only way I could keep track of progress. And since I trained in a couple different places at the time, I used a spreadsheet on my phone - Google Sheets - because I always had it with me. I had a different tab for bench; squat; and deadlift. Columns for date; weight; # of sets (5) and # of reps each set. The goal is 5 sets of 5 reps, so the reps cell would say, "5; 5; 5; 4; 3" until I got all 5 reps for all 5 sets. Then go up in weight next workout and start over. New row for each date.
Since I got away from that routine, I quit logging. That said, I'm also definitely cruising with regard to training. Life vircumstances simply don't permit heavy focus on training of late. If I can keep my size and strength and maybe shed a few % fat I'll be satisfied with that. Keeping a log takes time, and every minute in the gym - literally - is required for training.
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