The Benefits of Keeping a Workout Journal

If you’re looking to maximize your time at the gym and optimize your workout, a great way to improve is by keeping a consistent log of your workouts, exercises, and the time you spend at the gym—whether you’re using a public or home gym. It’s a simple suggestion, but consider the benefits of keeping a workout journal.

Keeping Yourself Honest

By writing down your plans, goals, and progress, you’ll keep yourself honest and responsible for sticking to your workout. If you go into the gym without a clear plan in mind, it’s easy to skimp on exercises or go easy on yourself, especially if you have home gym equipment and no one’s around to know if you cheat. If you go in with a plan already down on paper, you’ll avoid having to decide in the moment how much you want to push yourself—you’ll know exactly what you’re doing when you start. Then, if you fail in your goals for that day, writing about it will put some pressure on you to do better next time so that you don’t begin to form bad habits.

Improves Your Goals

A more common mistake than setting no goals is creating unrealistic goals. Ambition is great, but if your goal is too far out of reach, you’ll lose motivation quickly. By keeping a workout journal, you’ll be able to pace yourself by setting smaller goals that lead you to your final goal. By keeping track of your progress, you’ll receive feedback on your performance and can adjust your goals as necessary to fit your pace. This isn’t a race, after all.

You’ll Find Patterns

As you continue to track your progress, you’ll probably begin to see patterns form in your workouts, performance, and even your diet. By recognizing these patterns, you’ll be able to decipher what you were doing that made you feel great on your best days, as well as what might have dragged you down on your worst days. It will allow you to tailor your workout regime and diet to your specific needs for some incredible self-improvement.

You Get To Vent

Maybe you had a bad day, or someone took your favorite treadmill, but the great thing about a workout journal is that you have somewhere to vent and clear your head. Writing down your struggles will relieve some of the stress and pent-up emotions you may have if you find yourself frustrated. Talk about how you felt during the day and your mood during your workout. The benefits of keeping a workout journal include freedom from judgment and a space to express yourself.