The Benefits of Keeping an Exercise Log

When it comes to improving how consistent we are in the gym we tend to go for the complicated, expensive solutions.

An over-priced set of supplements. Expensive compression gear. A $100/hour strength coach.

And while these can be useful additions to our training regimen, they aren’t the kind of things that are going to make a consistent athlete out of you.

If you want a proven way to get more motivated to workout, a way to be more consistent with your workout routines, and to get more from yourself, than there is no better tool to wield in the gym than an exercise log.

Here are 10 cool things that happen when you start using one:

1. Consistency goes up. We all struggle with being more consistent. Journaling your workouts has the curious effect of teaching you to be more self-aware, which will help you crush workouts more regularly. You learn what works — the things that drive results, while shining a light on what doesn’t.

2. You go in with a plan. Going into the gym and doing what you “feel like” doing is for amateurs. A training log is more than just results — it’s a plan. When you go into the gym knowing what you have to do things are more likely to get done.

3. You get a big picture view. If your training is important to you it’s critical to not get lost in the daily ups and downs and see the bigger picture. Having your workout history in hand will show you the general trajectory of your training and help but the occasional crappy workout in perspective.

4. You get insanely motivated. Is there anything more motivating than seeing how far you have come? With an exercise log you can flip through the pages of your path to improvement. Seeing how far you’ve come is white-hot fuel for pushing you to get to where you want to go. And who doesn’t want themselves some more motivation?

5. It builds self-awareness. Top athletes are also remarkably self-aware. They understand how long it takes for them to progress, which allows them to set way smarter goals. Why is this important? Because smarter goals means realistic — yet still challenging — expectations. This avoids the kind of scenario that is all too common where we work hard for two weeks and then give up because our unrealistic expectations of change haven’t come to pass.

6. Spot trends and patterns (injuries, correlation to sleep). Your lifestyle has a massive role to play in your performance in the gym. You can choose to ignore that reality, or embrace it and learn from it. How much you sleep the night before a workout impacts your rate of perceived effort. Using your exercise log also as a food journal will demonstrate the positive effects of eating well. Connect the dots with bad nights of sleep, injury patterns, and more.

7. Keeps you accountable. We don’t all have coaches over our shoulders to keep us on track. A workout log is a subtle reminder to get your ass to the gym. No one likes writing out a missed workout in their exercise log.

8. Accurate results. Better results come with progression, and progression comes from keeping accurate results. You shouldn’t be confused about what you’ve already lifted, and should instead be focused on what you are going to lift. Your log book will help keep you focused on progression.

9. It’s therapeutic. One of the less talked about benefits of logging your workouts is the therapeutic and relaxing couple of minutes where you write out what you did in the gym. Thoughts and comments can help further clarify your workout, what went well (and why it went so well).

10. Target your weaknesses. We all have things in our training we badly need to improve. And so we ignore them, to our detriment. Your exercise log is a checklist of sorts — a daily reminder to address the things that are holding us back. Not doing enough core work? Note it. Not drinking enough water? Write down a reminder. An exercise log is more than just a set of results — it’s a plan for your health and wellness.