How To Start & Keep An Effective Workout Journal (Step By Step Guide)
Last Updated on 01/02/2023 by Nicky
How To Start & Keep An Effective Workout Journal (Step By Step Guide)
One of the biggest struggles we have in this fight against fat is being consistent with our workout regimen and diet. Ok maybe you don’t struggle with that (and if not you’re my hero) but I do for sure!
But one of the best ways I’ve found to be diligent in building healthy habits is by tracking my progress in a workout journal and planner.
If you’re unsure of what that is then stay tuned because I’m going to share with you what a fitness journal is, where to get one, what you should put in it, and more!
Oh yeah, and this post contains affiliate links to great products that will help you in your health journey. I will get a commission if you decide to buy from these links but I’m only recommending products that I feel confident about and from companies that I trust like Amazon and others. Please let me know if you have any questions.
– What Is Workout Journal
What is a workout journal? A fitness journal is where you can plan, schedule, and track your workouts and your eating habits because they are interconnected.
Keeping a fitness journal and planner is a paper or digital method to record every phase of your weight loss journey.
Bullet journaling (source) has become popular recently, so some people use it to plan their workout routines and meal plans.
– Why You Should Keep A Workout Journal
So now that we know what an exercise journal is you might be wondering why you even want one in the first place. “Like how does this benefit my life”, you might be asking.
That’s a very good question because who is looking for more stuff to do? Well, here are some good reasons to keep a workout journal.
The biggest reason to keep a fitness planner is so that you know exactly what you’re eating and how much you are moving.
We grossly OVERestimate how much we are moving and UNDERestimate how much we eat.
But when the numbers are there in black and white, it’s kinda hard to refute.
I know I used to think that I couldn’t lose weight because well, I wasn’t eating that much. But when I started tracking my calories I was like “Oh… never mind”.
It is what it is. It’s very hard to know how much you are eating if you don’t track. And when we see, dude, I ate 4,000 calories today, you might start thinking, I need to change.
Of course, there are other benefits like just having a good way to see your progress over time. But the biggest benefit is that seeing how much you eat spurs you into action.
Later on I’ll share a free digital fitness journal and printable meal planner so keep on reading to find out more.
– Ways To Keep A Fitness Journal Or Notebook
1) Simple Notebook or journal
So keeping a workout journal does not have to be hard you can just use a simple Notebook or Journal that you get from Ross or Amazon.
If you don’t need anything fancy then this is the best option. Plus you can arrange it and organize it any way you want.
2) Digital Workout Journal
If you’re looking for something a little more complex and 21st-century you can use a digital workout journal.
They have digital workout journals on Etsy that you can use with abs like Goodnotes or Keynote.
However, I prefer to use an exercise Journal and Planner I created in Trello.
Trello is a free app and it is my favorite app of all time. What I love the most about Trello besides it being free is that I can organize it and customize it any way I want.
I created a workout journal that you can buy in my shop but if you get it and there’s something that you want to change you have that ability.
With journals and planners created in other digital apps, it’s a little more tricky to change them to suit your needs. But with Trello, you can change the names or add sections to the planner.
You can duplicate sections of the planner. Basically, the world is your oyster when it comes to Trello.
If you’re interested you can check out the Future You Fitness Planner & Journal here.
3) Printable Workout Journal
If you’re more of a pencil and paper girl but still want something a little more fancy than a simple notebook then you can use a workout or journal printable.
An exercise printable is a downloadable document filled with tables, checklists, calendars, schedules, and more that make achieving your goals, whatever they may be, so much easier.
So if you were wanting to lose weight and get in shape you can use an exercise journal printable to help track your progress.
Plus you can record what you ate for that day and journal your feelings about your weight loss journey.
This is the perfect solution for those who want to write while also having structure and guidance as to what they should write and track.
Speaking of what to write and track in your journal that’s what we will be covering next.
– What To Track And Record In Your Exercise Notebook
Physical Health Metrics To Track
- Weight (write down your starting weight and then decide how often you want to track your progress in this area.)
- Body Fat Percentage (if you want to calculate this, start here)
- Measurements (measure your hips, thighs, arms, waist, bust, shoulders and any other body part you want to track your progress on)
- How many calories to maintain, gain, or lose weight (start here to figure out your daily calorie intake for weight loss)
- Blood Sugar, A1C, Blood Pressure (You’ll need a blood sugar monitor and blood pressure cuff to get these metrics)
For more on what you should track in a fitness journal visit my blog post about fitness journal ideas!
Want to read this post later? Save it to one of your Pinterest boards!
– How To Start & Keep An Effective Workout Journal (Step By Step Guide)
1) Decide On Your Fitness Journal’s Format
So the first thing you want to do is decide how you want to keep your workout journal. Do you want to use it just a plain piece of paper notebook?
Would you rather use a printable that has a little more structure and it’s really pretty? Or would you prefer a digital Workout Journal? I would suggest you use the kind that would be most conducive to your lifestyle.
If you know you eat out a lot then you might rather use a digital work out journal because you probably don’t want to be pulling out a big old notebook every time you eat or go to the gym.
And here’s another idea you might want to keep a variety of workout journals.
You can have both a printable and a digital work out journal. You can use the printable journal for those quiet times where you plan and reflect on your weight loss journey.
Then you can use a digital exercise planner for when you go out to eat when you’re at the gym. So it’s really up to you on which one works best with your lifestyle.
2) Decide What You Want To Track In Your Planner
OK, so the next step would be to decide what you want to track. So what do I mean by this? I mean do you want to track your weight your measurements do you want to take pictures so you can have a before and after?
Maybe you want to check your blood sugar and your A-1 C and if you want more information about pre-diabetes and diabetes management you can check out my post.
Maybe you want to record your BMI and how many calories you need to maintain lose or gain weight. There’s really a lot of options are in the section.
Once you figure that out let’s move on to the next step.
3) Record Where You Are Now
Now that you know what you want to track we need to write it down. Make a list of all the different health metrics that you want to improve. Then write down the date so you know when you started your journey.
Now you know where your journey began and you can begin two work toward your goals which we will discuss next.
4) Decide Where You Want To Be
Now we want to decide what our goals are. What is it that you want to accomplish? Not only that but where do you want your measurements to be in one month or six months or a year?
Are you trying to lose 30 pounds in six months? Do you want to lose 40 inches in five months? Are you trying to lower your A-1 C to a healthy range in a year?
Maybe you have a target heart rate that you want to achieve. What are your fitness goals?
Think about it and make sure that it is achievable. I don’t want you feeling frustrated and disappointed that you can lose 50 pounds in two months.
I know I know I’ve seen those YouTube videos to you or people lose 30 pounds in one month. Mean yeah it’s something that you can do potentially but will you actually keep the weight off?
Probably not. That’s not what we’re looking for we want to lose weight and keep it off for the long term and a fad diet ain’t the way to do it.
We’re not about that life. All right once you’ve written down your goals then move on to step five.
5) Devise A Plan & Track Progress
All right so we have our goals but how are we going to achieve them? This is when you need to write down a plan in your workout journal.
This plan should be simple and easy to follow or else you probably won’t do it. OK so I’ll speak for myself if it’s not simple for me I’m not going to do it.
If you like complicated plans go for it. But for me, I want to keep it simple sister. Even then it’s not really that easy, you feel me?
What do you do you include in this plan?
Include things like how many times a week you plan to work out, how long you plan to work out each day, if you want to do cardio strength training or both, and how often.
Write down how many meals you want to eat a day.
Are you about that OMAD (one meal a day) life? Or are you eating three square meals a day? That is what I prefer but you do what’s best for you.
Another thing to write down is how much water you plan to drink every day.
How many vegetables and fruits do you wanna consume every day?
All of these things are a part of your health and fitness plan and they should be included in your exercise journal.
Yes, I know it’s an exercise journal and you probably think why am I recording when I eat in my exercise journal.
I get that and you don’t have to do that if you don’t want to but I don’t think you’ll see the results you actually want to see if you don’t track what you eat or change what you eat.
As much as I would like to be able to get the body I want to buy exercising alone it just doesn’t happen for me.
And I’m guessing it doesn’t really work for you either.
So if you really want to see progress in our health and fitness we have to eat better point blank period.
Don’t shoot the messenger LOL.
Another thing is how often do you want to measure your progress. You can measure it weekly daily which I don’t recommend monthly or quarterly which I also don’t recommend.
OK scratch then I don’t have a problem with you measuring your progress quarterly.
In fact in my workout journal, I divide your progress Journal into quarterly sections. And I also include a section where you can reflect on how much progress you made in that quarter.
However, I would not recommend only measuring your progress quarterly. I would suggest at least a monthly evaluation of how far you’ve come.
Why?
Because doing it weekly might not be enough time to see a tree change but a monthly progress report should be enough time to see whether or not your exercise regimen and your diet or working.
If they aren’t working you would know by the end of the month. But you don’t want to wait so long i.e. 3 months before checking to see if your plan is affective.
All in all I recommend both a monthly and a quarterly progress update.
6) Re-evaluate Your Fitness & Weight Loss Plan
Once you’ve reflected on your progress and improvements over the month and the quarter, you might need to reevaluate your plan and see if anything needs to change.
Perhaps working out for five days a week is not sustainable. Or maybe working out three days a week it’s not enough for you to see improvements in your shape or weight.
Once you’ve made adjustments to your fitness plan you can continue on your health journey confident that you plan is going to work!
– Keep A Workout Planner If You Want To See Progress
Alright, y’all! I hope you’re excited to keep a workout journal and check your progress and just continue to improve your overall health. I am rooting for you.
I know you can do it. I know from personal experience of keeping a workout journal is super helpful in keeping you on track and making sure that you accomplish your health goals.
Now I want to hear from you have you ever kept a workout journal and if so how did it go?
What positive changes did you see? Did you crush your goals or was it too hard to keep up with it?
Let us know in the comments!
– Free Download: Use My Digital Fitness Journal For Free
When I track my meals and workouts, I lose weight consistently! But when you don’t have tools to guide you on where to begin, tracking your weight loss journey can get overwhelming!
That’s why I’ve created my Renew Your Body Bundle that you can access for free!
– Here’s what you get with the Renew Your Body Physical Health Bundle:
Future You Digital Meal Planner (used with free app Trello): Do you want to lose weight but struggle to keep track of all the recipes and meal ideas you find?
No worries!
You can use the new year new you meal planner to gather and organize all the healthy recipes and ideas you find online.
You can scan the ones you have written down and store them in the planner too!
It’s so versatile!
Plus I’ve thrown in a weight loss prayer journal too! Just enter your email below to get started!
Printable Weight Loss Starts In The Kitchen Meal Planner: If you prefer pen and paper, I’ve got you covered too!
You’ll also receive a mini meal planner, called Weight Loss Starts In The Kitchen, which has a pantry inventory, weekly meal plan, monthly meal plan, and grocery list.
Enter your email address below to get the link for the digital and printable meal planners sent to your inbox!
– Resources Mentioned In This Post
Digital Workout Journal: Future You Digital Fitness & Weight Loss Planner
If How To Keep A Workout Journal has helped you, please share it!
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Medical Disclaimer: While Healthy As You Can strives to provide the most accurate information, anything you read on this site is purely for informational or entertainment purposes and should NOT be considered medical advice or as a replacement for a doctor’s care, diagnosis, appointment, advice, etc. I am not a medical professional at all. Any information, tips, or ideas that you try as a result of reading this blog is tried at your, the reader’s, own risk.
Health Disclaimer: The owner of Healthy As You Can is not a physician, nutritionist, or medical professional. Any tips or ideas that you implement as a result of reading the information on this blog are done at your own risk. The results that may be discussed are not typical or guaranteed. Please talk to your doctor before starting any workout, exercises, diet or nutrition plan. Please stop any workout if you start to feel any pain. Healthy As You Can is not entering into a Doctor-Patient relationship with any reader and is not responsible for any errors or omissions of information.
