Keeping a training log

Out of interest. Do you guys keep a trainings log? If so what type, hand written, online, special programs, excel etc etc...

I use a simple text document on my computer.  I start a new one every year, because they do tend to run on a bit.

I've always considered the possibility of a calendar app, something where you can add what you did each day and see graphs of progress, frequency of workouts ect...

Excel. I can add what I did each day and see graphs of progress, frequency of workouts ect... -- *exactly as I want*

Yep, very detailed; I've used paper, excel, online, calendar apps, fora, text files, etc... I now use scrivener that is also the main recipient of all my training related notes, clips from the forum, goals, targets, reminders, past and future plans, to high satisfaction.

I can easily embed pics and movies, link to external sources, import docs, pdfs and entire e-books, export all the same.

The whole thing is entirely searchable, indexable, has build in as well as customizable metadata, is very inexpensive, and I use it for most things related to data curating, ideas jotting, journaling, etc... I have all my coursera materials, video courses and all in there too.

I used to keep a detailed lifting Journal, but havent kept much of a log since doing GST stuff.  I mostly can remember for a couple of weeks what I have been doing and didnt feel a need to log it.  

However recently, I have begun to keep a written journal again for my training where I mention what I learned new and what I should work on in each training session.  This is often accompanied by a sketch.  I use this much more for skill training but also use it for the conditioning work occasionally. 

I use Evernote. Easy to reach on all the devices. Pc, Phone and tablet.

In my opinion, to not keep a training log while training is merely training to fail.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

I use Evernote, for this and everything else in life (I have over 5000 notes in my database).  I also use Excel for the statistics I want to more closely analyze over time.  Of course, the spreadsheets are embedded in Evernote. 

I use a paper based record log. Will look into using scrivener/ Evernote as carrying exercise notes, an exercise list, and a record log is a little ridiculous (not to mention phone for stopwatch, a pen, and a water bottle too). Plus I'd like to see more pictures of the gymnastic movement each exercise stream is heading for.

Notebook and pen for me. Something about slowly filling up my notebook and seeing the colour of the whole change from side as I fill it up with ink. It's the simple things.

Besides, I spend enough time at the computer already

i kind of regret deleting my workout log from the forum. I've kept all my foundation notes, but those previous one's could shed some light on how precisely i've changed in the past year. 

Scrivener looks very interesting. I will give it a try when I start working out again... (I was happily working my way through F1 six months ago but all of a sudden - sort of - I found myself married, looking forward to becoming a father for the first time, working, studying to become an osteopath... et cetera... life can be distracting at times!!)

Michaël said:

Scrivener looks very interesting. I will give it a try when I start working out again... (I was happily working my way through F1 six months ago but all of a sudden - sort of - I found myself married, looking forward to becoming a father for the first time, working, studying to become an osteopath... et cetera... life can be distracting at times!!)

congratulations!  

Thanks!

Michaël said:

Scrivener looks very interesting. I will give it a try when I start working out again... (I was happily working my way through F1 six months ago but all of a sudden - sort of - I found myself married, looking forward to becoming a father for the first time, working, studying to become an osteopath... et cetera... life can be distracting at times!!)

Oh, so nothing TOO serious then

Big congrats!

Congrats Michael.

Michaël said:

Scrivener looks very interesting. I will give it a try when I start working out again... (I was happily working my way through F1 six months ago but all of a sudden - sort of - I found myself married, looking forward to becoming a father for the first time, working, studying to become an osteopath... et cetera... life can be distracting at times!!)

You mean you didn't cut off all ties with the human race in order to focus on completing the F series and becoming a gymnastics superman?  I've been doing it all wrong.....

Seriously tho, congratulations.

Thanks guys! And sorry for steering this off-topic... 

Do keep a log. Pen or computer does not matter so much. But it's important to be able to go back when you have those questions about how you are doing and progressing and what you did to get where you are now. It also makes a fun read to see how you are actually making progress compared a year or more back. I prefer a computer word document log. I type a lot easier than I write with a pen, so all those small details I might not bother to write down are very quick to type on the computer and are handy when finetuning my understanding of what is going on.

Erik Rissanen said:

It also makes a fun read to see how you are actually making progress compared a year or more back. I prefer a computer word document log.

This is the main reason.  I love seeing where I am now compared to where I was a year ago, to see how far I've gotten.  It's also a good idea to try your old workouts sometimes, just to see how much easier they've gotten.

Anyone willing to share their excel template? Graphing it out sounds really useful, and and electronic record is probably the way to go. I've just been writing it down in a notepad.

Art Vandelay said:

Anyone willing to share their excel template? Graphing it out sounds really useful, and and electronic record is probably the way to go. I've just been writing it down in a notepad.

Some graphs like your body weight are useful in excel.

For other things, they are more generally useless because the variety and changes of exercise over time make them really hard to maintain - that is unless you are training for long distance running, or swimming, or weight lifting; in these specific instances, stats are easy to graph.

I found excel ungainly and impractical to keep the written comments like "it was hard to warm up", or "really smooth", or "elbow kink seems better"...

However, as was said above, 98% of it is to keep the log, not the how and where.

We did some cool stuff in biomechanics and coaching/periodisation modules but that was a couple years ago now and a lot of that has left my brain. I just think with a good template it will be much easier to record and keep track of. I might play around with excel in a couple weeks when I've got some more free time.

I keep going back to pen and paper. I currently have a little book where I write what I did, how I felt, how it went and what I'll do next time. Something like that.

Bipocni said:

This is the main reason.  I love seeing where I am now compared to where I was a year ago, to see how far I've gotten.  It's also a good idea to try your old workouts sometimes, just to see how much easier they've gotten.

That's nice. But for me the main reason is much more mundane. When preparing a workout I want to know what I did last time so I know what to do now and how to improve.

- Where am I in the template? What is the next step?

- When I cannot keep up with the template I make notes about dropping down, or divide it into smaller increments, so I need to know where to go next.

- If I film myself, I make notes about how to improve form for the next time. Say "did not hold legs straight, do that next time". I need review my notes to remember to make those corrections.

Keeping a log means I remember these things. If I would not keep a log, I would miss out on these opportunities to improve and to stay on track.