Do you use a training diary? and progressing exercises

[joelbell]

Just wondering if people keep track of every workout. Do you keep record of the weights used and sets/reps of each exercise in a diary, or do you kinda remember what you did last time?

Also, do you perform more sets/rep/weight every workout, or do you prefer to perform the same until you feel ready to up the sets/rep/weight?

Anyone train instinctively, and how is that going?

At the moment I carry an excel chart through the gym and record my working sets weight and write down the reps/sets I perform, then next time I try to do more total reps than the last workout, or up the weight if i do enough reps. I don't see anyone else doing this in my gym, and wondering if it isn't the norm to keep track of what your doing

[IronGame]

I think it is a good idea to keep track of what your doing to ensure that you are progressing, but don't get overwhelmed by it, your there to train at the end of the day and thats where 100% of your focus should be.

I don't keep track of what i am doing and never do exactly the same workout twice ( as in weight, sets, reps, exercise selection, exercise order)

But in the beginning it is worth keeping a log.

[rollesbygirl]

I do carry my programme and fill it in between sets pretty much the same thing, trying to look at increasing weights or reps, I have just got used to doing it and its great to see the gains over the course of time,

Its like anything you do, some people like to wing it and go with the flow, some of us like lists an schedules.

Its all good, as long as you are working hard out!

[AgentOrange]

i carry a little notebook and take note of new personal bests to track progress

[Pseudonym]

I used to, but I've been a bit slack recently. I really should start again, as I really am lost without it. I tend to wander around the gym thinking, "Hmmm, what exercise shall I do next?" - and then I can't remember what weight to use once I get there. :pfft:

[poos_n_wees]

I carry round my handy dandy notebook during my workouts. Writing in it gives me something to do between sets :pfft:

I used to stick to the same workouts for 4-6 weeks, but have kinda got the gist (jist?) of how I like to train now, so am a bit more flexible/instinctive in the exercises I pick. Sets/reps usually stay the same though.

[Truds]

I carry around my workout log with me so I can track my progress etc. It helps when I'm pre-contest too with regards to weights... if I'm feeling a little tired, I'll push myself to do that weight or those extra reps 'cos I know I could do it last week.. if you know what I mean?

x

[Sheta]

I cart my training/food diary around with me. Record weights, reps, etc. I also take note of if Ive slept well, & what my mood is. I have a small stack of them from the last couple of years.

They come in handy if youre competing, its good to look back on what worked, and how you looked come stage time.

[ohjoshua]

Have written up almost every workout over the last year.

I either write it on a scrap of paper or just remember it and type it up on here later.

I always forget the last time I trained something, so its a handy reference.

[Flex]

Always - I'm pretty anal about keeping a training diary. I hate training on the fly and find it almost pointless training without it. I still have most of my training diaries going all the way back to when I first started training. It's quite interesting being able to look back over 10 odd years worth of training, along with various diets, supplement stacks and body compositions.

[deegee]

Always keep a diary you can monitor your progress far better and see where and when you start slowing or not gaining on a particular exercise.

[AK]

I have a diary... Very helpfull in the long run IMO

[mclovin]

they are a really good idea , im a bit slack with mine , go good for a month or two then get slack , i find i do better with one as in im always trying to better the week before in some way , like an extra rep or two here and there or adding a few kilos on to my heavy sets , ill make it a new years thing and focus a bit more on that and my diet .... im getting a lil porky :pfft:

[Dumbelldog]

I'm with the majority I track it every time.

[Old Bull]

Those that Fail to Plan Plan to Fail

It depends on whether you work out or train.

Work Out: No Goal No Plan about 40% of our Members, come undecided on what to do, enjoy themselves so no Big Deal.

Training: Competing at what ever sport, training logs/Diarys are essential, Linear, Conjugate, Preiodization, Pre Competion, Competion Phase, Restoration, Transition.

Data is essential, the more data you have the better your trainings are the better the results.

Our logs go back years, we can look back at prevoius build ups to competitions and compare or look at exercises that we used, that put on some decent numbers at comp time.

From one of our members on the same sort of thread.

I know in Sheikos book (well the small part i have in english) he mentions two different type of lifters

Lovers and Professionals.

The lovers are workers who come in to lift at the end of the day

and strangely enough, the professionals are those who lift for work.

Lovers lift once per day and compete for the russian cup. The professionals lift twice per day3x weekly and once per day 2x weekly and competing at the european/world level.

OB

[joelbell]

thanks people! anyone out there who wings it everytime and has had good results? i met someone today who said he got big just going to the gym for an hour 5 days a week and doing what he felt like doing

[2guns]

anyone out there who wings it everytime and has had good results?

everyone has some kind of structure to there training, some idea of wat they are going to do... or wat eva u wanna call it

no a training diary is NOT essential to getting results, and just because u dont have one doesnt mean u dont know wat yr doing lol

[MasterTel]

I always record my workouts - each set, the weight and number of reps. I add a few comments if I try something different so I know what to do the next time I do the exercise.

I start a new book each year and find it interesting at times to see what I was doing 12 months ago. I also find it fun to occasionally pick a workout from 2-3 months ago and repeat the same exercises and number of sets to see if I can manage to improve on either the number of reps or the weight on some sets.

[rigger]

Yep, I have diaries with every workout, weights, exercises, time of day etc etc going back at least 10 years. Great to go back and have a look and a laugh. Always good to try and better a past workout. That gets harder to do as the years go by.

[Marcus]

I record all of my weights/reps/sets. Helps me to stay focused.