by May Plaige

Created on: October 18, 2008   Last Updated: February 02, 2009

No matter what a person's level of fitness experience is, and no matter what kind of workout routine a person is using, everyone can benefit from keeping a journal to log their exercise program. Here's how to do it right:

Motivate Yourself

From the moment you write "Workout Journal" on the front cover of a notebook, the journal begins to serve as a motivator by providing a sense of commitment. By placing the journal in a place where it will be visible daily, you will be sure to have a constant reminder of your workout plan, whether it is a daily walk, or a trip to the gym three times a week. It will provide a sense of pride when you are doing well and keeping up with your program, and act as a visual nag when you aren't.

Make Yourself Proud

If you really want to be proud of yourself, nothing feels nicer than having page after page of workout details to flip back through as you move forward with your exercise program. It is particularly rewarding to see how you have improved over time, being able to lift heavier weights, do more repetitions, walk a further distance, or even simply feel better while working out. To accomplish this, take the time to journal every workout you do. The few minutes it takes can provide you with months of self-esteem.

Get Into the Details

The reason why it is so important to be detailed in your workout journal entries is so that you CAN see your improvement over time and see what makes you feel good and what doesn't. When writing a journal entry, you'll definitely want to include the date, how long your workout took, and a general description of what your exercise program entailed that day. You'll also want to include specifics, such as:

-how far you ran/walked

-whether your run/walk was hilly or flat

-what kind of exercises you did

-how many repetitions/sets you did

-how heavy any weights you used were

-any other important describing features of your workout

And How Does that Make You Feel?

Another important thing to include in your journal is a "How I Felt" section. For many people, an exercise routine isn't only about losing weight or becoming stronger; it's also about feeling better while doing physical activity. It's about feeling healthy. As you start your exercise routine, there will be days you feel great and days you, well, don't. But, as your program becomes more regular, you should notice that it gets easier to do things that were difficult for you when you began. A journal is a great way of tracking the improvement of your stamina; you

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