Do you recommend using a log book to keep track of my progress? If so, how should I use it?
This is a great question, and something that needs to be addressed very soon. In my gym I see hundreds of people working out each week, and out of all of them I’ve only seen one using a log book. You shouldn’t underestimate the importance of using a log book, and so in this article I will tell you why to use one, how to use one, and what to write in it.
As I said, a log book is of vital importance. If you don’t know how much you lifted last week, how do you know if you have improved? A good analogy of a bodybuilder not using a log book, is like a 100meter runner not timing himself and trying to beat his best time.
To attain maximum muscle growth, you need to be putting your muscles and body under higher tension each week. If you do the same exercise two weeks in a row your body has made no improvement. You need to do one or more of the three following things:
This is where the importance of a log book comes in, recording which of the three you have increased from your last session.
In the book you’re going to record anything that will effect your workout intensity of the day. It could be your mood, events of the day, what you are excited or nervous about. In recording this you can see when you look back at previous weeks training sessions why you were not lifting as much as you did the week before, or why the weight you lifted increase dramatically. Using this, you can determine the factors that give you a highly intense workout.
This is just a guide, anything else you think of can be added too. An example can be seen below:
| Exercise | Weight | Sets | Reps |
| Chest Press | 20kg | 4 | 10 |
| Dumbell Flies | 10kg | 3 | 12 |
| All Notes: |
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