Starting an exercise routine means beginning a journey toward better health, fitness, and well-being. It’s an investment in yourself with rewards for now and the future. How so? Regular exercise significantly reduces the risk of major health issues like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers. You’re investing in your future self.
But there’s more. Staying physically fit and active also enhances brain health and gives your mood a boost. Studies show that aerobic workouts may enhance cognitive function through stimulating neurogenesis, the creation of new nerve cell connections. We need that as we age!
Don’t Overlook This Step
But there’s one thing that many people overlook in their fitness journal: keeping a fitness journal. Rather than keeping a journal, they juggle their routine and goals in their head, struggling to remember how much they lifted last week and how they felt after each workout. How will you know if you’re making progress if you’re not tracking your workouts, diet, and lifestyle habits that affect your fitness goals, like sleep? Answer: you won’t.
Taking the step of writing everything down, your goals, how many sets you do, what you eat, how much you sleep, and how you feel after each workout, is invaluable, whether you’re trying to get leaner or stronger. You can’t know where you’re going unless you know where you’ve been. Let’s take a closer look at why you need to keep a fitness journal.
It Will Help You Adjust Your Workouts and Lifestyle to Meet Your Fitness Goals
A fitness journal helps jar your memory. If you lead a busy life, it’s hard to track all the details that make a difference along your path to better health and fitness. A fitness journal reminds you of what you’re doing, where you’ve been, and what improvements you need to make to conquer your fitness goals. A fitness journal is like a silent coach, helping you identify what’s working, what isn’t, and what you need to change.
For example, you might notice you feel tired after your workouts lately. You can then take a closer look at your nutrition, hydration, or how much sleep you’re getting and make adjustments. Unless you track this, you won’t notice patterns that help you identify weakness in your lifestyle that limit your fitness gains.
It Will Help You Track Your Goals and Stay on Course
A fitness journal is your trusty companion, aiding you in establishing intelligent objectives, monitoring effective strategies, and gauging the distance you’ve traveled on your fitness journey. It helps you stay on course, so you don’t lose sight of what you’re trying to achieve.
Without it, it’s easy to lose track of the big picture or get discouraged when you’re not meeting your goals as quickly as you’d like. For example, if you’re not getting stronger, you can review your entries and ensure you’re using progressive overload, which is a must if you’re trying to get stronger or build muscle.
Plus, you can change the exercises you do to work the muscles you’re targeting in a different way, for example, add new variations of the exercises you’re currently doing. You’ll also know whether you’ve hit a plateau and can take steps to jumpstart muscle growth before you waste too much time. Feedback is your best friend when it comes to getting fit.
Keeping a Fitness Journal Let’s You See Your Progress
A fitness journal is a record of your progress, challenges, and successes. When you browse through your journal and see you’re lifting more now than you were a month ago, you’ll feel empowered and more motivated! Progress is a motivation booster. It’s a reminder to celebrate your successes and use them to stay on course. No matter what your goals are, you need to see whether you’re making progress.
You’ll See What Lifestyle Habits Work Best for You
A fitness journal can help you figure out what works for you. It’s easy to get caught up in the idea that there is a perfect workout, diet, and routine that will help you get leaner, stronger, and healthier. Unfortunately, this is a fallacy, usually perpetuated by someone who’s trying to sell you something. Everyone responds differently, even to the same diet and exercise program. A fitness journal will help you discover what exercise and dietary approach works for you.
A fitness journal will help you discover motivation patterns.
A fitness journal will help you chart your course towards fitness excellence. It empowers you to establish well-crafted objectives, monitor the effectiveness of your strategies, and gauge the substantial distance you’ve traversed on your path to peak physical well-being.
For instance, you may find that you have more energy and can power through a workout in the morning. But if you wait until after work, you put forth a half-baked effort because you’re too tired and lack motivation. By knowing this, you can create a personalized fitness plan that works for you and fits with your lifestyle.
Conclusion
Don’t underestimate the benefits of keeping a fitness journal. It’s your secret weapon and must have tool for tracking, finetuning, and reaching a higher level of fitness. Use it to set goals, track progress, and measure success over time. And when things get tough–which they will–having this record of achievement can help lift spirits when your gains are slow in coming.
Whether you use an online system for tracking your progress or a physical notebook, choose an approach you’ll be consistent with. You can even add motivational quotes to help you stay inspired along your journey.
Here are some things to include:
- Workouts: Exercises, sets, reps, and weights lifted
- Activity Levels: Record your activity levels outside of your workouts, such as steps taken, or time spent being active
- Nutrition: A food log to track your nutrition and water intake
- Sleep patterns: Sleep or lack of can affect muscle growth, energy, and motivation.
- Goals: Break goals down into smaller, measurable steps that you can track over time
- Reflections: Reflect on your progress and evaluate what’s working and what’s not
- Thoughts and Emotions: Consider noting any associated thoughts or emotions during or after a workout.
Happy journaling!
References:
- Warburton DE, Nicol CW, Bredin SS. Health benefits of physical activity: the evidence. CMAJ. 2006 Mar 14;174(6):801-9. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.051351. PMID: 16534088; PMCID: PMC1402378.
- Chenoweth H. The Benefits of Keeping a Fitness Journal. Columbia Association. Published March 10, 2021. Accessed January 27, 2023. columbiaassociation.org/gyms-fitness/the-benefits-of-keeping-a-fitness-journal/
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