How to keep a training log you will still use in six months

What to write down after each session, what to leave out, and why a boring log beats a detailed one you abandon.

A training log is a record of what you did in the gym: the exercise, the weight, the sets and the repetitions. That sounds too simple to need an article, yet most logs die within a few weeks. The usual cause is not laziness. It is a log that asks for more than a tired person will write down between sets.

Why a log matters at all

Strength training rests on progressive overload: the idea that the body adapts when the demand placed on it rises gradually over time. You cannot raise a demand you do not remember. Without a record, most people repeat a weight that feels familiar, and familiar tends to mean the same load as last month. The log replaces a feeling with a fact: last Tuesday you did this, so today you try slightly more.

The minimum worth recording

• Date. So you can see how long ago you last trained a movement.
• Exercise name. Use the same name every time. "Squat" and "back squat" on alternate weeks become two separate histories.
• Load. The weight on the bar or the pin position on a machine.
• Sets and repetitions. Written as you actually did them, not as planned.
• One line of notes. Only when something was unusual: poor sleep, a sore shoulder, a different bar.

That is all. An entry might read "Squat, 3 sets of 8 at 50 kg, last set slow" (the numbers are an illustration, not a recommendation). It takes a few seconds to write and tells you everything you need next week.

What to leave out

Mood scores, photographs of every meal, heart-rate graphs and body measurements each sound useful. Together they turn a ten-second habit into a five-minute chore. Add a field only when you have a question it would answer. If you have never once looked back at a number, stop collecting it.

Paper, spreadsheet or app

All three work. A paper notebook never needs charging and never sends a notification, but it cannot draw a chart. A spreadsheet is free and flexible, though awkward on a phone with chalky hands. An app is fastest in the gym and usually shows your previous session beside the current one, which is the single most useful feature a log can have. The trade-off is that your history lives inside someone else's product, so check that you can export it before you commit a year of training to it.

Recording effort, not just numbers

Two sessions with identical numbers can feel very different. Many lifters add a rough effort rating, often based on the rating of perceived exertion, a scale on which a person reports how hard an effort felt. You do not need the formal scale. "Easy", "solid" or "grinder" beside the last set is enough to tell you whether to add load next time.

Reviewing the log

A log that is never read is only a diary. Once a month, look at each main lift and ask one question: is the trend going up, flat or down? Flat for a few weeks is normal. Flat for a few months suggests the plan needs to change, or that sleep and food are not supporting it. That monthly look is where the log pays you back.

This page is general information, not medical advice. If you have a health condition or an injury, speak to a qualified professional before starting or changing a training programme.

By Tessa Hallgren · Logged 2026-11-12