By
Sarah Harris
Staying on the right path when trying to get fit is a challenge. One of the biggest areas where people stumble is tracking their progress.
A custom workout journal or training log will show you how far you’ve come on your journey. Whether you want one for yourself or a client, creating a custom training log doesn’t have to involve a lot of work.
Why Custom Training Logs Are Beneficial
You can’t measure what you don’t track. That’s true in health as well as in business. With that in mind, here are just a few of the many benefits of using a training log.
Enhanced Progress Tracking
Training logs, workout notebooks and similar tools make it easy to see how much more weight you can lift, how much farther you can run or how much better your split times are getting. Recording these metrics in black and white serves as irrefutable proof of your progress.
Increased Motivation to Reach Goals
If you’re working out and taking care of your body, you’re getting fitter and healthier, and you’ll be able to prove it when you see your changes in writing. When you see yourself improving, you’ll only be inspired to continue pushing your limits.
Easier to Customize Workouts
On the flip side, a training log allows you to see what’s not working with your current exercise plan. Maybe you’re plateauing on a certain exercise, or you’ve been skipping something essential. By reviewing your running, swimming, cycling or weightlifting journal, you can make adjustments as needed and get back on track.
How to Create the Optimal Custom Training Log
When it comes to designing your training log, the most important thing is to create habits that promote positive changes.
Set Fitness Goals
More specifically, set achievable fitness goals. For example, if you’re just starting to get in shape for a 5K, you shouldn’t plan on running a marathon the following week.
Talk to trainers and other health experts and set realistic milestones for yourself. Burning out by pushing yourself too hard will do more harm than good and can derail your entire training trajectory if you’re not careful.
Design Your Custom Training Log
If you run a fitness business and are looking for ways to increase revenue, try creating custom logs for your clients.
You can tailor the notebooks to feature the information your clients want. You might have columns for each type of exercise, then include separate sections for the intensity, duration, number of sets, reps and weights used.
Stay Organized
A disorganized, hard-to-read training log is just as bad as no log at all. Make sure you can easily take in all the information you need at a glance. Separate workouts by date, using the same order and structure every time, and don’t let yourself mix up where you place important information.
Determine the Best Way to Keep Your Custom Training Log
You don’t necessarily have to use a physical journal to track your workouts. You might prefer to use a spreadsheet on your computer so the information will automatically populate or produce a detailed top-down view over time.
There are online tracking tools that will let you connect to your various devices. That way, you can track your progress on a tablet as you run on a treadmill or put your workout numbers into your phone if you’re at the gym.
If you opt for physical journals and notebooks, you may need to order in bulk to accommodate your clients. Print Bind Ship specializes in high-quality printing and can provide journals on an on-demand basis so you don’t have to manage any inventory.
Whenever one of your clients orders a custom training log, we’ll ship it directly to them no matter where in the world they live.
Update Regularly
Make sure you update your workout journal every time you work out. It won’t do you any good to write down your activities if your log is full of massive gaps.
At the same time, resist the urge to beat yourself up if you miss a day. Do your best to remember what you did in your workout and try to keep better track in the future. If desired, you can use tracking apps that automatically sense when and how you move.
Track Your Progress
This is the big one. You need to see where you came from to appreciate where you are now and where you want to go in the future. Being able to clearly see how far you’ve come not only makes you feel good but also pushes you to continue improving.
Celebrate Your Achievements
When you look at all the progress you’ve made, you’ll likely feel motivated to push even harder. That’s a good thing.
While no one should rest on their laurels because of the danger of slipping back into an unhealthy lifestyle, you should be able to take a moment to congratulate yourself for becoming stronger, healthier and more capable.
Create the Ultimate Training Log with Print Bind Ship
If you’re going to put so much effort into improving your fitness, shouldn’t you make sure you have the best-quality journals at your disposal? When you work with Print Bind Ship, you can take advantage of our printing expertise and design know-how to create the ultimate training log.The path to a healthy body requires careful planning and monitoring, and we’re here to provide you with the tools you need. Contact Print Bind Ship today and get printing.
FAQ
Tracking your fitness progress gives you clear, indisputable data that you can use to review your previous stats, reflect on what’s working and what isn’t, and find new ways to get better.
Training logs are essential for making sure you’re making progress with a particular program or routine, identifying problem areas and motivating yourself to keep going.
Log each day separately. Recording all metrics regarding your workout, such as the length of the workout, the distance you traveled, the types of exercises you did, the number of sets and reps completed and your general intensity level. Don’t forget to mark milestones and personal bests.