Happy Wednesday! I hope you’re all having a wonderful day so far. Mine has been busy. With work this morning and then internship this afternoon I’ve been on the go. The good news is that I only have one more hour of internship left. I have that scheduled for Friday morning. It’s going to feel so good to log that last hour and send it off to my prof. While I’ve learned a lot at internship, it’s been tough to try to schedule hours in on top of work and school.
Today I thought I’d share a bit about why you should keep a training log. As with any goals, it’s so important to be clear about what they are and how you’re going to achieve them (check out my post on SMART goals for more info on setting goals). For example, if you’re training for a 10 K, you’re not going to be spending five days a week lifting and only one day running. Below I’ve listed a few reasons to make sure you track workouts in a training log.
Motivation // I think we all hit fitness ruts once in awhile. One way to be consistent with your workouts, even when motivation is low is to have a look through previous workouts. Where have you made gains? Has your chest press increased by 15 pounds over the last year? Has your 5K time decreased by 2 minutes? This information (and motivation) will only be found in a training log. Knowing that your hard work is paying off can be hugely motivating, and get you to the gym even when you’re not really feeling it when you’re alarm goes off.
Schedule your workouts // Having a plan for gym always makes it easier to get there. If I’m not sure what I’m doing it’s easier for me to make excuses and not go. In addition, scheduling workouts means that I have a good balance of different kinds of workouts.
Goals // It’s tough to accomplish goals if they’re not written down and tracked. Knowing where you’re starting and where you want to go make it so much easier to actually get there. Seeing small improvements over time keep you motivated to continue working towards your goal. In addition, seeing your goals written down in your training log will keep them fresh in your mind. I think all of us have made a goal at some point, but because we didn’t remind ourselves of it on a daily basis we ended up forgetting about it.
Celebrate your successes // Achieving goals makes all the hard work it takes to achieve them worth it. Sharing a PR with your workout partner means so much more when they’ve seen the weeks and early morning workouts that you’ve put in to make it a reality.
It keeps you on track // Having your workouts planned out means that there’s a plan in place for your workouts. For example, if you’re training for a half marathon you want to make sure that you get in a good balance of tempo, hill, and long runs in. Writing it down ensures your workouts are balanced. I’m one of those people who can hardly remember what I had for dinner last night, so having a written record of the workouts that I did 3 weeks ago is so helpful to me.
Lastly, make your training log work for you. Maybe a notebook and a pen is just what you need to stay organized. Maybe an app that you can use on your phone is more your style. Whatever you decide on, make sure it’s convenient and easy to use.
Do you use a training log? Has it helped you achieve your goals?