Bringing a workout log to the gym and then later recording it on my workout journal here on the forum has to be one of the most beneficial things I've ever done to help me get gains. I have been making PR's EVERY SINGLE WEEK because of the use of an workout journal. Heres why:
1) Knowing When You've Overloaded: Muscular hypertrophy occurs simply when your muscles are overloaded, which occurs when you add MORE reps or weight from your previous workout. WITH a workout journal, you can precisely see how many reps you did the week before (you will NOT be able to remember the exact number, trust me) and if you add even ONE REP, you have overloaded your muscles! Simple as that. When you have an EXACT goal rep in your mind, its much easier to get it, and guess what, you have taken one step to muscular overload. If you don't keep a journal, you will probably end up doing the same amount of reps, THINKING you had a good workout. Well, your not going to get bigger staying at what you did before.
2) Constructive Criticism: You don't know everything in the world of bodybuilding and exercise. Many people will visit your journal and read over your workouts. High chances are, they will criticize you if your doing something wrong. I have had a lot of mistakes corrected by high-knowledged users on this site, and their wisdom has still stayed with me. Seriously though, you don't know everything, and the only way to gain knowledge is to absorb it first.
3) Discovering Counterproductive Patterns/Traces: With a workout journal, you will be able to see patterns or traces of plateauing, over training, bad programs, etc-. If you see reps/lifts dropping, your energy dropping, (if you jot down mental notes) and just plain failure in what your doing, change what your doing! You will NOT be able to see this precisely if you do NOT have a journal! You will not be able to remember reps/weight from 3-4 weeks ago! Maybe even the last w weeks too! Fellow forum users like said above will most likely also aid in helping you get back up from your decline in gains.
4: Having fun looking back: This is sort of a joke, but seriously, looking back at your journal will be a fun trip back to memory lane. You can see how many mistakes you probably made before and laugh at it. You'll also realize what a journey it was coming to your current physique/strength.
I'm not trying to be a ***, I'm just pointing out something that has really helped my gains the last few weeks. I have been making PR's in EVERY SINGLE LIFT because I have a workout journal. This is because I know how much more I need to do every single week. Do yourself a favor guys, and start a journal.
-Al
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Results 1 to 30 of 32
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07-18-2009, 08:16 PM #1KOR-Muscle
- Join Date: Jun 2008
- Location: Washington, United States
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Why YOU should start a workout journal:
Last edited by al_77; 07-18-2009 at 08:19 PM.
"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies." - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Goals: 160lbs SHREDDED.
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07-19-2009, 04:50 AM #2Gonna Get Blench Cuzzie
- Join Date: Jul 2009
- Location: United Kingdom (Great Britain)
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I should start...
but there is no point when im following a routine like rippetoes is there?
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07-19-2009, 04:59 AM #3Registered User
- Join Date: Nov 2008
- Location: Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
- Posts: 12,534
- Rep Power: 9304
Plus, you get mod reps for having an active journal for 3 months
My journal is in my sig, feel free to drop by
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07-19-2009, 05:02 AM #4Registered User
- Join Date: Nov 2008
- Location: Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
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Yes you shouldOriginally Posted by Vise09
Think of the journal as a "Public Diary"
Who knows...maybe your routine could help others in the future
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07-19-2009, 05:10 AM #5Banned
- Join Date: Feb 2009
- Age: 35
- Posts: 2,499
- Rep Power: 0
unless u can remember all ur lifts....Originally Posted by Vise09
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07-19-2009, 05:12 AM #6Thank you based god
- Join Date: Apr 2009
- Location: New Jersey, United States
- Posts: 7,629
- Rep Power: 5245
I dont keep an online journal but I make sure to keep one with me when I workout. Ive gotten better results than ever before because I can make sure that I increase the overload whether I have to use advanced techniques or whatever. I would definatly suggest it.
Arnolds Six Rules of Success
1. Trust yourself.
2. Break the rules.
3. Don't be afraid to fail.
4. Don't listen to the naysayers.
5. Work your butt off.
6. It's about giving back.
"When you want to succeed as bad as you wanna breathe, then you'll be successful."
"He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man."
"I'm pretty sure there's a lot more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good looking. And I plan on finding out what that is."
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07-19-2009, 05:12 AM #7Registered User
- Join Date: Feb 2009
- Age: 32
- Posts: 768
- Rep Power: 213
I keep my lifts each workout on an excel sheet, so i can see when I am going up or down on the workout I have!
"You have been weighed, you have been measured, and you have been found wanting. In what world could you possibly defeat me?"
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07-19-2009, 07:33 AM #8Registered User
- Join Date: Jun 2009
- Age: 31
- Posts: 300
- Rep Power: 193
You should never go down?Originally Posted by Jonty007
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07-19-2009, 07:37 AM #9
Great post. There's nothing more motivational than beating numbers from the previous week.
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07-19-2009, 12:35 PM #10Registered User
- Join Date: Nov 2008
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- Rep Power: 9304
sometimes people have their shitty daysOriginally Posted by JBBB
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07-19-2009, 12:38 PM #11Registered User
- Join Date: Jul 2009
- Age: 29
- Posts: 55
- Rep Power: 181
Maybe I will, it just seems like why would people care about my lifts? I dunno I get what your saying, but I dont see why someone else would read it. Especially since I do the same thing every week, itd get boring I would think..
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07-19-2009, 12:51 PM #12402 Crew
- Join Date: Dec 2007
- Location: Steamboat Springs, Colorado, United States
- Age: 34
- Posts: 3,962
- Rep Power: 900
Yes I should have one they seem pretty sweet.
*Air/Mixed Gas Commercial Diver Crew*
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07-19-2009, 12:55 PM #13Jays
- Join Date: Dec 2008
- Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Age: 32
- Posts: 2,620
- Rep Power: 2114
can't imagine going without one. Don't post it online, but keep it for myself.
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07-19-2009, 01:07 PM #14Premium Platinum Member
- Join Date: Jun 2009
- Location: New York, United States
- Posts: 5,784
- Rep Power: 0
Personally, I just use my iPhone Notes to keep track of numbers.
I was going to keep a sort of "diary" at the beginning but didn't really want to carry it around when I could just use an electronic device.fk ohp and calves *crew*
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07-19-2009, 03:32 PM #15Registered User
- Join Date: Jan 2009
- Location: Hawaii, United States
- Age: 32
- Posts: 40
- Rep Power: 0
interesting, i'm going to start one as soon as i can. thanks for the info bro!
"PHYSICALLY, there are many who are strong, but MENTALLY, there are only a few."
"Being strong isn't marked by how much weight you can push, it's marked by how much you can push YOURSELF past what your body tells you."
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07-19-2009, 09:03 PM #16KOR-Muscle
- Join Date: Jun 2008
- Location: Washington, United States
- Age: 30
- Posts: 4,986
- Rep Power: 1482
Trust me, it might be a little hard at first, but it gets real easy laterOriginally Posted by tiksta
"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies." - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Goals: 160lbs SHREDDED.
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07-19-2009, 11:45 PM #17Gonna Get Blench Cuzzie
- Join Date: Jul 2009
- Location: United Kingdom (Great Britain)
- Posts: 3,537
- Rep Power: 236
Originally Posted by dan987
yup
doing that with my 5800
less hassle ^^
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07-20-2009, 12:00 PM #18Registered User
- Join Date: Jan 2009
- Location: Hawaii, United States
- Age: 32
- Posts: 40
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okay thanks! so what do you just log down what exercises you did and how much weight and rep you did for them? also just some mind notes too?...Originally Posted by al_77
"PHYSICALLY, there are many who are strong, but MENTALLY, there are only a few."
"Being strong isn't marked by how much weight you can push, it's marked by how much you can push YOURSELF past what your body tells you."
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07-20-2009, 12:04 PM #19Premium Platinum Member
- Join Date: Jun 2009
- Location: New York, United States
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Yeah, pretty much.Originally Posted by tiksta
3x5x300
3=sets
5=reps
300=weight
Logging what you ate can also help because if you see that you didn't gain as much muscle at one point, you can look back in your notes and see what you did wrong so you don't make the same mistake.fk ohp and calves *crew*
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07-20-2009, 06:37 PM #20KOR-Muscle
- Join Date: Jun 2008
- Location: Washington, United States
- Age: 30
- Posts: 4,986
- Rep Power: 1482
I keep it simple, I just write something like this:Originally Posted by tiksta
Squats
135x10
145x10
155x10
just an example, I write stuff down if something big happened like a huge headache or somethin"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies." - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Goals: 160lbs SHREDDED.
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07-20-2009, 06:38 PM #21Banned
- Join Date: Mar 2008
- Location: 6 Foot 180 lbs, Yemen
- Posts: 9,529
- Rep Power: 0
i just keep mine in a notebook..
i remember i used to go to the gym and just slap weight on trying to remember what i did last time..
horrible idea.
logs are the way to go
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07-20-2009, 06:46 PM #22Registered User
- Join Date: Nov 2008
- Location: Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
- Posts: 12,534
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lol i know that feeling xDOriginally Posted by jakeeck
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06-06-2012, 04:35 PM #23Registered User
- Join Date: May 2012
- Age: 20
- Posts: 29
- Rep Power: 0
Do you record after the excercise or after the whole session of lifting?
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06-06-2012, 05:02 PM #24Registered User
- Join Date: Nov 2011
- Age: 43
- Posts: 378
- Rep Power: 269
I print off my workout and take one sheet and a clip board I can fit 2 Weeks on one sheet
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06-06-2012, 05:23 PM #25Registered User
- Join Date: Apr 2012
- Location: Australia
- Age: 30
- Posts: 394
- Rep Power: 0
Ye I started a journal when starting bodybuilding and it works like a charm, I know how much weight I should be lifting and I'm always moving forwards instead of 2 steps back.
Getting there
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06-06-2012, 05:41 PM #26Banned
- Join Date: Apr 2011
- Location: New York, United States
- Posts: 1,359
- Rep Power: 0
I'm going to start one next week now, it actually seems really helpful
plus i'm hoping to make big gains this summer so i'll need all the help i can get
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06-27-2012, 04:28 PM #27Registered User
- Join Date: May 2012
- Age: 20
- Posts: 29
- Rep Power: 0
Just started mine about 10 days ago. Helps A LOT. I get in and out and know how much to lift.
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07-20-2012, 12:22 AM #28Registered User
- Join Date: Oct 2009
- Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States
- Age: 38
- Posts: 2
- Rep Power: 0
I use Diehard Bodybuilding's journal, awesome stuff. Break PR's everytime as well! Check out the very inspiring ******** page @ ********.com/diehardbodybuilding
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07-20-2012, 12:26 AM #29Registered Slut
- Join Date: Jan 2012
- Posts: 593
- Rep Power: 228
I keep a journal, make my own little tables and everything, print them out and then stick them into my journal. People always in the gym trying to get a glimpse of what is on there.
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03-28-2014, 12:22 PM #30Registered User
- Join Date: Jan 2014
- Age: 33
- Posts: 2,826
- Rep Power: 9068
just made one right before reading haha but good stuff he also remember you doing it for yourself guys and no one else
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