The importance of excersise tracking

RealWorldStrengthLLC
RealWorldStrengthLLC Posts: 552 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'd like to start a discussion on something near and dear to me - logging excersise.

You see them - the people in the gym with little notebooks, writing down every set, every rep. I'm one of those people, and IMO, you don't see enough people doing this.

First off, I'll start with the math. On average, a lifting session is between 12-30 sets a day, 3-5 days a week. That's between 36 and 150 sets. I sure can't remember all of that - I can only remember what I ate 3 days ago because a) it's logged in MFP and b) I eat close to the same things every day so that's an unfair example. The same principle goes for excersises.
.
Without writing things down, I end up at "comfort weights" things I KNOW, I can handle in a rep range I KNOW I can handle, give or take a rep and 5lbs. By writing things down, every set, every rep, I can look back to the last time I trained that body part, and now I have a goal to meet or surpass. It allows me to apply the principles of progressive overload every single time I train. It doesn't have to be lifting, it can be running, cycling, plyometrics, whatever. TRACK IT.

Now that I've ranted on why I think it's important, I'll delve into my tracking methods for an example...it's pretty simple.

For weight training:
The excersise - reps@weight with a / between sets IE
SQUATS - 5@225/5@315/5@315/4@315

For running: distance@time IE 1mile@8:21

For interval work, it looks something like this:
Sledge Tire, 16 lbs, 30sec work/1min rest - IIIIIIIIII
(I can't do the horizontal slash for 5 that's supposed to be 10 rounds)

etc, etc. I'm sure you can figure out your own method if you choose to do this.

Lastly, I'd like to address that pesky problem of getting sweaty, filthy, spilling your water etc. Paper doesn't like those things - I use "Rite in the Rain" notebooks to combat this issue - Waterproof paper = problem solved. They're great, you can get them on Amazon pretty cheap (no I don't make money off this, I just find them useful, in more than just excersise logging too)

Anyways, that's just my .02 on something I think is important, take it or leave it. If you're on here you obviously think tracking your food is important, shouldn't you be tracking the other half of the equation?


Replies

  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    If it works for you and others, great. Maybe a bit too anal for me.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    edited October 2018
    I track my lifting.. not my cardio though. Honestly depends on your goals. Some people are just there to be there, nothing wrong with that.

    Also I don't track my food. I used to for a little while but now I don't need to.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    I use a Garmin watch. It records a crazy amount of data. Some of it is useful. I get a map, if I'm on the bike is records my power output, etc. It knows when I should replace my chain, tires, cassette, etc, based on mileage. When I lift, I can use the buttons to tell it how much, it counts reps for me and guesses what movement I was doing based on the path my wrist took.
  • RealWorldStrengthLLC
    RealWorldStrengthLLC Posts: 552 Member
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    I use a Garmin watch. It records a crazy amount of data. Some of it is useful. I get a map, if I'm on the bike is records my power output, etc. It knows when I should replace my chain, tires, cassette, etc, based on mileage. When I lift, I can use the buttons to tell it how much, it counts reps for me and guesses what movement I was doing based on the path my wrist took.

    That's insane, I had no idea they could do that much. Good for you, if it works as a way to track, as the importance of tracking is the whole point of my thread. I guess I'm just a luddite what with touting the use of a pen and paper and stopwatch lol.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,204 Member
    youcantflexcardio wrote: »
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    I use a Garmin watch. It records a crazy amount of data. Some of it is useful. I get a map, if I'm on the bike is records my power output, etc. It knows when I should replace my chain, tires, cassette, etc, based on mileage. When I lift, I can use the buttons to tell it how much, it counts reps for me and guesses what movement I was doing based on the path my wrist took.

    That's insane, I had no idea they could do that much. Good for you, if it works as a way to track, as the importance of tracking is the whole point of my thread. I guess I'm just a luddite what with touting the use of a pen and paper and stopwatch lol.

    I prefer paper notes for lifting. My Garmin is . . . imaginative, sometimes. Its flights of fancy sometimes occur during CV workouts, but not usually about things (or with enough magnitude) that it affects my workout or training trajectory. For lifting, I like my own (so far) more accurate counts and weight records, and the ability to make notes during the workout about how it feels (this sounds fussy and time consuming, but I actually use just a small handful of symbols that mean something to me, so it really isn't, to my mind.)

    I have to admit, I'm not patient with rests, and tend to do mildly dysfunctional supersets to minimize them. (It beats not lifting, functionally speaking, which is what would happen if I tried to do disciplined reps/sets with sensible rest intervals. I can live with my character faults. ;) ).

    As a data geek, I can't imagine just picking up weights and doing things willy-nilly if and as I remember them.
  • OldAssDude
    OldAssDude Posts: 1,436 Member
    I use a Garmin fenix 5x. It tracks everything for me so I don't even have to think about it. Just push the start button, do my workout, push the stop button. I have about 4 years worth of workouts recorded so far, so I can look at trends to see how far I have come.

    I do at least 1 activity a day, 7 days a week, even if it's just a quick 3 mile recovery walk, and i record them all. I could not see spending half my workout writing stuff down. I want all my focus to be on the workout itself.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    sardelsa wrote: »
    I track my lifting.. not my cardio though. Honestly depends on your goals. Some people are just there to be there, nothing wrong with that.

    Also I don't track my food. I used to for a little while but now I don't need to.

    Just for diversity....
    I don't track my lifting beyond time spent doing it - I'm really in strength maintenance mode as I'm at my injury imposed limit for several joint injuries. Staying out of my discomfort zone is more of a problem for me, my lifting style ensures I don't take it easy.

    I don't track my food, I can maintain or lose weight without tracking by being calorie aware. Tracking was a useful tool for a while but not one I need to use now.

    I do track my cycling (Garmin & Strava) as I'm still improving and it also gives me an eating level guide (averaging over 470 cals a day over a year but with big seasonal, weekly and daily variance).
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    I don't track my strength sessions, but I track my running. Strength sessions are really just to complement my running. From time to time when I feel I can handle it I'll add sets, reps, or resistance and maintain at that level until I decide to add more. Sometimes I'll add new exercises or try new routines, but I'm not really that focused on strength beyond injury prevention.

    I'm a data geek when it comes to things that interest me, but it just feels cumbersome for things that don't interest me because the data doesn't feel as exciting.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,611 Member
    edited October 2018
    I've been tracking my cycling since 1990.

    I started by tracking in a notebook.
    Then I put it all into Excel and still update my Excel spreadsheets.
    More recently, I've been using Strava as well.

    In 2015, I also started tracking my walking, running, and other things.


    This is an example of Strava's data from an indoor Zwift ride ...

    3 laps of Innsbruck

    Distance: 26.86km
    Elevation: 231m
    Moving Time: 1:08:32
    Elapsed Time: 1:17:03

    ............................. Avg ................ Max
    Speed .................... 23.5km/h ........ 60.8km/h
    Heart Rate .............. 130bpm .......... 159bpm
    Cadence ................. 78 .................. 116
    Power ..................... 88W ............... 196W

    80-0d_35ix4flscnjuapzxs0_ls_gej5b1how8xzdfmy5u_2048x1105_9db1684f490bf7ebd60e1ec09308d535f15ff053.jpg
  • Running2Fit
    Running2Fit Posts: 702 Member
    I do like to track my exercise as it helps me 1) see my progress and 2) push myself harder.

    On strength training days I track the amount of weight I use + the number of reps + the number of sets I do for each move.

    Cardio I track the distance and time.

    I do not have a great memory so there’s no way I’d be able to remember all that stuff.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    I use my Garmin to track running, swimming & cycling; for strength I have the Stronglifts 5 x 5 app on my phone, nice and simple.
  • mutantspicy
    mutantspicy Posts: 624 Member
    I'm a virgo. I track everything. Food, Weights/reps, Miles walked / hiked, stop watch for speed drills. For me its not just about keeping track of what I did, but also what I plan to do. I have weight rep goals mapped out for the next 8 weeks.
  • funjen1972
    funjen1972 Posts: 949 Member
    I track, but not very rigidly simply because it's just not that important to me. That jog was about 4 miles and about 8:15 pace. My walk the other day was about 12 miles and about a 4.0 mph pace. I planked a few times at 2:30 minutes each, give or take a few seconds. I did some weighted squats until my form suffered, not sure how many.

    I do it because it feels good, not necessarily to measure improvement. Yes, I push myself (hard!) and yes, I am getting better, I just don't need it to be a precise measurement to know I've improved.

    Someone asked me yesterday how many miles I put in so far this year. Dunno, don't care.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    funjen1972 wrote: »

    Someone asked me yesterday how many miles I put in so far this year. Dunno, don't care.

    100% this... if you wanna track, track. If you don't, then don't!

    Neither is better than the other, with the slight exception of if you're not getting the results you want by not tracking, then doing so might help.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    There are a few other things I get from tracking this stuff.

    I know how long something took last time, so I have a pretty good idea how to plan for it. Example: we have fantastic weather coming this weekend, and I've been wanting to go back to Spider Meadow for years. But the sunset comes so early now. Can I make it there and back, or should I bring a tent?

    I can sort of add all the GPS tracks together and build a map of everywhere I've hiked, biked, skied, etc. I'll have to dig it up and post it, but every time I look at that map, I want to fill more of it in.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    My lifting program is very easy to remember. Plus I type it in an app in my phone. No notebook needed. Ever notice how many people check their phones during the rest periods?
  • cgvet37
    cgvet37 Posts: 1,189 Member
    I have my routine in a Word Document. That way I don't have to carry around a notepad as well. If I change weight, then I can edit it quickly.
  • mutantspicy
    mutantspicy Posts: 624 Member
    cgvet37 wrote: »
    I have my routine in a Word Document. That way I don't have to carry around a notepad as well. If I change weight, then I can edit it quickly.

    I use excel but yeah not so modern technology and all that.
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,223 Member
    I have a google sheet with a bunch of tabs where I keep all my tracking info; TDEE sheet, weight tracking, various lifting program sheets, links to things I found useful, etc. It's probably overkill at 10+ tabs but it works for me. I like having it cloud-based so I can access it anywhere or on various devices. As far as exercise tracking I only consistently track my lifting. When I was running more I had a sheet with some data on that (PRs for different distances and local races) but I haven't touched that one in months. Every Sunday night I print off my workout sheet for the week and take it down to the basement with me on Monday morning (home gym). Our basement is unfinished and has some foam sheathing over the top half of the foundation walls, makes it easy to pin the sheet to the wall right by my weight bench and track sets as I go. When the sheet is full at the end of the week I put it on a stack of past sheets I keep on a shelf. I don't necessarily have them organized our review them regularly but they're all dated and in one place if I need/want to look through them.
  • mutantspicy
    mutantspicy Posts: 624 Member
    ^That maybe the best excuse I've heard that could possibly convince me to finally buy a tablet.
  • _Arty_
    _Arty_ Posts: 53 Member
    I track my lifts only when I'm in a bulking/strength stage and only for compound movements (bench, squat, deadlift, row and OHP). I can't track my lifts during a cut because I can't stand losing strength or stalling. I still do compound movements during a cut but I reduce volume and try to work in the 80-90% of my 1-rep max range. I never track my cardio.
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,223 Member
    mutantspicy wrote: »
    ^That maybe the best excuse I've heard that could possibly convince me to finally buy a tablet.

    Idk about the android side but manipulating a google sheet on the iOS app is doable, but tedious. I don't pop it up on my phone or ipad unless I just need to reference something or change a cell or two. Unless you set it up with radial buttons or check boxes to track which sets you've done I think trying to track intra-workout via a tablet would slow you down too much. Hence printing out a sheet each week.
  • solieco1
    solieco1 Posts: 1,559 Member
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    I use a Garmin watch. It records a crazy amount of data. Some of it is useful. I get a map, if I'm on the bike is records my power output, etc. It knows when I should replace my chain, tires, cassette, etc, based on mileage. When I lift, I can use the buttons to tell it how much, it counts reps for me and guesses what movement I was doing based on the path my wrist took.

    Iread that as "german" watch which also made perfect sense LOL. I'm also a Garmin fan and currently rocking the Fenix 5S. Finally a great multisport watch from Garmin that isn't the size of a mainframe!

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