When it comes to your progress in the gym, one of the most underrated tools in your arsenal is a workout tracker. I’m not talking about an apple watch, or fitbit (we’ll come back to those later…)

So what exactly makes a good workout tracker? Do you really need one?

Your feelings mean squat.

Here’s the thing, regardless of your program, it’s very difficult to KNOW if you are actually making progress without the data! Are your feelings about your workouts valid? Yes and no. If you are tracking how you feel and correlating it to how your training goes, it may be useful. Is your energy better? Awesome! Are you feeling more motivated and healthier? Great! Those are totally valid feelings, and I applaud them. But when it comes to true, weight on the bar, muscle on the body progress often I hear comments like

“Well, I feel I am gaining muscle.”

“But, I feel like I am working harder.”

“I feel like …”

Blah Blah Blah. In my best Jerry Maguire voice “SHOW ME THE DATA! “

I like my feelings…why should I track?

Have you ever gotten to the gym and just kind of wondered around doing whatever machines were open? Yeah, me neither… Okay, so we’ve all done it. What do we do about instead?

The thing about tracking is it means you probably already have a plan of attack when you go to do your workout. Even if Monday you did a totally random workout, you can use that as your Monday workout now (or tweak it) and keep a somewhat consistent schedule of what workout you are doing each day. Yes, it might be messy and a little cumbersome at first. But the point is to develop a consistent plan so when you step foot in the gym you aren’t wasting time trolling pinterest or instagram for a fit-fluencer workout. It’s a time saver.

Probably the best reason for tracking is being able to look back and actually have hard, measurable progress.

Did you do an extra pushup this week? Boom. Progress.

Added an extra set of squats? Gains City!!

Any measurable metric can be a sign of progress. Likewise, if you have a whole tracker filled with the exact same workouts, no change in sets, reps or weights – I would bet you haven’t seen a ton of visible change in a while. The good news is, you can change that!

Alright I’m sold, So what fancy device do I need now?

Good news, this will likely be the cheapest piece of “fitness” equipment you own. It’s totally up to you but for your consideration I would submit a very basic pen and paper notebook, or a digital note in your phone.

What makes a good tracker?

1. Accessible – It needs to be something you can use easily, have with you for workouts, and easily keep tabs on.
2. Reliable – the worst possible scenario is you are trying to get on with your workout and you spend more time trying to figure out how to track your sets than actually completing them.
3. Repeatable- this needs to be something you can easily replicate in coming weeks, months, and years of training.
4. Adaptable – Lastly, it also needs to fit all of your tracking needs. Spaces for weights, sets, reps, rest, any notes or comments, body metrics and anything else you want to track!

In other words, “KISS” Keep It Simple Sweetie! (not stupid, cuz you’re a smart cookie)

Your phone likely has a note section, and most people are glued to their phones during their workout anyway. Might as well be doing something more productive than scrollin the ‘gram. So start trackin…

OR

I have used this book from amazon for the last several years and have not been disappointed. It’s easy for me to flip back and view past workouts, track everything I want, lightweight and easy to keep in my diaper bag all the time (because yes, I carry a diaper bag/gym bag/purse these days.)

https://a.co/d/hoieFkS

The “What” and the “How.”

So if you are ready to start workout tracking, then I assume you have a workout plan. If not, hop over to my site and download your free workout to get started here https://themoxieproject.com/ by submitting your email.

OR

Pick a couple of movements you want to get better at and start there! There is not wrong way to go here – just start with something! We will chat later about progressive overload and how to apply it properly for your workouts, but for now here are a few ideas to get you started.

1. Write the name of the exercise.
2. Write the amount of the weight you used (if applicable.)
3. Write the number of Reps you completed.
4. Write the number of Sets you completed.
5. Write any notes about how it felt! This can be anything from your energy that day, mindset, aches, pains whatever!

To Track, or not to track?

It’s not really even a question. There is NO good reason NOT to track your workouts.

At WORST you have a lot of information about your past workouts and progress, and at BEST you get crazy strong, jacked, and become a total ninja.

Have you found a fool proof way to track your workouts yet? Let me know how you do it!