In my opinion keeping an exercise diary can be one of the most simple and effective tools to aid in long-term change, and achieving personal goals. One common mistake I have seen people make is trying to change too much at once, which can be a recipe for failure. It is far more effective to make many small changes over a long period of time and slowly move closer to your fitness and nutrition goals.
However, when you take the long-term approach to your goals, it’s easy to loose motivation or to start questioning your progress. This is when an exercise diary can become your biggest support! If you have kept records of some aspect of your training you will have something to refer to and reflect on, and the ability to modify you fitness and nutrition plan to keep your goals on track.
For example, when people first start exercising one of the most common goals is weight loss, which is easily tracked because its concrete in value (it’s a number). But if you become obsessed by this number, you are missing the important lessons along the way.
If you keep a diary or simple log, in addition to recording that number on the scale, you will start to see which factors effect that number. Diet, sleep, exercise and intensity all have an effect on your body and everyone will respond to these variables differently. Keeping a fitness and nutrition log will give you the opportunity not only to see what is working and what is not, but also the ability to pinpoint specific behaviors you would like to change.
One of the reasons most people do not keep an exercise diary is because they believe it needs to be complicated, which is FALSE. Keep it simple by writing down the basics:
- Time and date
- Intensity
- How you felt
- Goal of the session
Easy enough right? Once this becomes a habit you can start to add other things such as calories, weight load, reps and sleep quality. The sky is the limit as to how far you want to go.
Successful long-term change for most of us is about making small and progressive changes to our daily habits, including the level and intensity of our physical activity and the amount and types of food we eat.
To help us plan and keep track of those small changes, keeping a simple exercise diary can be a great help.
An exercise diary can be started on any day of the year, so why not start one today?
Train hard and have fun for the long run!
Davis Sohor
B.Kin CSCS
