How To Start Exercising (Part 3)

Think of your fitness journey like taking a road trip.

The fitness goal you’re striving for—whether it’s getting stronger, running faster, or simply becoming more active—that’s your destination.

Your workout plan is the map that outlines the route—the exact path you have to follow to reach your destination.

But there’s another crucial tool you need. A way to measure how far you’ve come, how much fuel is left in the tank, and whether you're on schedule.

You need a tracker—something that acts as your mileage counter, your fuel gauge, and your speedometer.

This is exactly what tracking your workouts does. It’s the final tool you need to achieve your fitness goal.

Tracking your workouts does 3 things:

1. It measures your progress. It gives you the full picture: where you’ve been, what’s working, what needs to change, and whether you’re getting closer to your goal or stuck in a plateau.

2. It provides a sense of accomplishment. There's nothing quite like seeing your progress on paper. Having a visual representation of your efforts builds confidence and encourages you to keep pushing forward.

3. It keeps you accountable. Being able to see how far you’ve come is a massive motivator that makes you less likely to slack off or skip a workout.

Whether you're just starting your fitness journey or have been at it for a while, tracking your workouts is a game-changer.

Today, we go through how to develop your own tracking system that’ll help you reach your goals faster and smarter.

Step 1: Choose a tracking method

There are various ways in which you can track your workouts:

1. Manually: Using a notebook, pre-designed workout journal, or spreadsheets like Excel or Google Sheets.

2. Digitally: Using fitness apps or wearable devices, like smartwatches, that log data automatically.

The tracking method you choose will depend on your preference and your fitness goals.

However, when choosing which method to use, there are a few things you should look out for.

For a tracking method to be effective and efficient, it needs to be:

• Quick & simple to use: Updating your tracker should be easy and take minimal effort. If it’s too complicated, you won’t stick with it.

• Practical: It should allow you to clearly capture only the necessary information in such a way that you’re able to quickly understand the data you’re tracking.

• Versatile: Whether you’re strength training, doing cardio, or focusing on flexibility, your tracker should adapt to different types of workouts.

Step 2: Define what to track

What you track depends on your specific fitness goal, as different goals will require you to track different elements.

Some of the most common things to track include:

• Date & Time: Helps you figure out what times of day you feel and perform best

• Bodyweight (if necessary)

• Type of exercise: What exercises you do

• Sets, Reps & Weights used: Especially useful for strength training

• Distance & Duration: Important for cardio workouts(running, walking, swimming)

• Body measurements: Optional but useful, especially for muscle gains or fat loss as they’re more reliable than bodyweight alone.

You can also opt to track how you felt before, during and after a workout e.g. Did you feel energized or tired? Were certain exercises easier or harder than last time? These personal notes can be surprisingly insightful over time.

You don’t need to track everything. Only track the elements that will help you attain your goal. Simplicity is key.

Step 3: Set up your tracking template

Once you know what you want to track and how you'll track it, it's time to set up your template.

If you’re using a notebook, a simple table like this will do:

If you prefer digital tracking, you can set up a similar template in a spreadsheet or use pre-built templates from fitness apps.

Step 4: Start logging

With your template in place, it's time to start recording.

Here are a few tips that will make the process easier:

• Plan ahead

Always have your workouts planned out a day before or at the start of each week.

Write down the all specific exercises you'll do, so you don’t have to waste time deciding what to do mid-workout.

• Log immediately

Every time you complete a set of a particular exercise, record it before moving on to the next one. [Shown in the template using the strokes ( / ) beside the set number]

This keeps things accurate and ensures you don't forget what you did.

• Review and adjust

Review your tracking system periodically. Determine what’s working and what needs to be changed.

Do you need to add more elements to track? Do you need to simplify it? Are you seeing any progress?

Change what you track and even how you track as often as needed. Your tracking system is there to help you spot trends and make informed changes.

Tracking your workouts does require a bit of extra effort, and you might need to experiment with different methods to find what works best for you.

But it's one of the most effective tools you can add to your fitness routine.

It keeps you focused, motivated, and significantly increases your chances of reaching (and even surpassing) your fitness goals.

If you're serious about achieving your fitness goals, it’s time to make tracking an essential part of your journey.

Happy tracking!

Thanks for reading! I hope you found something valuable :)

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