How to keep a workout log: sets, reps, runs and progress

If you exercise, you probably remember how a workout felt. You may not remember what you lifted two weeks ago, how far you ran last month, or whether this week is better. A workout log holds what memory loses. It takes a minute after each session, and it turns "I think I'm getting stronger" into something you can check. This guide covers what to write, how to read it, and what a log cannot do.

A word on health first

This page is about record keeping, not about what exercise suits you. The NHS advises people who have not exercised for some time, or who have medical conditions or concerns, to speak to their GP first and to make sure their activity and its intensity are appropriate. If you are in that group, or in doubt, talk to a doctor or a qualified professional before you begin or change a programme.

What the official guidance says

Two public sources give a baseline for healthy adults. The World Health Organization's fact sheet states a global recommendation of at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week for adults. The UK NHS says that adults aged 19 to 64 should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity a week, spread over 4 to 5 days or every day, and strengthening activities that work all the major muscle groups on at least 2 days a week. Other countries publish their own guidance, so look up yours.

A log helps you see whether you meet such a target. Add up your minutes at the end of the week. Five 30-minute brisk walks give 150 minutes. Two strength sessions give your 2 strengthening days. The target is a number you can count.

What to record

Keep it small, or you will stop.

• For strength sessions: the date, each exercise, the sets, the repetitions and the weight. A column for notes is useful for "left shoulder sore" or "felt easy".
• For runs and walks: the date, distance, time, and how hard it felt, for example on a scale of 1 to 10.
• For the week: a plan with a focus for each day, and a box to tick when it is done.
• Now and then: body measurements or progress photos, if you want them. These are optional. Some people find them useful, and others find them stressful. Do what suits you.

Plan the sessions in advance

Gollwitzer and Sheeran (2006) pooled many studies of "implementation intentions", plans of the form "when situation X arises, I will do Y". They found that such plans helped people carry out their goals. The studies cover many kinds of goals, not exercise alone, but the idea fits: "Tuesday, 18:00, 30-minute strength session at home" is more likely to happen than "exercise this week". A weekly plan page, filled in on Sunday, is that kind of plan.

Reading a strength log

Here is an example with invented numbers. Over three weeks, a person logs the same exercise: three sets of 8 repetitions at 40 kg in week 1, three sets of 8 at 40 kg again in week 2 with the note "easier", and in week 3 three sets of 8 at 42.5 kg. The log shows a 2.5 kg increase over two weeks, 40 to 42.5, which is 6.25 per cent. That is progress you can see.

A common way to progress is to add a little weight or a repetition when you complete all the planned sets and reps with good form. It is one approach, not a rule for everyone, and the right step depends on the exercise, your experience and any advice you have been given. If you are not sure how to do an exercise safely, learn it from a qualified instructor.

If the numbers stall for several weeks, the log helps you ask why. Is it sleep, stress, too much volume, or a plan that never changes? You cannot ask without the data.

Reading a running log

For runs, the useful numbers are distance, time and pace. Pace is time divided by distance. A run of 5.2 km in 31 minutes 20 seconds is 1,880 seconds. Divide by 5.2 and you get about 361.5 seconds a kilometre, which is a pace of about 6:02 per kilometre. A week later, the same route in 30 minutes 40 seconds is 1,840 seconds, or about 353.8 seconds a kilometre, a pace of about 5:54. The effort rating tells you whether that was an easy 5:54 or a hard one. Without it, a faster time could be a sign of fitness or just of pushing too hard.

Weather, sleep and the route all change a time, so look at a trend over several weeks, not at one day.

Measurements and photos

Body measurements, taken in the same way at the same time of day, such as the waist at the navel every four weeks, change slowly and are affected by many things, so one reading means little. Photos are a record of how you looked and felt, no more. Neither is necessary. If tracking them worries you, skip them. A log should help you and not become a source of stress.

A twelve-week block

A fixed period is easier to commit to. A twelve-week overview puts a block on one page, Monday to Sunday, with what you plan for each day. At the end of the twelve weeks, read the log from the start. What did you do most? What did you skip? Then set the next block with what you have learned. That review is the main reason to have a log.

Paper or tablet

A printed log is quick to fill in at the gym and needs no battery. A fillable PDF on a tablet lets you type and save a copy for each block. Its text fields work in Adobe Acrobat Reader and most desktop PDF readers, while some tablet apps do not support form fields. In that case, import the PDF into a note-taking app and write on it with a stylus.

What a log cannot do

It cannot make a programme safe or suited to you, it cannot correct your form, and it gives no promise about weight, strength, fitness or health. It records what you did. What you do with it is up to you and, where it matters, to a professional.

Tool that fits

The Workout & Fitness Log (PDF, EUR 7, paid once) has 21 undated pages in each file: a cover and linked index, four weekly workout plans with focus, planned exercises, duration and a done box, six session logs with exercise, four sets of reps and weight and notes, two body-measurement logs, two pages for progress photos and notes, three running logs with distance, time, pace and an effort rating, and two twelve-week programme overviews. The pages are undated, so you can start any week. You get US Letter, A4 and a landscape tablet PDF with text fields you can type into. It is a personal logging tool, not medical advice, and it makes no promise about results. Talk to a doctor or qualified professional before starting a new exercise programme.

Questions people ask

Sources

1. World Health Organization, Physical activity fact sheet (global recommendation of at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week for adults)
2. NHS, Physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64 (150 minutes moderate or 75 vigorous, strengthening on at least 2 days, speak to your GP first if you have conditions)
3. Gollwitzer and Sheeran (2006), Implementation intentions and goal achievement: a meta-analysis of effects and processes, Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 38, 69-119

We checked each source on 17 October 2026. If a fact here is out of date, tell us at hello@hiddenway.info.

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