Do you always feel like you’re in a workout rut, not making any progress no matter how hard you try? Well I have some good news! There’s an easy way to jump start your fitness journey that’s probably overlooked by most people: tracking your workouts. Knowing how much you’ve worked out in a week is great, but going a step further and tracking your specific lifts can be a huge motivator to keep going and see results! Let’s talk about why you should track your workouts.
The benefits of tracking your workouts
Working out can be a great way to stay in shape, improve your strength, and even achieve certain fitness goals. But when it comes to making sustainable gains, keeping track of your workouts is key. Tracking your progress can help you discover patterns, make sure that you’re changing your lifts to keep your body shocked, and keep getting stronger on each exercise.
With this information in hand, you can tailor your workouts accordingly and reap the benefits much faster than you would without. Taking into account how far you’ve come and adjusting your strategy gives you an edge over blindly following any workout program – all with just a simple app or pen and paper! Let’s talk a bit more about how tracking your workouts can help you to meet your goals.
It can help you see your progress over time
Seeing pictures of our progress can be an amazing way to stay motivated and on track with our goals. Whether it’s a screenshot of the day’s workout or pictures that show the changes in our body over time, tracking progress can be a tangible reminder of just how far we’ve come and provide a genuine source of pride. On top of that, pictures can also give us the extra push we need to keep striving for even more impressive results.
It’s easy to get stuck in the grind, but having those pictures there to remind us exactly how strong we’ve become is invaluable for keeping us on track and seeing that our hard work isn’t going to waste!
You can adjust your workouts based on what’s working and what isn’t
When it comes to exercise, don’t be afraid to play with tweaks here and there to make sure that you’re consistently pushing yourself with greater challenges. Remember that the set and rep system you’ve followed for so long isn’t set in stone. Take some time to really start tracking your workouts over time and if you notice something isn’t giving you the results you want, try adjusting it!
Changes can range from switching up your exercises to doing more reps with less weight. Ultimately, as long as you’re consistently putting in the work and working with a strong system, the results will come if you’re willing to make small changes along the way.
It can motivate you to keep going when you see how far you’ve come
Staying on track with any goal can prove to be a struggle, not just fitness goals. But seeing how far you’ve come can be extremely motivating. This is where the compound effect comes in: small wins that turn into big rewards over time. When you get the unbelievable confidence boost that comes from consistently achieving your goals, it throws even more fuel on the motivation fire to keep going and keep striving for greater success.
Although staying focused is easier said than done, regularly reviewing how much progress you’ve made can help give you the push you need to stay on track and finally see the person in the mirror that you’ve always wanted to.
It can help you set goals for yourself, both short-term and long-term
Having goals and systems are absolutely critical to staying motivated, both in the short and long term. Setting clear objectives can help you plan for the future and stay on track, no matter what your ambition or desired outcome might be. Planning for strength gains at the gym? Got you. Running marathons? No problem. The “what” isn’t the most important thing – instead, focus on the “how”.
Having meaningful goals will give you something to strive for. Staying motivated with achievable targets is a great way to push yourself further, build strength, and increase endurance. With thoughtful planning and strategic goal-setting, you can make an incredible impact on your own life!
How can I get started?
Whether you’re looking to get started with weight lifting or are already a meat head/gym rat/workout champion, StrongLifts is a great app to use and is actually my preferred method of workout tracking. Whether you’re at home or the gym, StrongLifts is designed to be conveniently used from your phone.
The StrongLifts app will show you what exercises to do each day based off of either a standard or customized workout plan, AND provide detailed descriptions and videos of those exercises! It also allows you to set notifications so every set is matched with a consistent rest period. I personally set mine to 1m 30s to make sure my target heart rate is always met to maximize fat burn.
If running is more your jam, though, we’ve got you there too. Runkeeper and Strava are great choices! I use Runkeeper personally, and my friend Jarrad (who is much more of a runner than I) swears by Strava. With these apps you can track your runs and receive guidance on how to improve each time you go out running.
The main message here? Technology has made it unbelievably easy to keep tabs on our progress, letting us make progress every day we go to work on our bodies.
Conclusion
All right guys, we made it through another one! Let’s summarize before signing off.
- Tracking your workouts can be beneficial for anyone, from beginner or enthusiast. You can easily monitor your progression over time and make adjustments to keep making progress toward your goals.
- Tracking workouts can also be a motivational tool when you feel like giving up, questioning why you’re trying in the first place. Seeing how far you’ve come in such short time will give you the push to keep moving forward.
- Tracking your workouts is an effective way to set long and short-term goals as well, giving you something to keep working towards. Hit that milestone? Great, set another! Changing things up to keep overcoming increasingly-challenging obstacles is the key to personal satisfaction.
- If you’re just starting out, all it takes is downloading a good app – there are so many out there to choose from depending on what kind of tracking capabilities you need or prefer. The best thing is that many of them are free, so the start-up cost is minimal!
So why not give it a try? The only thing you have to lose is a better you.
I could not agree more. Tracking leads to accountability and results.