How do you keep track of your progress in the gym?

[Arfwit]

Exercise books and a pen.

I've tried fitocracy but gave up on it. I have 2 books so far and occasionally go back through the first one for a chuckle.

I should use/create an app to track progress but I'm a lazy bastard.

 

[CaT_SPeW]

Notes on my phone

 

[Repacked]

I have it all sorted for the next week or so in docs. I take a pic of the day I'm doing before I go so I remember and if I do anything different I just put a note in and update when I'm on a computer.

Have another spreadsheet for body comp progress with nutrition info

Ok, so you set a target and then work to that. That's a conceptual shift for me. I will use the previous week as a minimum weight/volume.

 

[Repacked]

For those of you who selected 'other' in the poll, what method do you use? Are you 'real men' and etch it on your forearm with a rusty nail?

I can see benefits in both apps and spreadsheet based methods, however for me, I like the ability to flick from page to page and also look at a specific date (or date range) in my training log, and have the same dates open in my diet log, comparing the two side by side. In terms of statistical analysis it would probably be beneficial to enter the data in an excel spreadsheet as you can do so much with it...but that's a lot of extra work (lazy kunce).

One apprehension I have about computer and app based methods of logging is the possibility of losing it due to hardware/software malfunction. Yes I am aware that's what back-ups are for but recording things in black and white allows me to do all I need, access the information anywhere, and barring a catastrophic fire or flood will last a lifetime.

As much as soft copies are convenient, to keep files for lengthy amounts of time e.g. one's lifting career has its' risks/problems. I have training records from 15 years ago, and they're still as accessible today as they were then.

 

[Arfwit]

Spreadsheets are an evil way to store data. I've seen people use them in big organisations rather than setup a database and while it seems OK to begin with it scales poorly.

Most suites with spreadsheets also have database functions so its worth learning to use it.

 

[jzpowahz]

Ok, so you set a target and then work to that. That's a conceptual shift for me. I will use the previous week as a minimum weight/volume.

Yep, typically I'm on some sort of strength based program for the main lifts and just aiming for an extra rep or so on the accessory stuff when I can. Been using myo reps a fair bit too so week 1 would be 15 on activation set, then 5x5 with 15 secs rest. (15,5,5,5,5,5,) Then week 2 is 15,6,5,5,5,5,. Until I can get to 15,7,7,7,7,7 and then I up weight and drop reps again.

Oh yeah, have tried fitocracy also, very FB like, got annoyed.

And Jefit. Was good. But searching for an exercise became very annoying when I searched for squat and had to go through half kneeling squat on bosu ball with dumbbell in right hand and other assorted dumb exercises to find the real one

 

[StrungOut]

For those of you who selected 'other' in the poll, what method do you use? Are you 'real men' and etch it on your forearm with a rusty nail?

Other to me was spreadsheet

 

[Repacked]

Other to me was spreadsheet

It just occurred to me too

 

[Repacked]

I was using pen and paper. Love that shit. Moved on to excel spreadsheet attached to googledrive, each day laid out with sets and rep ranges that I am aiming for, then what I have hit. Also have a warm up tab, weight track tab

Below is a screenshot of the text file I use. Yep, old school Notepad .txt files. I find Notepad just an easy no nonsense program that all computers can open.

It's taken a while to evolve to what it is now. But now at a glance I can see all the exercises, and different weight/reps/sets options. After each workout I'll see if I can go heavier in any of the lifts, or even drop the weight if my form is suffering. I'll alternate the reps and sets every 4 weeks, so the first week I'll look at my notes before I leave work and head to the gym. Then after a few weeks in I'll know what I'm doing.

I also have a similar text file for diet.

So for you cats that record a soft copy, do you do it during workout on your phone (running excel etc.), or do you record it another way and then transpose it?

 

[steveP]

I estimate it before the workout based on what I did last week. Then the next day I'll make changes if needed depending how I went.

 

[StrungOut]

My gym is at home so straight on computer. When I used a gym, I would pen and paper it

 

[Yoloswagscope]

Mirror bro, mirror.
I look in the mirror (alot) and say "faaaaaaaaaaaaarrrk Grunta, you are one sick looking kunce'

This

Only thing I really take note of otherwise is my personal bests, in which case I just remember the lift and my bodyweight at the time.

 

[SydVicious]

Spreadsheets, record as soon as I get home from the gym.
Access the files on my phone while at the gym to follow the program / workout... Mainly because I will forget otherwise