How to Keep a Training Log That Actually Helps You Progress

A useful training log records five things for every working set: the exercise, the weight, the reps, how hard it felt, and a short note if anything was off. That is enough to answer the only question that matters before each session: what should I do today to beat last time, slightly? Most logs fail not because they record too little but because nobody reads them. The log is a planning tool, not a diary. If you glance at it before every session and review it properly once a month, it will do more for your progress than most programme changes.

Why bother writing it down

Memory is a poor record of training. Most people cannot recall with confidence what they lifted for their third set of rows a fortnight ago. Without that number, every session becomes a guess, and guesses drift towards what feels comfortable. That drift is the quiet reason many people train consistently for a year and look much the same.

A log solves three problems at once. It tells you what to attempt next, so the principle of progressive overload becomes a concrete number rather than a good intention. It shows you real progress on weeks when the mirror and scales say nothing. And it gives you evidence when things stall, so you can find the cause instead of blaming the programme.

What to record

The essentials, every session

• Date. Patterns over weeks are where the insight lives.
• Exercise, exactly. “Incline dumbbell press, 30 degrees” is more useful than “chest”. Small changes in setup change the numbers.
• Weight and reps for each working set. Skip warm-ups unless they tell you something.
• Effort. The simplest version is reps in reserve: how many more reps you could have done. “100kg x 6, 2 left” is far more informative than “100kg x 6”. We explain the scale in RPE and reps in reserve, explained.

Worth adding briefly

• Rest between sets, if it varies a lot. Three minutes and ninety seconds give very different results.
• One-line notes. “Left knee stiff”, “bar felt fast”, “rushed, 40 minutes only”.
• Sleep or energy, as a simple 1 to 5, if you suspect it is affecting training.

What to leave out

Long descriptions of how the session felt, calories burned from a watch, and every warm-up set. They make the log slower to write and harder to read, which is how logs get abandoned.

A simple format that works

Whether on paper or on a phone, one line per exercise is enough:

Exercise	Sets	Effort	Note
Back squat	80 x 6, 80 x 6, 80 x 5	2, 1, 1 in reserve	Depth good. Next time 80 x 6 x 3
Seated cable row	55 x 10, 55 x 10, 55 x 9	2, 2, 1	Pause at chest
Single-arm DB press	20 x 10 each side x 3	2	Ready for 22.5

The final column is the most valuable one. Writing the target for next time while the session is fresh saves you deciding on the spot, when you are tired and inclined to repeat what you did.

Paper or app?

Use whichever you will still be using in six months. Each has a genuine case.

• Paper notebook. Fast, no phone in your hand between sets, so fewer distractions. Easy to scribble notes. Harder to search or chart across months.
• Dedicated app. Shows last session’s numbers automatically, charts progress and calculates volume. Easy to lose ten minutes to messages once your phone is out.
• Notes app or spreadsheet. Flexible and free. A spreadsheet is excellent for monthly review if you are happy to type the numbers in afterwards.

A practical compromise is paper in the session and a quick weekly transfer of the main lifts into a spreadsheet.

How to actually use it

Before each session (two minutes)

1. Open the last session for the same workout.
2. Read the “next time” notes.
3. Set one small target per main lift: one more rep, or a small weight increase at the same reps.

Once a month (fifteen minutes)

1. List your four or five main lifts and compare the best set this month with last month.
2. Mark each as up, flat or down.
3. For anything flat for three or four weeks, look at the notes: missed sessions, poor sleep, effort drifting easy, or rest periods shrinking.
4. Decide one change only. Adjust reps, add a set, or plan an easier week. Changing everything at once tells you nothing.
5. Count sessions completed against sessions planned. That ratio often explains more than any training variable.

If several lifts have stalled together, the cause is usually recovery or consistency rather than the exercises themselves. Our guide to a strength plateau walks through the usual suspects.

Common mistakes

• Logging but never reading. A full notebook is not progress.
• Chasing a new number every session. Progress is not linear. A rep more over a fortnight is a good result.
• Recording effort dishonestly. Two reps in reserve means two genuine reps, not two hopeful ones.
• Changing exercises constantly. You cannot compare numbers on lifts you only do once.
• Treating a bad day as a trend. One poor session is noise. Three in a row is information.

How we use logs in the studio

Every client in private personal training at The Highgate House has their sessions logged: loads, reps, effort and notes on technique. I review them before each session so the plan for the day starts from real numbers, and we look back over the month together to decide what to change. Alongside that, we use InBody body composition scans every few weeks, so strength numbers and body composition can be read together rather than separately.

For many busy professionals, handing that admin over is part of the value. You still see the numbers and learn to read them, but the planning is done before you walk in. If you train on your own on other days, keeping the same format means those sessions slot neatly into the bigger picture. You can read more about how 1-1 coaching works in our Highgate studio.

For a sense of how much training is enough for health, the NHS physical activity guidelines for adults recommend strength work on at least two days a week. A log is the easiest way to see whether you are actually hitting that.

Questions we get asked

Should I log cardio as well?

Briefly, yes: type, duration and a rough effort. It helps explain tired strength sessions after heavy cardio weeks.

How long should I keep old logs?

Indefinitely. Old logs are useful after an injury or a break, because they show where you were and how you progressed last time.

Do I need to log every set?

Every working set, yes. Warm-up sets only if they tell you something, such as a weight feeling unusually heavy.

What if I miss a week?

Write “missed, travelling” and carry on. The gap itself is useful information when you review the month.

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