Using a Workout Log for Consistent Training

Using a workout log, such as Online Fitness Log, will help you garner valuable information about your fitness progress. By tracking your workout data over time, you can look back and notice patterns that will help you know when to increase or decrease your training load, which will lead to more efficient training with better results and fewer injuries.

One of the toughest, but most important things for athletes to do is scale down their training. Being able to view your workout history and graphically see your peaks and valleys gives you the ability to see when you need to back off and when you can push harder.

It's really important to use the notes section of your log so that when looking back you can determine the reasons for your decline or injury and understand how to avoid those. Tracking your mood, emotional stress level, aches and pains will all help to paint a clearer picture of what was happening during your period of decline. Then you can learn to back off when those issues arise again. Consistent training, even at a lesser intensity or duration, is much more productive than no training because of sickness or injury.

Keeping a workout log can also be a tremendous motivator and confidence enhancer. It feels great to look back after a few months of hard training to see the progress you've made in your distance or pace. It is especially helpful during the off-season before the first competition when you're just training but not able to see how you stack up against your competitors. You can compare to the previous season to see where you stand in relation to the same time last year. Many times just knowing that you will see a big blank in your training log if you skip the scheduled workout can motivate you to go ahead and do it.

Start tracking your workouts now!