Do you use an Excel spreadsheet to workout? No? You need to check your formula because it's a good idea.
If the point of your workouts is to make gains, like getting faster or stronger, you're going to need some way to measure your progress. Unless you've got the memory of Rain Man, it'll be very difficult to remember from workout to workout exactly what you did last time, and what you need to do this time to improve.
Let's look at a very simple example. You want to bench 200 pounds, and currently you bench 100 pounds. The ultimate goal is 200 pounds, but you'll need several intermediate goals to get there. You start off with an intermediate goal of lifting 110 pounds 5 times. The first time you put it up 3 times. The next time you put it up 4 times, but then you stall, and the next time you only lift it 4 times again. The next time you workout you remember that you're still at 110 pounds, but you can't remember how many reps you did. You can see that over several iterations of this it'll be difficult to remember what you need to add to stay on track, especially when you add in additional sets and exercises, like with a real workout.
So where does Excel come in? I find that it's easiest to record the workout as I'm doing it. When I get up from the bench, I immediately write down the reps and the weight. I write it down on a page I print from Excel that has my workout laid out, including the exercise, reps, and weight. Here it is:
I find it easier to print this and fill it in with a pen or pencil in the garage as I'm working out. At the next workout, I can easily see what I did last time, and try to improve on it. I suppose if you have a laptop or some other portable computing device you can take that with you and record your workouts directly into the software. I understand there are several iPhone apps created to record workouts in a similar fashion.
Is it absolutely necessary to use an Excel spreadsheet for this? No, but I'm used to using Excel so it was natural for me to create a log like this. You can draw one up by hand it you need to, just so it's something that is clear to you. If you already record your workouts, how do you do it?
I'll talk more later about how recording your workouts like this can help you make gains.
If the point of your workouts is to make gains, like getting faster or stronger, you're going to need some way to measure your progress. Unless you've got the memory of Rain Man, it'll be very difficult to remember from workout to workout exactly what you did last time, and what you need to do this time to improve.
Let's look at a very simple example. You want to bench 200 pounds, and currently you bench 100 pounds. The ultimate goal is 200 pounds, but you'll need several intermediate goals to get there. You start off with an intermediate goal of lifting 110 pounds 5 times. The first time you put it up 3 times. The next time you put it up 4 times, but then you stall, and the next time you only lift it 4 times again. The next time you workout you remember that you're still at 110 pounds, but you can't remember how many reps you did. You can see that over several iterations of this it'll be difficult to remember what you need to add to stay on track, especially when you add in additional sets and exercises, like with a real workout.
So where does Excel come in? I find that it's easiest to record the workout as I'm doing it. When I get up from the bench, I immediately write down the reps and the weight. I write it down on a page I print from Excel that has my workout laid out, including the exercise, reps, and weight. Here it is:
I find it easier to print this and fill it in with a pen or pencil in the garage as I'm working out. At the next workout, I can easily see what I did last time, and try to improve on it. I suppose if you have a laptop or some other portable computing device you can take that with you and record your workouts directly into the software. I understand there are several iPhone apps created to record workouts in a similar fashion.
Is it absolutely necessary to use an Excel spreadsheet for this? No, but I'm used to using Excel so it was natural for me to create a log like this. You can draw one up by hand it you need to, just so it's something that is clear to you. If you already record your workouts, how do you do it?
I'll talk more later about how recording your workouts like this can help you make gains.
I let Wii Fit Plus keep track of my workouts.
ReplyDeleteI let Wii Fit Plus keep track of my workouts.
ReplyDelete