Do you keep a record of your exercises? Do you keep a record of your daily weight?
If you do, that’s great. If you don’t, then how do you know if you are making progress toward your goal, whatever it may be. If you don’t keep a log, how can you track what you are doing, and compare what you are able to do today, with what you were doing yesterday?
How do you track the plateaus? You know they will come, both in fitness progress, as well as weight loss or gain.
If you are keeping a record or a log, are you being “brutally honest” with yourself. Nobody sees mine, except me. I don’t lie to myself by fudging numbers. It pays in the long run to be honest on your logbook.
Do I cheat? No. Will I do a few more exercises if I’m not at 55 minutes? Sure. But I’m also getting the benefit of those added exercise.
Both the pros and normal people alike, keep a log book. Bruce Lee kept a log of every routine he ever did. Was he overly obsessive about it? No. He wanted to know where he stood compared with where he wanted to go. You should too.
How about a weight log. I keep a daily record of my weight. Why? If I gain or lose weight, I can track it against what I have been eating. Oh yes, we make a menu at the beginning of the week and I note any deviations. . You don’t need to keep them, but it’s kind of interesting to have followed my weight loss progression, and compare what I was eating then against what I am eating now.
It’s also nice to watch the plateaus as they happen, both in weight and in exercise. At my age, I am not looking for progress as 
such, but I am looking to maintain my muscle structure and keep my weight stabilized.
I use a simple small notebook from Staples for my exercise log (see picture). I list the exercises I do and how many times I do them. It’s mind numbingly simple.
I write my weight down every morning on 5 X 7 index cards. I use both sides of the card and I fill up four or five cards for the year (see picture). Even simpler.
So if you’re not keeping a record, it really no big deal. But if you’re working toward an exercise or weight goal, it might be nice to track your progress. Give it a try. You’ll be surprised at how much your weight will fluctuate over a week, as well as how much more exercise you can do today compared to a month ago. It’s great for self-esteem, too.
Thank you for reading.
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