After finding no good sources on the web I thought I'd ask all of you to share how and what you log:
What do you log? Sets, reps, rest, food, sleep, location, sensations, exercises, warmup, hand positions... ???
How do you log it? Abbreviations? Symbols? Iphone, notebook, tatoos...
Did you stop logging something and why?
How and how often do you use/'mine' your training log?
When you 'mine' what do you find?
Do you plan ahead and log in the same format? If so: how? How far ahead?
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HOW I LOG
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I log everything in a Moleskinne annual calendar.
Non-exercise I log:
everything I eat, where I am (I travel a lot) and on occasion what I weigh + body fat according to an omron handheld device.
I don't weigh my food, but I try to gauge portion sizes and composition across macro nutrients. Every now and again I will pick meal, write down "225g lean beef, 300g brown rice, 300g assorted veggies" and then test if that is actually what it weighs. Over time I've become pretty good at being right.
Exercise-wise I log:
Where I exercise and start and stop times: "CPH 14:05 - 15:15"
Warmups: exercises, weights used, time spent and if anything out of the ordinary, how I felt about it. I also log if I'm changing technique or practicing something in particular. "DL warmup: 3x5@60kg III - practiced 'tension' - 9min" where [sets]x[reps]@[weight] followed by a roman numeral for minutes of rest between and after set(s)
Actual exercises: as warmup above, but also with the addition of perceived percentage of 1RM and a description of how I felt and a reflection on my technique. "DL: 3x3@140kg V -18mins -80%max. Practiced 'relaxed' thoracic - still felt weird. Weight heavy and slowed down above the knees, but otherwise solid."
How I mine and plan:
For the past year or so I've fleshed out my macro cycles + diets a year in advance along with goals for that year and each cycle. I'll decide on what to train, how often and what my goals are for that cycle. I'll physically draw it on the yearly overviews in my Moleskinne book, outlining something like: "Meso 3: Easy Strenght 3xWeek, DL-150kg, BP-100kg, SQ-150kg. 15% body fat. Warrior diet." As a result I've become WAY more modest and realistic about how life screws up a plan. I've also made more progress.
I usually look at my notes most in the beginning and end of a macro cycle: when I'm still dialing in a new routine or when I'm about to 'climax' a cycle. I'll look at similar past cycles to see how they played out, where I got tired etc.
I'll look at my training log when deciding how to plan ahead and - very much so - if I'm deciding to change my plan for some reason (I decided to go to the Superstrength seminar in Boston this May, for example, so I decided to just simple&sinister for 6 weeks prior to that instead of being in the middle of a powerlifting cycle when I went over there.)
Things I don't log, but maybe should, include: sleep, DOMS, mood, what I did during any particular day, supplements (I know: stupid).
It would be really interesting to hear how people who've logged for decades does this...
Best!
/Ulrik
What do you log? Sets, reps, rest, food, sleep, location, sensations, exercises, warmup, hand positions... ???
How do you log it? Abbreviations? Symbols? Iphone, notebook, tatoos...
Did you stop logging something and why?
How and how often do you use/'mine' your training log?
When you 'mine' what do you find?
Do you plan ahead and log in the same format? If so: how? How far ahead?
-------------------
HOW I LOG
-------------------
I log everything in a Moleskinne annual calendar.
Non-exercise I log:
everything I eat, where I am (I travel a lot) and on occasion what I weigh + body fat according to an omron handheld device.
I don't weigh my food, but I try to gauge portion sizes and composition across macro nutrients. Every now and again I will pick meal, write down "225g lean beef, 300g brown rice, 300g assorted veggies" and then test if that is actually what it weighs. Over time I've become pretty good at being right.
Exercise-wise I log:
Where I exercise and start and stop times: "CPH 14:05 - 15:15"
Warmups: exercises, weights used, time spent and if anything out of the ordinary, how I felt about it. I also log if I'm changing technique or practicing something in particular. "DL warmup: 3x5@60kg III - practiced 'tension' - 9min" where [sets]x[reps]@[weight] followed by a roman numeral for minutes of rest between and after set(s)
Actual exercises: as warmup above, but also with the addition of perceived percentage of 1RM and a description of how I felt and a reflection on my technique. "DL: 3x3@140kg V -18mins -80%max. Practiced 'relaxed' thoracic - still felt weird. Weight heavy and slowed down above the knees, but otherwise solid."
How I mine and plan:
For the past year or so I've fleshed out my macro cycles + diets a year in advance along with goals for that year and each cycle. I'll decide on what to train, how often and what my goals are for that cycle. I'll physically draw it on the yearly overviews in my Moleskinne book, outlining something like: "Meso 3: Easy Strenght 3xWeek, DL-150kg, BP-100kg, SQ-150kg. 15% body fat. Warrior diet." As a result I've become WAY more modest and realistic about how life screws up a plan. I've also made more progress.
I usually look at my notes most in the beginning and end of a macro cycle: when I'm still dialing in a new routine or when I'm about to 'climax' a cycle. I'll look at similar past cycles to see how they played out, where I got tired etc.
I'll look at my training log when deciding how to plan ahead and - very much so - if I'm deciding to change my plan for some reason (I decided to go to the Superstrength seminar in Boston this May, for example, so I decided to just simple&sinister for 6 weeks prior to that instead of being in the middle of a powerlifting cycle when I went over there.)
Things I don't log, but maybe should, include: sleep, DOMS, mood, what I did during any particular day, supplements (I know: stupid).
It would be really interesting to hear how people who've logged for decades does this...
Best!
/Ulrik