Everyone who works out should keep a detailed log of their workouts. This is not just an obsessive, compulsive type of thing. This is a way to accurately keep track of, and measure, gains and success when it comes to Physical Fitness. It also is a great way to keep yourself motivated. I find that if I do not keep an accurate account of my workouts, I can too easily fall into a state of complacency, or at least a state of lowered motivation. It is far too easy to complete, say, a set of bench presses, and think to myself that I have achieved a high level of intensity. It is quite another to look at it in black and white and realize, "Hey, I have been lifting the same amount of weight, for the same number of reps, for over a month, that sucks!" When it is written down in front of you it is easy to plan and structure your progress. You can see that you lifted a certain amount of weight, for a certain number of reps, and methodically increase them as needed, (see Sets, Reps and Weight). Your workout log can be anything from a pre-printed type log that you can buy in bookstores, or from fitness magazines, to a spiral notebook that you write notes in.

Just make sure you include things like;