Keeping a Simple Training Log: Six Fields, Five Minutes

Published October 23, 2026 · Last reviewed October 23, 2026

Why writing it down works

A meta-analysis of 138 randomised studies with 19,951 participants found that interventions that prompt people to monitor progress toward a goal increased goal attainment (an effect size of 0.40, with a confidence interval of 0.32 to 0.48). The effect was larger when the information was physically recorded or made public (Harkin et al., 2016). A paper card or a notebook counts. For lifters there is a second reason: the load rule in the American College of Sports Medicine position stand (a 2–10% increase once you can complete the current workload for one to two reps over the target) can only be applied if you know what you lifted last time (ACSM, 2009).

What to record (and what to skip)

Six fields cover almost everything useful. Each takes a few seconds, which is why the habit lasts.

• Date and lift, written the same way every time so you can scan back.
• Load, sets and reps, for example 95 lb × 3 × 8.
• Reps in reserve or RPE for the last rep of each working set; see how to use RPE without an app.
• Pain, 0 to 10, if you have any, noted at the start, at the end and the next morning. If you are returning from injury, stay inside the limits your clinician has given you.
• Session rating and minutes: one number from 0 to 10 answering “How was your workout?”, and the length of the session.
• One line of notes: sleep, stress or anything that made the day unusual.

Skip anything you will not keep up. The session rating method multiplies the 0–10 rating by the minutes to give a single arbitrary unit for the whole session. It was proposed by Foster and colleagues and has been tested in 36 validation studies in men and women of different ages and expertise (Foster et al., 2001; Haddad et al., 2017). The units mean little alone, and are useful only when compared with your own earlier weeks.

A weekly five-minute review

Action

Once a week, total two numbers: sets for each main lift, and the sum of your session ratings multiplied by minutes.

Why it helps

Totals turn a pile of scribbles into a trend you can compare with the previous week. The sources here do not establish a safe weekly increase, so that threshold is Not reported; treat a sharp jump as a prompt to ask how you feel, not as a verdict.

Verification

You can state this week's totals next to last week's and say, in one sentence, why they differ.

Action

Circle one thing to change next week: a load, a rep target, or a rest day.

Why it helps

Changing one variable at a time lets you tell which change helped. This is a practical convention rather than a trial result.

Verification

Next week's card has exactly one circled change, and you can find it again when you review.

Action

Check pain and sleep entries against the hard sessions.

Why it helps

Mass General Brigham notes that normal muscle soreness starts soon after a workout and may last a few days, and that soreness or pain that does not improve with rest is the point to see a doctor (source).

Verification

Your notes show whether soreness settled within a few days. Anything that did not goes to your clinician.

The weekly volume counter adds up your sets by muscle group if you would rather not do the sums by hand.

A worked example

Monday: goblet squat, 35 lb × 3 × 10, last-rep RIR 3 on every set, pain 0 before and after; session rating 5, 40 minutes, so 5 × 40 = 200 units. Thursday: the same lift at 35 lb, RIR 3, 3, 2; session rating 6, 45 minutes, so 270 units. The weekly total is 470 units. If last week was 400 units, this week is 17.5% higher, which is worth a glance at the sleep and pain lines before adding anything. The arithmetic is exact; what to do about it is your call, and your clinician’s if you are returning from injury.