I often get asked about how I stay motivated to stay fit. My not-so-secret method is that I put forth a real effort into connecting to my health and fitness, in as many ways as I possibly can, to my happiness and everything I wish to achieve. I constantly find subtle ways to remind myself of the interdependencies between my health,fitness, and my happiness & productivity. One of the most under-utilized, under-appreciated and most important tool I use: a fitness journal. Here are some tips to add value to your journal and help you become aware of how your health and fitness play a significant role in your overall well being.
1. Don’t call it a workout journal!- If reduced to being thought of as merely notes of reps and sets, a journal is as pleasing to think of or look at as a math book. Give it substance and value by thinking all-around fitness and health. Put some words and thoughts behind all those numbers. There aren’t any rules or boundaries! This is about you, what you are doing and what you can do! It should be as much a trophy and motivational resource as it is a measuring stick.
2. Record what you do during your workouts.
This is the traditional how much you lift and how many times. This is where most people leave off and eventually, often enough stop writing in their journal. Why? Math is boring? No. There is more to creating value and convincing ourselves than writing down numbers alone.
3. Write down more than the math.
It’s important to track your weight and reps but there is more to your overall fitness and health than just the numbers. Write down how you feel, or what hurts and when it hurts.
4. Record what you do in addition to your workouts.
There are plenty of things that go on during your workout beyond reps and sets. Keep track of water intake/pre-workout routines. Make note of when you are board or taking too long to recover.
5. Create your own 5 star rating system for workouts and food
Example Workout Ratings: 5-extreme,4-great,3-good, 2-pick it up, 1-WTF
Write down workouts you consider to be a good, great and extreme workout. Try to stick to the 3-5 star rating for every day. Sometimes I have one too many WTF down days and make it up with an extreme workout. Perhaps the best part about creating your own workout rating system is that you’ll have a hard time rationalizing yourself out of what you need to do because you set your own rating based on your own workout standards, so it is based on things you know can do! If you are doing an extreme workout everyday and you aren’t dropping weight or getting stacked, maybe it’s time to redefine extreme and bump it up a couple of notches. The converse is also true. If you are stuck in a low 1-3 workout rating zone, maybe your standards are too high. Make adjustments as necessary.
Example Food Ratings 5-Bland,Raw and Gross but good for me, 4-Vegetables, fruits, lean meats, easy on carbs, 3- meat and potatoes 2-Better than fast food 1- I ate at In and Out and it was oh so good!
Write down healthy meals you eat and rate them according based on their healthiness. When you eat a 1 star meal on Monday- IE donuts and burgers and fries- compensate with 2 days of 4-5 star meals. This one requires little explanation and you likely know where your meals fit on this scale.
6. Use graphs.
Weekly graphs can show when you need to make up workouts/ increase intensity. These make it extremely apparent when you’ve had one too many WTF off days. Make it up with an extreme workout.
Monthly graphs are wonderfully motivational, visual badges of honor. They show your progress/decline so that you can compare weeks, identify trends and adjust workouts.
You can arrange your data by monitoring your weight, or as my personal preference monitor your 5 star workout rating system.
7. Create more lists:
-Things that motivate you. This way you’ll know what to grab, where to go, and what to listen to on your down days. You might think you’ll remember this stuff but when you need it most, you may not be in a mood to remember all the motivational elements.
-Things that interrupt your workout and action plans to work-around or compensate for those scenarios.
Make Checklists for your exercises. I derive a lot of satisfaction from checking an exercise from the list. Curls. Check! Here is a typical minimal entry for me. I plan my workouts and record what I’ve done or need to do. Sometimes I use a checklist to get myself through an otherwise seemingly dull workout.
8. Explain how to do exercises in your own words.
Taking time to write down how to correctly do an exercise will help you develop better awareness of what you are doing versus what your muscles should be doing. Pay attention to posture, write it down
9. Draw pictures.
Show yourself how to do it. You don’t need to be an artist to make stick figures. Keep in mind that it only needs to make sense to you. Add notes and arrows to show motions. Be sure to distinguish hands from feet and head. That one gets me everytime-no more no handed cartwheels for me 
10. Write down class routines and take them home.
I’ll be the first to admit I pirate my workouts and bring the routines home. Shown above is a beginning Pilates routine that I wanted to practice at home.
11. Monitor foods that make you feel charged for your workouts.
It’s important to be aware of the connection between the food you eat and the energy that’s transferred.
12. Track your medical visits, injuries and recovery. Your doctor will thank you.
In short, the more effort you put into your fitness journal, the more value you’ll find in what you’ve been doing. The journal becomes a better trophy and your own personal reference guide to your health. You will find it harder to justify bailing on your diet or workout routine that you yourself create.
I’ve been on the mend from a recently pulled hamstring and I am sure to note how it feels after every stretch/run workout. This allows me to keep track of what helped my recovery and what hurt it.
Final Thoughts: You’re probably wondering what is a grown man doing with a Batman Journal? The answer is simply Inside every man is a playful boy yearning to explore. I enjoy embracing my inner child it keeps me energized.
