When you’re working out, your main goal should be to do more than you did at your last session.  Run farther.  Lift more weights.  Last longer.  This is called “progressive overload.”  But if you don’t have a written record of what you did at your last workout session, it may be hard for you to make sure you’re making significant progress.  You may be able to remember a few stats here and there, but chances are, you’ll start to forget how many reps, sets, and pounds you did at your last session.

This brings me to my second gym tip: keep a workout journal.

By writing down what you were able to do during your workout session, you won’t have to keep track of a lot of random numbers, and you’ll ensure yourself that you’re progressing from your last session.

I used to keep track of all of my workouts on an Excel spreadsheet which I printed out every month.  If you’re interested, you can download a template I made here.  These days, I keep a small spiral-bound notebook with me and record the exercises, reps, and sets that I do.  My workouts now are a lot less structured than they were when I was using the Excel sheet, so I find it easier to just use the notebook.

Whichever method you choose, keep a pen with you when you go to the gym, and make sure you’re consistently writing down your exercises.