by Vic Magary
Tracking your workout is VERY important to measuring your fat loss/strength gains. So many people go to the gym and don’t track their workouts… Later they wonder why they’re still bench pressing the same weight they were 3 months ago.
When you track your diet and workouts it’s EASY to see what you need to change inorder to get the results you want.
In this video, I show you an easy way to track your workouts and your diet. (If you’re reading this through email, just click this link)
What do you use to track your diet and workouts? Online site like Fitday or the Daily Plate? Or do you use pen/paper like me.
Leave a comment below with your tracking methods, it will be cool to see what everyone uses.
-Vic
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Vic Magary is a personal trainer, a US ARMY veteran and karate/taekwondo black belt. You can get a proven fat loss plan by picking up my 31 Day Workout Manual or by signing up for my Free Newsletter |
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I usually use a notebook that I put together that has logs I made on my computer
Good post!
I only track my diet when I need to make weight for something or if I notice I’m getting pudgy
(I eat nutritious foods so it’s only the amount I eat that I need to track)
I’m going to Thailand in June (to train and fight) so I’m about to start keeping better track of how much I’m eating …
I’ve got this cool idea … I’m going to take pictures of what I eat. Then at the end of the day I dump it all into iphoto (it automatically saves it into a batch and dates it for me).
I only weigh myself once a week, so if I’m not at the weight I need to be (at each weigh in) I can take a look at the amount I ate and make adjustments from there.
I know it’s geeky and gimicky … but I thought it’d be fun
Cheers!
All I use is a good old fashion notebook. It has never failed me yet.
I track my workouts in two places, one in a custom Excel spreadsheet I designed…keeping separate tabs for each week and PRs, etc…I also keep track of daily workouts on a few internet forums.
For workouts, I use a notebook not disimilar to yours.
For food, I use Fitday.
I never track cheat days, do you? It would be a bit too scary to see just how many glasses of wine got drunk this weekend! ha!
Tusc
PS. Love your cheesy grin head at the top of the site….lol
I use a spiral notebook also. On the days I’m gone I pack everything up and write it down before I leave for work and only eat what I pack.
I also log my workouts on the stronglifts discussion forum as that is the strength routine I’m currently using.
Hey everyone, thanks for the GREAT comments! I really like Kira’s iPhoto idea (I’m a Mac guy). And it seems we have a good mix of high tech and low tech tracking methods. And check out the pre-planning of meals by Barbie – that is true discipline!
And Tusc, glad you like the new cheesy grin in the header. Here’s another for you. . .
I don’t log what I eat. Acctually I don’t care that much about what I eat. As long as I get my fruits and vegetables in anything else doesn’t matter. Want to lose weight eat less, want to gain weight eat more. I just watch my weight and adjust accordingly. I don’t think about how much protein, carbs or fats I get in. Most of the stuff I eat is unprocessed food, but I have absolutly no problem with eating ice cream or whatever.
That works perfectly for me. I lost about 10kg (22lbs) last year that way and I’m currently gaining some muscles while staying pretty lean (when I flex my abs you can still see my six pack).
My training log looks similar to yours (pen and paper), perhaps not as detailed.
@ Matthias: For years I was right there with you and never logged what I ate. I agree that if you get in the fruits and veggies and stay away from processed crap, then you should be pretty much on course. But a funny thing happened in my thirties. . . I started packing on unwanted weight. I don’t think it was as much about being in my 30′s as it was about working 70 hour weeks and eating on the go most of the time. Recording my food intake is my own “checks and balances” system to keep me away from the bad foods in times of stress.
You cutie! Here’s one back
haha!
Hi Vic,
I surprised no one else has mentioned them yet but I use http://www.gyminee.com. They are pretty good for monitoring your exercise and diet. Let me know what you think.
Cheers and keep up the good work
Hugo
@Hugo: Thanks for the link to gyminee! I’ve heard good things, but have not used the site personally. Thanks again!
I used to track my workouts when I very first started at the gym. The instructors at my gym put together a program for me and gave me a card to track it on and I did. However, since leaving that gym I’ve never properly tracked my workout on paper – just in my head. Obviously, my head isn’t the best place to track my workouts as I often forget exactly which weight I am on for some of the exercises
.
Anyway, thanks for the reminder Vic. I think this could really help me.
Haha
I was tracking food on a program on my Mac. Whenever I was away, I just wrote a note on my mobile. Now I bought an HTC, installed a prog called MyPersonalDiet, it tracks food and workout, I have all the stats and it’s always with me. So during the day I know how much space I have left for dinner. Btw, I’m also forcing myself to learn to do those things by heart, trying to do some calculation before I have a look at the program. But if you want to keep strict, well it works awesome!
Cheers,
V.
Hi Vic,
Love your site and your blog. Listening to your nutrition interview right now.
I use SportTracks (http://www.zonefivesoftware.com/SportTracks/) for my running and cycling. Yes, sorry, I still do Cardio
For lifting, I’m using a printed-out spreadsheet form. I seem to be the only one in the weight room so anal about tracking workouts, but that’s me.
I found some very nice free workout templates that your readers may want to check out at
http://www.werkit.com/
John
I’m using my Blackberry with Evernote to record workouts and The Daily Plate at Livestrong for diet. Working good so far