Write a Fitness Journal
Fitness journals can help you keep track of where you are in your progress, show you where you may have to change things and motivate you to stay on track. Read the suggestions below and learn how to write a fitness journal.
Steps
- Decide where you want to keep your journal.
- A journal can range from a ream of paper or notebook to an online template. Choose something that inspires you or promotes positive feelings and is easy to maintain. If you choose to use your computer, make sure your file is easily accessible, perhaps placing it on your desktop.
- Note your starting statistics.
- List things such as your starting weight and height, measurements and body mass index (BMI). The inside cover of your journal, or the first page of your online journal is a good place to list these things.
- Choose a time once a week to check your statistics to see if there is any change.
- Define your fitness goals and list them in your journal.
- Make this the first page or 2 of your journal so you will read it daily.
- Make goals attainable, so you will not become discouraged. Consider multiple goals: short term, medium term and long term.
- Start with easy goals, such as drinking 8 glasses of water per day, or giving up midnight snacks.
- Define how you want to achieve your goals.
- Think about how you can achieve these goals. What is realistic and what can you incorporate in your schedule?
- Add an exercise diary to your journal.
- Note the type of exercises that you do, distances, times, and sets--if strength training.
- Add a food diary to your journal.
- This is the area where you will keep track of your daily food intake. List the days of the week, times of the day and pertinent information about food nutrition. Include calories you consume and other facts you want to keep track of, such as carbohydrates and fats.
- Sit down and review your journal once a week to identify things that are working for you and things that may need to be adjusted or changed.
- Set aside several pages for notes.
- This can be used for keeping reminders, noting how you are feeling on a particular day or other factors that might influence your fitness program.
Tips
- Add some positive reinforcement to your journal. This can be in the form of a reward that you will give yourself if you reach a goal. It can also be inspirational quotes or sayings to help you stay motivated.
Things You'll Need
- Notebook, ream of paper or computer
- Access to charts to calculate calories, BMI and other factors
- Tape measure for body measurements
