Exercise Tracking Sheets

I've designed an exercise tracking sheet to help motivate me to get to my aerobic and resistance sessions done each week. I find I get a little boost in by having a blank column expectantly waiting for me to fill it in.

I use tracking sheets primarily because I hate to remember anything I can write down. You’ve probably heard that old Chinese saying, “The palest ink is clearer than the fondest memory?” Well my memory isn’t that fond of details. The tracking sheets help me remember how much weight I’m using for each exercise and how many repetitions I’m doing. And, between the daily reminders in my calendar and the pull I feel towards having three aerobic and two resistance sessions filled in for each week on my tracking sheets, I find I get to it more often.

So, I was sitting at my computer on Sunday, looking over the listed exercises and thinking about how to clarify the details on the sheet when I realized that I was sitting there on the day I had a major exercise session scheduled – both aerobic and resistance. I don’t have a box to check for butt flattening, so it seemed important to get to work.

Interesting projects and details can easily grab my attention away from important, but tedious activities. Treadmills, rowers and indoor bikes are an example of important but tedious activities in my mind. What got me out of my seat was my desire to have filled in the column on my tracking sheet and to get the new week off to a good start.

I’m on week three of my conditioning program and I have a recovery week planned for the last week of December. If I don’t get in a solid week this week I’ll not need the recovery week and the pleasure of getting a head start on the new year will be diminished.

So, I got in my 30 minutes of aerobic base building and increased many weights by 10%, stretched thoroughly and have a full column of marks. And, when I got back to my computer, I decided that the tracking sheets were working pretty well for me and went and asked my wife if she wanted to go for a walk in the neighborhood.

Nothing tedious about holding hands with her.

Jay Livingston