What to include in your training diary.

Members Area My Training Journal
1

Currently as well as the standard; exercises, sets, reps, weight/time/distance info I include a rating for the difficulty to complete the set, the strictness of the set (if the sets are not easy as planned, and strictness is not exemplary), and the speed of the set if it is not normal speed.
I also record:
*Structure of cycles in weeks, and where competitions lie. (so I schedule competitions to occur towards the end of the light week)
*Plans up to 2 weeks in advance
*Targets up to 3 or 4 weeks in advance.
*When I start new supplements or change supplement program
*Any ‘gems’ of info learnt to try out.
*Aspects of technique identified to work on.
*Long term plans
*Priorities of conditioning, events, techniques.
*Exercise alternatives.
*And of course injuries.

I also am considering including
*Record stretching in as much detail as weight training/athletics.
*Ratings of feelings such as enthusiam, energy, stress etc. generally (e.g for week/month) and during workout/competition.
*Waking heart rate measurements
*Amount of sleep each night
Noting other activites such as hill walking/swimming at the beach etc.

What does everyone else include apart from sets, reps, weight/distance/time?

2

re: Amount of sleep each night

This is something I have started to include to ensure I get adequate kip.

A lot of info Jimbo - is ur journal electronic or notebook?

3

Elecronic- word document.
I can normally remember all of that for long enough after to write it when I get home.

The reason for the amount of info was because last year, although I recorded sets/reps/weight etc, I was not monitoring anything else really, ended up plateauing for months, and then ended up overtrained, and didn’t have a clue why.

It was not just because I didn’t have a detailed enough training journal. I was only getting 40-50g protein a day, and going close to failure every session most sets on the weight training, and giving every sprint and throw 100% every attempt in training and competitions, and not including any regular light weeks. Hopefully all the detail will help identify any problems quickly from now on.

4

I guess superwomen rarely has such shifts or outliers given that she trains multiple times per day. Start a blog site and post the info…

5

i used to keep a diary which included everything as follows-

time out of bed/awakening-how i felt upon wakening

what i had for breakfast and what time i had it at,i included everything i ate,how much and exact times of meals

training sessions-what time begun and finished.what exactly i did and how i felt before after and especially during the session

what i did for recovery-what method,durations etc-how i flet 4-5 hours after the training

any inspirational comment or thoughts i had would be highlighted at the top of the page

any dreams i had would be noted

sleep-how deep of a sleep had i,did i wake at all,what duration

try to keep it exact because if anything goes wrong with your training you can look back to your diary for great advice

6

i talked to a certain female marathon runner who told me upon wakening she would take her pulse and if it was out by 3-5beats she wouldn’t train.it hasn’t done her a bit of harm at all,shes a superwoman in marathons