Creating A Fitness Routine - Part 3: Keeping Records

If you're new to our series on becoming more fit, please check out the first few posts.  In part one we talked about how we've all failed at fitness in the past.  We all do it - just admit your with the rest of us and move on.  Failure is critical component to success.  It wasn't the first time you failed and it won't be the last.  (We'll be getting into this later in part six.)  In part two we talked about SMART goals.  As an experienced personal trainer I feel this is top-three important!  Working out for the sake of working out very rarely works - so don't try to be the exception.  Read about creating a SMART goal and you'll find a lot about yourself and your motivation.

In this post I'd like to talk about record keeping.  One of the biggest challenges I have is keeping good records for my clients.  Doctors have nurses and administrative assistants to take notes and update records.  But it's up to me and me alone to take notes during my sessions with clients and then record them on their programs so that we know where we've been, what we've discussed, and new developments and goals as the come up.

And you?  Maybe you're not the detail orientated person for the job.  But you should be - and here's why.  Writing down what you've accomplished is a great way to reflect on the physical activity you've done.  It also ensures you have accurate records for two, six, eighteen months down the road.  Even if you have a perfect memory I guarantee you'll appreciate looking back at your workouts in a couple years to reflect on where you've been.

This record keeping can take various forms.  Do what works best for you.  Some examples:

Google Documents - you can share (online) with friends, family, trainers (like me)
Word or Excel file on your computer
DailyMile.com - the Facebook for athletes in training
Journal - I love my Moleskin notebook
Or whatever works for you.

So what will it be?  Give it a try and tell me how you're making it work.