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Workout Log Free Guide
How to Keep a Workout Log
A workout log is a record of what you actually did: date, exercise, reps and weight, one line per set. Four fields are enough. Keep them consistently and you can tell whether this week was heavier than last, which is the entire basis of progressive overload.
Updated
Use the Free Workout Tracker →
- Updated September 2026
- Free — no sign-up
- Sources cited
What to record
Write down the smallest set of facts that lets you decide what to do next session. In practice that is four columns.
| Column | Example | What it buys you |
|---|---|---|
| Date | 2026-09-14 | Frequency, and how long since you last trained the movement |
| Exercise | Back squat | Groups your history, provided you spell it the same way |
| Reps | 5 | Half of the progression signal |
| Weight and unit | 60 kg | The other half, and the thing you will forget by Thursday |
Everything else is optional. RPE or reps in reserve help if you autoregulate loads; rest times matter if you are deliberately shortening or lengthening them; a one-line note ("left shoulder tight", "slept four hours") explains an off day months later when the numbers look inexplicable. Skip anything you will not act on.
Two habits do more for a log than any extra column. First, use one name per exercise forever, because "bench", "bench press" and "BB bench" become three separate progress histories. Second, record the set you actually completed, not the one written in the plan. A log that flatters you is useless for deciding what to add next week.
Example log week
Here is a filled-in week on a four-day upper/lower split, written the way a paper log or the tracker would hold it. The numbers are an example, not a prescription.
| Date | Exercise | Sets × reps × weight | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 14 Sep | Bench press | 3 × 5 × 60 kg | All reps, add weight next time |
| Mon 14 Sep | Barbell row | 3 × 8 × 50 kg | |
| Tue 15 Sep | Back squat | 3 × 5 × 80 kg | Last set 4 reps only |
| Tue 15 Sep | Romanian deadlift | 3 × 8 × 60 kg | |
| Thu 17 Sep | Overhead press | 3 × 5 × 35 kg | Stalled twice, repeat weight |
| Thu 17 Sep | Lat pulldown | 3 × 10 × 45 kg | |
| Fri 18 Sep | Deadlift | 1 × 5 × 100 kg | |
| Fri 18 Sep | Leg press | 3 × 10 × 120 kg |
Read it the way you would next Monday. Bench went up cleanly, so it gets 2.5 kg. Squat missed a rep on the last set, so the weight repeats. Overhead press has now stalled twice, which is the point to drop back and build up again rather than grinding the same session a third time.
Notice how little writing that takes: eight lines for a whole training week. Monday's bench work comes to 900 kg of volume (3 × 5 × 60), and the tracker computes that for you, but the decision was visible from the raw numbers anyway.
Printable sheet
A paper sheet still beats a phone for some people: it never locks, never buzzes, and survives chalk. If you want one, rule a page into the same four columns plus a note field, and print a fresh copy for each week.
| Date | Exercise | Set | Reps | Weight | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||||
| 2 | |||||
| 3 | |||||
| 4 |
Give each session a block of eight to twelve rows, which covers three or four exercises. Put the unit at the top of the page once rather than writing "kg" sixty times. Leave the note column wide: it is the column you will thank yourself for.
The workout planner has a Print plan button that produces the week's exercises on a single page, which works well as the left half of a paper system: printed plan in the gym bag, pencil for the numbers, then five minutes at home typing the week into the tracker if you want the charts and the CSV.
If you would rather buy a bound workout log book, the same rules apply: check that it gives you enough lines per session for your actual programme, and that the columns match what you record instead of steps, calories or mood.
Using the free tracker
The free tracker on this site is the same four columns, typed instead of written. Open the page, set the date, pick kg or lb, and add one row per set. "+ Add set" copies the previous row, so straight sets are quick to enter.
Two numbers appear as you type. Session volume is the sum of weight × reps across every set, a single figure for how much work the session contained. Estimated 1RM applies the Epley formula, weight × (1 + reps ÷ 30), to your best set: 100 kg for 5 reps estimates 116.7 kg. Both are labelled as estimates, and both are arithmetic you can verify on paper.
Press Save workout and the session moves into History. Press Export CSV and you get the whole log as a spreadsheet file, one row per set. That export is the important part, because the log lives in this browser's storage and nowhere else. Clear your site data, switch browsers or pick up a different phone and the history will not be there. There is no account to log back into, which is exactly why nothing gets uploaded.
This page is not medical advice. Your log is stored only in this browser; export a CSV to keep a copy.
Frequently asked questions
What is the 3-3-3 rule for workout?
It is an informal phrase, not a published guideline, and it is usually given as three exercises, three sets, three days a week. No governing body defines it, so treat any confident-sounding version with suspicion. For logging purposes it does not matter: record what you lifted, whatever structure produced it. The CDC physical activity guidelines for adults give the only widely agreed weekly targets for adults.
Can my phone track my exercise?
Partly. A modern phone counts steps and estimates walking, running and cycling from its motion sensors, and the built-in health app will store that automatically. What it cannot do is see which exercise you chose, how much was on the bar, or how many reps you finished. Those have to be typed in, which is what a workout log is for.
What is the 3-2-1 rule for working out?
It is a social-media training template, commonly described as three strength sessions, two Pilates or mobility sessions and one cardio session per week, with a rest day. There is no official source for it and the proportions shift depending on who is posting. As a way of making sure the week includes strength, cardio and something restorative, the idea is sound; as a rule with authority behind it, it is not.
What are the best devices to track workouts?
It depends what you are tracking. Watches and phones handle time, distance and heart rate for running, walking and cycling without any input from you. For lifting, no device reliably knows the weight or the rep count, so every option ends in manual entry: a notebook, a spreadsheet or a browser log like this one. Choose on how quickly you can enter a set, and whether you can export the data later.
Sources
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Not medical advice. Your log is stored only in this browser; export a CSV to keep a copy.