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& Exercise: Exercise Journal
Keeping an Exercise Journal
If you're looking for a good way to track your progress toward your
fitness and weight loss goals, consider keeping an exercise
journal.
Basically, it's a
written record of
what you did that
day, along with other information you find helpful. Things you might
note include: what form of exercise you did (walking, biking, swimming,
etc.), distance or time duration of the exercise, and the time of day
you exercised. Depending on your interest in writing, you might also
add comments to reflect how you felt (was your effort strong or more
weak, did it feel easy or hard, etc.). Include information about how
you varied the workout, if you did intervals or went on a hilly route,
for example. If you're looking to track your progress over time, you
could include your time for that work if you use a watch or timer.
Here's an example of what an exercise journal entry might look like:
9/14:
walked 4 miles at 6am, total time 1:02:44, nice fall temps made for a
nice walk!
You might also consider tracking your weight as part of your exercise
journal, if you're trying to lose or maintain weight. It's probably
helpful to only weigh yourself about once a week, though, so that you
don't get discouraged by natural daily fluctuations.
Why keep a journal? A few
reasons, but the main one is to have a record of where you've been. On
those days when you're really frustrated and wonder why you're walking
all the time when it feels like you're not making any progress with
your weight and exercise goals, it can be very helpful to look back in
your journal and realize that 6 months ago, you were struggling to walk
2 miles, but now you can easily walk 4 or 5. It can provide an extra
motivational boost to keep you moving - literally - toward a healthier
lifestyle.
What kind of journal should I keep?
It can be as simple or as elaborate as you'd like. It can be as basic
as a notebook that you write in. You can enter the information on your
computer, either in a word processing document (for the more
literate-minded) or a spreadsheet (for the scientifically or
mathematically inclined). You can also buy an exercise
journal to make
this easier, or even use an online option.
No matter which method you choose, keeping an exercise journal can be a
great aid to your walk to a healthy, active lifestyle.
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