VirtuaL_FitnessLog_2 So something that I got hooked on from doing P90x, was keeping a fitness log. keeping track of what I am doing day to day fitness wise, including what I eat, how long worked out, etc.  Before that, i wouldn’t even of considered doing something like that. Didn’t seem like it had any purpose or would really give me any benefits.  I was wrong about that one!

By keeping a fitness log you are keeping yourself accountable to what you are doing. you are also creating a means by which you can go back, see how well you were doing over a period of time. Are you gaining strength in one area vs.. another and might need to focus on that particular area.  Whatever the case may be, a fitness log will give you context to what you are doing. Check out the rest of the story. Worth the read

 

 

 

What should you include in your fitness log? Great question.

  • Weight  (stay consistent when you check it. same time of day and same location for consistency)
  • body fat % (Found this to be a great site to use. Show's the various methods and videos on how to do it)
  • Measurements (waist, hips, biceps, neck, chest)
  • calories burned (the monitors aren’t always 100% accurate but give you a general feel for how much you have burned off)
  • cholesterol levels (beginning, end, whatever interval you get checked)
  • average heart rate (get yourself a heart rate monitor if your doing any kind of intense (Insanity)  cardio workouts. )
  • max heart rate (important to know where you stand here.  Depends on your age where you should be letting this go)
  • distance ran (if running of course)
  • Length of cardio exercise if not part of a routine
  • Reps for each exercise (use the log sheets provided with P90x, chaLEAN, P90x Plus, if your doing this routine, will link to sheets in an update)
  • Food (daily food log, write up here)
  • Before and After pictures.  more in between if you want to see the transformation more granularly)

So as you are doing your routines, and day to day fitness, keep track of the items that are important to you.  One of the things I regret doing was not keeping closer track when I first started. I know the basics, but none of the fun details that make things interesting at times.  But, the end goal of course is getting healthy and fit, and the numbers are for fun.  They do show how well you have improved and if you are reaching your goals.  Speaking of goals. Make sure you are setting them at the beginning of your fitness journey.  It’s been proven time and time  again, that if you create goals, you are more likely to succeed!  Make sure you are creating realistic goals that cover short, mid and long term and be quantitative.  Don’t just say I want to do this or that. be very specific.  You can read a bit about goals here. Hopefully this will help you create concrete goals that are attainable and get you where you want to be.

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So with the combination of food log and fitness log, you have yourself a complete picture of your overall health (other than some medical tests of course). With this information in hand, you can reach your goals. I just know you can and here to help motivate you along the way if you need some. 

So keep track of what you are doing. You’ll be happy you did because then you’ll see the real transformation happen and have a complete picture.  Sure pictures are great to. :).  Any questions on this, contact me.   Reminder, you can log all your actual workouts over at WOWY and the Team BeachBody site.  Great place to create Accountability for yourself and find a buddy or two to workout with. Sign up here.