Why is it Crucial to keep a Training log?

It isn't crucial but it is recommended that you log your workouts in some way or other; it's generally a very good idea to log your workouts so you can track your progress over time. It really depends on how seriously you take your training and how much you want to succeed at attaining new goals.

I use a physical note book—with a page for each session—and then enter the info in my log here afterwards. I use another note book for my rowing log. My earliest logged workout is way back in 1987; it's fun looking back at that!
 
yvonnegrant said:
On your workouts?
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To keep track of progress. I never kept a log until I got serious about weightlifting and started setting goals for my lifts. Setting specific goals in weightlifting is important, in my opinion. I believe in 'form follows function'. The function of a big muscle is to lift heavy weight. If you progress to the point of lifting heavy weights, you will have big muscles. Just having a generic goal of 'being fit' or 'looking good naked' or whatever is not as effective as setting and reaching a focused-specific-target goal.

I've looked back through my log many times to see how well I did compared to last time I did the same thing. If I improved, I know that what I have been doing is working. If I haven't improved, I need to think about what I might've done wrong.

And how motivating it is when you look back and see how much you've improved. I look back to a little less than a year ago and see how proud I was of a 185lb x1 deadlift because I had exceeded my bodyweight and it makes me feel that much more proud of my most recent 240lb x5 reps I did last week because I'm getting ever closer to my goal of 2x bodyweight.

And if you haven't done a particular lift in a while, you can look back and see how strong you were last time you did that. I hadn't done cleans or snatch since last August and my new program has me working with both. I referred back to the logs from last year and saw what I could handle then and it gave me a base.
 
Like LOL I keep a physical log in a half size notebook so it’s easy to carry around. I actually keep extra notes in my physical look that I don’t copy over to my log here. Things like how difficult a particular set was, and probably most important nutrition.

Also as LOL said the more seriously you take your training the more important a log becomes. If you are working near your fatigue limits trying to maximize your results a log is the best way to know how to tweak your workouts/cycles to get the best results. It’s also very important for nutrition if you want to make sure you are getting enough calories to grow but not so many that you get fat faster than necessary.
 
One other thing: if you keep an iLog (!) here, you can always print out a hard copy for your records by downloading a text file of all the posts. Good idea to download it from time to time just in case anything goes wrong with the HST database. You never know when computers are gonna bite you!
 
Lol said:
One other thing: if you keep an iLog (!) here, you can always print out a hard copy for your records by downloading a text file of all the posts. Good idea to download it from time to time just in case anything goes wrong with the HST database. You never know when computers are gonna bite you!
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I wuz just gonna ask about that. You guys are faithful to keep handwritten logs. I did that when I first started to workout in 2006, but since I've been on this site, I've only kept the digital log here. There have been a few times when the site went down and I had no access to my records. That was a serious hindrance.

So, would you be so gracious as to explain (in very simple terms) how I would go about downloading my logs?
 
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