Musclist

How to log a workout

A workout log is only useful if it tells you what to beat next time. That takes three numbers per set, the same exercise names every week, and a glance at last time before you lift.

Updated

Why log at all

Getting stronger means doing a little more than last time, which is progressive overload. After a few weeks and a dozen exercises, nobody remembers last Tuesday’s third set of rows. A log does, and it shows when a lift stalls long before you would notice.

What to record

  • Weight and reps for every working set. Not just the best set: the drop-off across sets shows how hard the session was.
  • Reps only for bodyweight moves like pull-ups and push-ups, and time for planks, carries and cardio.
  • Working sets, not warm-ups. Most lifters log only the sets that count, so the numbers they compare are the ones that matter.

Keep it comparable

  • Use the same exercise names. “Incline DB press” one week and “incline dumbbell bench” the next splits one history into two.
  • Keep the setup the same: the same machine, seat height and grip, so a heavier number really is progress.
  • Pick one unit. Mixing kilograms and pounds in one log makes it hard to read.

Log during the session, not after

Write each set down as soon as you finish it, during your rest. Logging from memory at the end of the session is where most mistakes come from, and the log is most useful before each set, when it tells you what to aim for.

Look back once a week

Once a week, check which lifts went up, which stalled and which muscles got little work. That is when to adjust: add a set, change a rep range or swap an exercise. See how many sets per muscle per week.

Logging a workout in Musclist

  1. Start the next workout in your routine, or a free workout. If you don’t have a routine yet, pick one of the programs.
  2. Add an exercise from the library. It finds exercises under the names gyms actually use, so “RDL” finds Romanian Deadlift.
  3. Weight and reps start from your last set. Adjust with the ± buttons, which step the way your equipment does, and save the set.
  4. Finish the workout to see the muscles you trained on a muscle map. Your history keeps every workout, grouped by month, with your top set, best and total for each exercise.

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