Tracking your workouts with a workout log template is one of the most effective and simple ways to help ensure you maximize your results. If you are working out for fun, or to maintain your health and fitness, a workout log can be overkill. But if you want to change your body, whether it’s to improve strength, build muscle, lose fat, or increase performance, tracking every set of every exercise of every workout is the fastest way to help you get the best results.
Over the years, I’ve used tons of different workout log templates to help track my workouts. I’ve also experimented with several different workout logs as I was creating my BuiltLean Program. While there are endless fitness apps that make workout logs digital and dynamic, call me old fashioned, but I prefer writing everything down on a sheet of paper.
The workout log templates below are my favorites, but I am biased because I created them from scratch and tweaked them for years.
Here’s some more information so you can understand how to fill out each workout log properly along with some tips:
Workout Log Training Calendar
The first workout log isn’t really a workout log, but a 12-week training calendar to plan out your workouts. Again, if you are just working out to stay fit, this is probably unnecessary. But if you are trying to create a specific result, planning out your workouts and adding progression is absolutely essential!
In a perfect world, your training regimen would change overtime so as to keep the body guessing and prevent overuse injuries. So over a year long period you could change your regimen from an endurance focus, to strength, to hypertrophy, to power. You could consider focusing each 3 month period on a certain theme, or change the theme every month (technically this is called a macrocycle, mesocycle, and microcycle periodization approach).
How to use the training calendar – fill in the workout name under each day you plan to complete it, then mark days where you will not be working out as “rest”.
Workout Log Template #1: Daily Workout Template
The most common way of creating a workout log is to have a single workout on one sheet. So for example, if you are doing a full body workout, than all the exercises, sets, reps, rest periods for just that workout is included in the sheet.
In this particular log, I include a section for workout parameters such as primary muscles used, total # of sets, total # of reps, and length of workout, a warm up section, an aerobic/intervals/stretching section, and a comment/notes section.
The downside of this template as you will learn from the next workout template is that each workout is on a single sheet. If you do a workout 4x, then you will have 4 different sheets, which can become annoying as you need to flip back and forth between the sheets to see how you are progressing.
How to use the daily workout template – before starting your workout, fill in the sheet with all your workout information, leaving just the boxes in the center of the sheet under “Exercises” blank. When you are at the gym, fill in all the blank boxes.
Workout Log Note: “TR” stands for Targeted Reps, or the number of reps you plan on completing for a given exercise set, “AR” stands for Actual Reps you complete, and “W” stands for the weight you used, and “RBS” stands for Rest Between Sets. Finally, brackets are used to connect exercises that are completed as circuits. If all these terms are getting you confused, check out this list of strength training terms on BuiltLean.com.
Workout Log Template #2: Monthly Workout Template
What if there was a way to combine most of the information in the preceding daily workout log, but include the same workout 4 times on one sheet for easy comparison?
Well, that’s exactly what my monthly workout log template is able to accomplish.
The reason I call it the “monthly” workout log template is that if you complete 1 workout per week, then you are done with the sheet after one month. Given that research has shown the effectiveness of a given workout can diminish in as little as 4 workouts (for those in shape), 4 is a great number of times to complete a given workout before recycling.
This workout log is my favorite because you are easily able to track the sets, reps, and weight you complete from workout to workout for a given exercise, which makes creating progression in your workout a breeze! In fact, this makes the sheet downright brilliant! I must give credit where credit is due because this template was based off a workout template created by Alwyn Cosgrove in his “The New Rules of Lifting” book.
How to use the monthly workout template – before starting your workout, fill in the exercises you plan to complete along with the targeted sets and reps. Within the first Workout 1 row, you will write down the actual weight and reps you completed for each set. You will then move on to the next exercise and fill in the weight and reps for each set for the row Workout 1. If you intend to pair exercises together in a circuit, you can use brackets as I show in the example sheet, which I filled in.
Workout Log Note: You’ll notice that I have 10 exercise rows and with 5 sets across, which equates to 50 total sets that can be completed on this sheet. For your workout, you will likely only use about half, or less of the sheet. I included these extra exercise \rows and columns to give you more flexibility when creating your workout.
I hope you use these templates to help get your body to the next level.
Let me know what you think of these templates and if you have any questions!
Hi Marc,
I like your website but everything seems to be geared towards men, even the Success Stories. I’ve been doing Kettlebells 2-3 times a week for about 5 months now and although I’ve gotten stronger, I haven’t made significant progress on the 30 or so pounds that I would like to lose. I know it has all to do with my nutrition and I wonder if your program would really work for women, especially one who’s over 40?
Kathy
@Kathy – You are certainly right that many articles on BuiltLean are geared towards men, but I would guess 70%+ are gender neutral. The vast majority of the information applies to both men and women equally. The general guidelines that men and women should follow to get lean are the same. That’s why many woman have completed my BuiltLean Program and have gotten impressive results (but still working on getting some before/after photos). In terms of losing weight, it’s mostly a nutritional challenge. I have tons of sample menus and meal ideas for both men and women in the nutrition guide section of the program that may be valuable for you. What you can do is try the program, if after 3-4 weeks you are not getting the results you want, send it back for a full refund. Thanks for your commment!
This also works on females. I have lost 40 or so pounds and now have abs. (Female abs)
Thank you for your blog post.Really looking forward to read more. Really Cool.
@Carmine – Really happy you liked it! I was surprised I didn’t get any comments, so thought people may have not have liked the workout logs. I spent a lot of time on this particular post + the workout log packet!
Thanks for the share, Marc. I’m in the belief that tracking one’s progress is fundamental if honest gains are expected. While it’s possible to add muscle volume, or increase strength, without noting your routine specifics, it’s just so much more reliable than not.
Mitchell
Marc – This is a great resource that people should definitely take advantage of. My favorite part is the “note” part on the second log. People always train and write down their workouts, but knowing how those workouts affect them or what affected their performance helps immensely in continuing to see progress. Thanks.
Marc,
I came across your website a few days ago and it has revolutionized my approach to fitness. You’ve condensed all the stuff that people need to know about how to get lean in the best, most effective and efficient manner into brief articles that are neither patronizingly dumbed-down for mind-numbingly technical (boring).
Your guidance (like these templates) on how to create personalized workout routines and how to schedule them is what I’ve searched the internet high and low for. I completed Insanity back in October, which I valued for the pre-planned structure and timing among other things, but I’ve felt somewhat adrift working out on my own since then. You’ve provided the blueprint for how I should structure a plan for me and my goals. I can’t tell you how much this I value this.
Last of all, I did your 20 minute full-body circuit this week and could feel all the muscles it hit the next day! I just wanted to give you my overwhelmingly positive feedback and support. You’ve got a great thing going here. I’m spreading the word!
Thanks,
Jay
@Jay – Wow, thanks for the very thoughtful and well written comment regarding my website! I put a lot of my time into creating free content, so I’m very happy you are getting value out of it!
hello marc… i really have problems about the foods i eat. i dont know the proper foods to eat to shape my body 🙁
Hey Marc. What a great program you have. Great work on creating the logs. I used to be a pen and paper guy myself until I bought a smart phone several years ago. One thing good about a digital log is that you can see graphs of your progress.
It is really all up to personal preference though in the end. No matter how you log it’s just important that you actually do log your workouts. I read somewhere that “you don’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’re at”. I’m a firm believer in that!
@Robert – Thanks for sharing. Happy you liked the free workout log.
Hi mark.
I am a female and have made a lot of progress through out this program.
I have suggested this to all of my friends. This is a significant website. I suggest trying this guys.
Teagan.
Interesting post! Please keep updating.