If you’re like me, you have goals for better health and a fitter body. It’s easy to think about what you want, but it’s not always easy to execute those plans. Writing my goals done is one of the most powerful things I have done to work on my goals.
You can set goals and track your exercise journey with an exercise journal. They help you set goals for exercise and sometimes nutrition. We’ll look at some of the top-rated journals that can help you work toward your health goals.
When you write down your goals, all of a sudden it becomes more concrete. If are really interested in getting healthier, writing our goals down focuses our mind on specific short-term steps that will bring us better health and fitness.
How to Start Exercise Journaling
Before getting a journal, you need to figure out what the best method is for you to start entering your goals.
Some people need a large journal so they can visually see specific details of all their goals each day. Others need a pocket-sized journal to help them write down their goals and achievements wherever they are.
To determine which journal is best for you to think about some of the following questions:
- Where will you keep my journal? (On a desk or in pocket)
- Will you use a pencil with an eraser or a pen?
- Do you want a spiral bound or regular bound?
- Does paper quality matter?
- Do you need a nutrition and exercise journal or just exercise?
- Do you want hardcover or softcover?
- Do you want a detailed or simple journal?
- Do you want a 90-day journal or longer?
- Do you need a digital journal, so your journal with your phone?
- Do you need the motivation to continue to keep a journal? (Motivational Journal)
- Will you take your journal with you to the gym?
Once you determine what type of journal you would like to have, then you can start to look for the one that meets most of your criteria.
I would choose one that I knew I would be most likely to use and would help motivate me to continue to track my progress. For me, tracking my progress is about making it simple and easy to do.
Others feel it’s important to write down all the details and enter every variable so they have the most complete picture. If you know your style of journaling, you’ll better be able to choose the right one for you.
Why Exercise Journaling Works
Journaling is a way to promise yourself that you will try and accomplish a goal. It is also a way of motivating yourself to continue to set goals because it’s easy to see what you’ve accomplished.
When we set a goal and make it more concrete by writing it down, our brain tends to want to complete the goal we have set as our goal. Since fitness journaling usually focuses on very short-term goals, our brain is usually able to keep focused on working toward that goal.
That’s why it is important to write daily goals and then review them each day to see if you’ve accomplished them.
If you set realistic goals for yourself, you will be able to accomplish all your daily goals and this can be extremely helpful in motivating you to continue to exercise and set goals on a daily and weekly basis.
10 Top Exercise Journals Found on Amazon
You can compare which journal is best for you by looking at the characteristics of each and find one that works for your needs.
Think about your needs first. Think about how you will use your journal and why. This should enable you to get the journal that is best for you.
#1 Track Your Fitness
ENTRIES – 126 Workouts
SIZE – 8.5″ X 5.5″
JOURNAL TYPE – Exercise
BINDING – Wire
COVER – Thick Laminated
PAGES – Thick
PRICE – (Amazon.com)
#2 Simple Elephant Undated Planner 2021-2022
ENTRIES – 1 Year of Workouts
SIZE – 8.25″ X 5.75″
JOURNAL TYPE – Planning & Productivity (Not made for exercise or nutrition tracking, but might be useful for some people.)
BINDING – Lay Flat Design
COVER – Durable Soft Leatherette
PAGES – Thick (No Bleed Through)
PRICE – (Amazon.com)
#3 Hello New Me
ENTRIES – 90 Workouts
SIZE – 9.25″ X 7.5″
JOURNAL TYPE – Exercise & Nutrition
BINDING – Normal
COVER – Soft Cover
PAGES – Average
PRICE – (Amazon.com)
#4 Workout Log Gym
ENTRIES – 100 Workouts
SIZE – 8″ X 6″
JOURNAL TYPE – Exercise & Nutrition
BINDING – Wire
COVER – Thick
PAGES – 100% Recycled
PRICE – (Amazon.com)
#5 Food and Health Journal
ENTRIES – 60 Workouts
SIZE – 9″ X 6″
JOURNAL TYPE – Nutrition & Exercise
BINDING – Wire
COVER – Durable Translucent Cover
PAGES – Archival safe, acid-free, 60 lb. paper
PRICE – (Amazon.com)
#6 Food and Health Journal
ENTRIES – 90+ Workouts
SIZE – 8.5″ X 6″
JOURNAL TYPE – Nutrition & Exercise
BINDING – Wire
COVER – Leatherette Cover
PAGES – Good Quality
PRICE – (Amazon.com)
#7 Food and Health Journal
ENTRIES – 1 Year of Workouts
SIZE – 10.7″ X 8.4″
JOURNAL TYPE – Motivation & Exercise
BINDING – Spiral
COVER – Hard Cover
PAGES – Good Quality
PRICE – (Amazon.com)
#8 Today is the Day
ENTRIES – 90 Workouts
SIZE – 9″ X 6″
JOURNAL TYPE – Nutrition & Exercise
BINDING – Normal
COVER – Soft Cover
PAGES – Good Quality
PRICE – (Amazon.com)
#9 Fit Log
ENTRIES -140 Workouts
SIZE – 9″ X 6″
JOURNAL TYPE – Exercise
BINDING – Wire
COVER – Hard Cover
PAGES – High Quality
PRICE – (Amazon.com)
#10 Fitness Logbook
ENTRIES – 130 Workouts
SIZE – 8″ X 6″
JOURNAL TYPE – Exercise, Comes with free app
BINDING – Wire
COVER – Laminate Cover
PAGES – Good Quality
PRICE – (Amazon.com)
Do It Yourself Fitness Journal
It might be helpful to make your own journal and organize it the way that is best for you.
You could use graph paper or a spiral notebook, as shown in the video below. I find writing down my goals on paper to be most helpful for motivation, but others may want a digital solution.
There are many apps for your phone you might want to use to help with your fitness tracking. This article (LINK) from mensjournal.com has lots of great apps you can try (some are FREE and some are PAID).
You may also want to design a digital fitness journal yourself. I like to use Canva.com to design my website pictures and they have lots of premade templates that you can customize to make your own fitness journal.
Final Thoughts
It’s important to be consistent with your diet and exercise in order to start to see results. A journal is a great tool to help you lay out your ideas, goals, and accomplishments.
Keeping a journal will help you stay focused and add to the motivation that everyone needs to reach their fitness goal.
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