Keeping an Exercise Diary

Fifty-Plus Fitness Library

Library : Year 2 | Session 7: Monitoring Your Fitness Program

added June, 2004

Keeping an Exercise Diary

Karen Bivens, M.A.

By now most of us know that getting regular exercise is essential to maintaining a healthy body and preventing many diseases. Yet we are the most physically inactive generation that has ever lived. In previous "Taking the First Step" articles, Dr. Karl Knopf has given advice on developing an exercise program. The real key is staying with the program and incorporating regular activity into your lifestyle. Health and fitness experts have found that keeping track of your exercise activity can enable you to chart your progress and motivate you to continue an exercise regime.

A couple of years ago at our Fifty-Plus Annual Fitness Weekend Awards Dinner, Joe Henderson was our guest speaker. Joe is a former editor of Runner's World and continues to write a column for that magazine. I have read Joe's articles for years, but one thing, in particular, that he said that night really impressed me. He stated that after reading a book about training that recommend keeping a detailed running diary, he began writing a daily journal. This is a habit that he has maintained to this day..., over 40 years later! By this time has accumulated volumes of daily notations and claims they really reflect the story of his life.

I asked Joe for tips on keeping an exercise diary and here are his key points:
1) KEEP IT SIMPLE
2) KEEP IT SHORT
3) KEEP IT PRACTICAL
4) KEEP IT PERSONAL
5) KEEP IT GOING

Using Joe's key points, I began my own exercise diary. To "KEEP IT SIMPLE", I use one of those daily minder calendars with a page for each day. In the past I have used the training log that Runner's World sends to subscribers, but found that it confined me to little blocks. There are training logs or exercise diaries available at bookstores. They are neatly organized and have valuable training tips. You can also go "high-tech" and maintain your diary on the computer. There are even some websites that will do it for you and offer training information and even support. Here are just a few that I found: ; "www.biketracker.com" ; "www.getfit.com" ; "www.justlift.com" ; "www.justmove.com";"www.justwalk.com" ;

As far as "KEEP IT SHORT" goes, anyone that knows me, knows I have difficulty being concise! So I write as much as I feel like about the exercise I have done that day. I might include how I fell, weather conditions, who was with me, things that impressed me, etc. That's why the ca1endar page works well for me. The main thing is that I do this daily. Just knowing I have to write about my activity daily motivates me to do something. There are only so many "rest" days 1 want to include in my diary! Someone else might just want to say simply: "30 minute walk!"

To "KEEP IT PRACTICAL" review the diary and your fitness levels periodically. Are you meeting your fitness and health goals? You may need to make adjustments in your activities or fitness program. If you have been exercising regularly and making adjustments as needed, you should be seeing positive changes in your health and fitness profile, such as weight changes, increased energy levels, and improvement in functional fitness, This can be very motivating! To "KEEP IT PERSONAL", include your feelings, insight, hea1th, mood, or anything that might relate to your outlook about the activity. I remember riding the stationary bike when someone next to me on the treadmill remarked that a study showed exercising on a treadmill burned more calories than riding a stationary bike. Well, personally, I would rather ride the bike because I can read while I ride even if it means less calories burned ..... Besides, intensity and time count in calories burned, too... Research has shown that people tend to stay with exercises they enjoy more than those they don't.

To "KEEP IT GOING", make it a habit. I can open my diary to a page when I ran with a friend to the top of Black Mountain. I still can feel the sense of camaraderie, picture the spectacular views in my mind, and feel a sense of elation as I vividly recall the run. Remember this is YOUR exercise diary. You can maintain it any way you want. You might want to expand it to include your record of the food you eat. As time goes on, you can look back and analyze what is working for you, make adjustments, fine-tune your program and have a record of some incredible memories…

Karin Bivens has a Master's Degree in Kinesiology and teaches for the Health Improvement Program at Stanford and the Physical Education Division at Foothill College.