It’s Time to Make Fitness Logs Sexy

“The early bird catches the worm.”

“Laughter is the best medicine.”

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

Ahh, cliches, don’t you love to hate them? The problem we have with cliches is that they seem overly simplistic and unrealistic, yet there is often much truth behind them. That’s why they have withstood the test of time. We might have to dig a little deeper to find the true meaning, but historically cliches ring true and their batting average isn’t going down anytime soon.

One of the most battle-tested health cliches around today is that if you want to change your health and fitness, you should keep a food and activity log.

Just typing that out feels boring to me. That’s the feeling of a cliche. It’s old. It’s tired. It’s lame. But something is there… There must be a reason that the only people I see with a journal everywhere they go are fit people and strength coaches. If you started one for a New Year’s resolution, odds are that you’ve lost it or thrown it into recycling at this point.

It’s time to make fitness logs sexy!

If you want to upgrade your health, create the beach bod you’ve always wanted, or maximize every ounce of energy you can muster, it’s time to grab a pen and paper and get tracking.

Here are three sexy reasons to start tracking your health and fitness.

1. You create self-awareness

The number one reason to start tracking your health and fitness activity is to create self-awareness. If you follow Gary Vaynerchuk,^[1] you have no doubt heard him rant on this topic on more than a few occasions. Just like in business, in health we must become self-aware about why we do what we do. Without it, there is no possible way we can be consistently successful. We need to figure out what works for us and without a written history of what we have done, it’s impossible to piece it all together. The self-awareness we create when we keep track of our workouts, our food, and the metrics we want to improve (lose weight, lose fat, increase muscle mass) helps us see what we actually do day to day. Reality can be much different than what we “think” we do. Don’t lie to your journal, because the scale and mirror won’t lie to you.

2. You hold yourself accountable

What get’s measured, gets managed. Sometimes we don’t have the ability to get a workout partner or have a personal coach walk us through our health transformations. That’s where our fitness log comes in. When you check in every day writing down your meals, workouts, weight, and anything else you might want to improve, you are creating an area of accountability for yourself. You have to stare your log in the eyes every day and tell it what you are up to.

3. You document the journey

You did it! You lost the weight, lost the fat, gained the muscle, whatever your goal was. Congrats! The months or years go by and maybe you gained a bit of it back. No fear, go back to your journal that led to your previous goal. Your gameplan is right there. Tim Ferriss^[2] is known for having shelves of notebooks dedicated to past workouts and experiments. If he wants to look like he once did after a certain workout regimen, the plan is ready for him.

Want to create better health for yourself? Don’t go join a gym right away or start a new diet, just grab a pen and paper and start tracking. Seeing where your numbers are and what you do every day can be eye opening and motivating. Let your journal help shape your path. It’s time to own the cliche and make fitness logs sexy!