Use an Exercise Log Sheet to Measure Progress in the Gym

Pay It Forward:

Have you used an exercise log sheet before, or a weight lifting log?

Do you count calories or even keep track of the progress you are making?

Let me ask you one more question before we start…

How do you even know if you're making progress without measuring your results?

Please don't tell me you simply rely on the mirror. The mirror can be a good check, but it shouldn't be the only way you measure progress. Keeping a log book is crucial to building muscle and burning fat.

Without an exercise log sheet, you are simply going through the motions and you are definitely missing out on HUGE gains.

This is Why You MUST Keep Track of Key Information…

Your body is simply amazing. It's job is to keep you alive by adapting to anything you do.

Your body wants to stay the same because it's easier. It wants to be in that comfort zone just like we all do. No one wants to be uncomfortable.

When you try to build muscle and burn fat, your body will resist those changes. It doesn't want to change. It doesn't want to build muscle and it certainly doesn't want to burn fat.

And that's why you need to keep track of the correct information with an exercise log sheet. You need to make changes to your program often to keep your body from adapting. So you must measure your progress as a result of making changes.

As you learn how to make adjustments…

You become an expert on your own body. You'll then be able to build muscle and burn fat ON DEMAND.

If you try to build muscle and burn fat without keeping track of what you've been doing, you're in for a long and hard road ahead. Trust us on this one… You NEED to keep an exercise log sheet with all the right information.

Here are the CRUCIAL Pieces of Information You Need to Keep in Your Exercise Log Sheet:

There are several vital pieces of information you need to track and measure in your exercise log sheet. Some will be tracked on a daily basis while others will be weekly and some will even be tracked once every few months.

A good workout log book will make everything very easy for you.

I only spend a few minutes each day filling in my log book. I developed the WLC Log Book that's included with the WLC System, and I continue to use it every day. It makes everything very easy, and leads to HUGE improvements in results.

1. Body Weight

The actual number that shows up on the scale is not important. Would you rather weigh 150 with 12% body fat or 120 with 20% body fat? If you could see the results of both, I guarantee you would rather weigh 150 with 12% body fat.

You simply need your body weight measurement so you can calculate the amount of muscle/fat you've gained/lost based on your body fat percentage. The actual number is NOT IMPORTANT.

DO NOT base your progress solely on your body weight.

You will measure your body weight once per week on the same day of each week first thing in the morning with the same scale each time. Record it in your exercise log sheet each week.

You will then use that measurements to see how much muscle you've gained and how much fat you've lost.

2. Body Fat %

This is the most important measure of your progress.

If your body fat percentage goes down, you are losing body fat and vice versa. Body fat percentage tells you whether or not you've lost/gained muscle or fat each week.

You must include this in your exercise log sheet.

You will take body fat skinfold measurements using a body fat caliper. The caliper measures the thickness of the fat on your body, and tells you whether or not you are gaining or losing body fat.

Using a fat caliper is very simple and takes little practice to get it right. You can find the toold we recommend to the left there under “Tracking Results” … see the scale, fat calipers, and body measure? That's we recommend you get to measure progress.

3. Waist Measurement

Your waist size is a KEY measurement… one of the most important measurements you can take. A waist measurement on it's own can tell you whether or not you are gaining or losing body fat.

Usually, if your waist measurement goes down, you are losing body fat. If it goes up, you are gaining body fat.

Along with body weight and body fat percentage, your waist measurement is a great indicator of your progress.

You should take your waist measurement once per week when you measure your body weight and body fat percentage. Always take your waist measurement under the same conditions. Your waist size can vary from morning to night by a significant amount.

4. Count Calories, Protein, Carbs, Fat

Each day, you MUST count the total number of calories you are eating along with the amount of protein, carbs, and fat and record them in your exercise log sheet.

Once you learn how, this is very easy to do.

You need to know how to count calories because your diet is the control panel to your results. Without this info, you are out of control, so to speak.

The WLC Log Book includes your own personalized food database that allows you to count calories very easily. I do it every night and it only takes me about a minute each night to count my entire daily calorie intake. The WLC Log Book is only available with one of the WLC Programs.

Keeping track of calories, protein, carbs, and fat will allow you to continually make progress. You'll know EXACTLY how much you need to eat to build muscle and burn fat.

5. Strength Progress

If you are getting stronger in the gym, you are making progress.

Your body will change as you gain strength. You will notice your body gaining muscle and getting leaner. Strength gains from workout to workout is the key to building muscle and the key to changing your appearance.

So focus on lifting heavier weight and/or doing more reps each and every workout.

A workout log book is absolutely CRUCIAL… You must know what you did the previous weight lifting workout in order to get better the next workout.

The WLC Programs are scientifically based workout programs designed to help you build strength EACH workout. You will learn how to lift heavier weight EVERY workout. And when you do, WOW… watch you body change.

With the WLC Program Workout Log Book, you know exactly what you're doing each workout. There is no guess work involved. You go to the gym with a plan, execute that plan, and the results come… it's that EASY.

6. Calories Burned

When you perform aerobic exercise, you should always keep track of the number of calories you are burning and record them for each cardio workout in your exercise log sheet.

As you measure your results each week, you can make adjustments to your cardio plan to burn more fat whenever you want.

In order to do this, you must know the number of calories you are burning. And you must have a consistent method of tracking this.

Heart rate watches provide this consistent method because you're using the same watch for any activity you choose to do. You don't have to rely on different machines to give you an accurate “calories burned” reading.

We highly recommend a heart rate watch to use with the WLC Programs not just for the calories burned number each workout but to ensure you stay withing the ‘perfect' fat burning zone throughout your aerobic exercise workouts.

Your Body is Made to Adapt… That's Why 99% of Programs Out There Don't Work — You MUST Learn How to Make Adjustments

As you've heard me say… the body adapts to anything you do. It may take a few weeks, it may take a few months, or it may only take a few days for your body to adapt. And that's why you need an exercise log sheet.

When you keep track of all the information above, as you learn to do within the WLC Programs, you can stay ahead of your body. You'll know when your body is adapting, and you'll know when to make changes.

The WLC Programs include EVERYTHING you need to track, measure, and make adjustments. There is no other muscle building and fat burning program in existence that teaches you how to do this. The WLC Programs stand alone.

You learn how to measure your progress each week using the information above.

If you aren't making optimal progress, you learn how to make a single adjustment to your program.

This adjustment could be…

Increase/Decrease Calories
Increase/Decrease Intensity of Weight Lifting
Increase/Decrease Cardio
Increase/Decrease Rest Days
Improve Food Sources
Add/Delete Meals
Adjust Protein, Carbs, Fat
Employ Calorie Shifting
Start Carb Cycling
Implement Carb Cutoff

And those are just a few of the BASIC things you can adjust in the WLC Programs. I hope that helps you get the picture of why the WLC Programs work so well for ANYONE.

The program adapts to you… not the other way around.

By making adjustments, you NEVER allow your body to adapt. This means you get FAST RESULTS that are PERMANENT because you're doing everything the right way.