If there’s one thing that most of us have relearned since the pandemic, it has to be this: health truly is wealth. We’ve seen the gruesome effect of sickness and how much of an impact it can have on people and communities, and this type of reality check has really put things into perspective for a lot of us. It’s no wonder people are now more health conscious than ever; this growing awareness of how important health is has made people more willing to work on their physical well being.
But aside from a nutritious diet, a tailored fitness routine, and maybe even a gym membership, did you know that keeping a fitness journal can also be beneficial when it comes to accomplishing your fitness goals? In a previous post, we talked about how goal setting can change the game, and a fitness journal will do exactly that and more.
No matter what your ultimate goal is—losing weight, gaining it, building muscle, getting more toned, or just staying active—we’re here to tell you why keeping a fitness journal can give you a head start in achieving a new and healthier you!
1. It keeps you focused.
When working towards something, setting goals is important for a few reasons: it lets us know exactly what we’re aiming for, gives us an idea of what the journey will be like, and makes it easier for us to come up with an action plan to guarantee our success. As opposed to just jumping into a fitness routine without a plan in mind, taking the time to prepare one ensures that we have something tangible to look at and focus on.
One study indicates that a fitness journal can be a great tool to keep you motivated, and is perfect to keep you right on track. This is because it allows you to see your progress as well as write about the ups and downs of your journey, and what all this information does is show you how far you’ve come. As a result, you will then be more encouraged to keep going.
We’ve all met at least one person who started working out on a whim, eager and excited at first, only to lose interest in what they’re doing after just a short while. Regardless of all the good things they can reap if they continue, it doesn’t matter—without something quantifiable to refer to, it’s far too easy to be demotivated and feel like what you’re doing isn’t making a difference.
2. It gives you accountability.
According to a study, a person can make the same resolution multiple times (at least 10 times!) and still end up unsuccessful. This is because while a lot of us are enthusiastic about things like starting a fitness journey, we’re not quite committed to seeing it through. The same study indicates that about 54% of people who make resolutions to “change their ways” don’t last more than six months.
We’ve seen this play out often enough in the form of New Year’s resolutions: year after year, statistics around the world reflect that one of the most popular changes that people want to implement is often health or fitness-related in the form of exercise. You probably know one or two people who have resolved to this yourself—but how many of them actually followed through?
But starting a fitness journal in itself is holding yourself accountable: by listing down a goal or series of goals that you want to achieve in order to accomplish your desired outcome, and through diligently tracking both your successes and failures, you’re staying committed to your purpose of making sure you do what needs to be done to complete your fitness journey.
3. It gives you an overview of what you need to change.
We can’t expect to get different results by doing the same thing over and over again. This is why a fitness journal can be very helpful: as a place where you can track anything—diet, the duration, reps, and intensity of your workouts, your cheat days, etc—you’re bound to notice patterns that will help you figure out what’s working out and what isn’t. With indispensable information written in your journal, you’re saving yourself a lot of time as far as achieving your goals is concerned.
Now just imagine starting your fitness journey without a plan, with absolutely nothing written down, and then realizing somewhere down the road that whatever you’re doing isn’t getting you the results you want. How would you figure out what’s not working without any data? Sure, you can guess, but that’s an awful lot of time wasted.
Conclusion
It’s one thing to have a fitness goal that you want to work towards, but it’s another to have a fitness journal as part of the ride. By having a record of your fitness journey, you’re already ahead of everyone else who doesn’t—because everything written in it will only serve to help you move strategically forward into reaching all of your fitness goals.
What specific things would you write and track in your fitness journal? Let us know in the comments below—we’d love to hear from you!
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