Weight Gain Tracking Tips For Bodybuilding Success
Many of the fitness journals you see online are extremely simplified – nobody ever feels like typing up the minutia after a hard day at the gym.
Those details often prove to be the most important part when it comes to accurate progress charting and effective routine management, though, and your gains will surely benefit from setting aside a few extra minutes each day for the sake of record keeping.
Documenting Your Workouts
Go beyond the basics. Include the amount of time you spend on each type of lift, or break it down even further into total time spent on each part of the body.
Track the amount of time that you spend resting. Make sure to include the actual amount of weight you are lifting.
If you typically stick to the same routine every day, you can make a checklist, but make sure to include room for notes and observations.
Now go even further. Take note of how you feel after each workout. Is anything feeling unusually sore or out of place? How does your energy level vary from day to day? Take pre- and post-workout notes for maximum effectiveness.
You do not have to write a novel, but get in the habit of tracking your attitude as well. Half of the bodybuilding game is about motivation and determination.
Tracking Your Macro Intake
Gains are all about the calories – or are they? Good nutrition is crucial for meeting your goals, you will still need the protein and fat and all that other good stuff, but those values are always so much more difficult to track.
Make a cheat sheet in your journal (more about cheat sheets later in this guide) until you are able to memorize the nutritional values of each ingredient you consume.
Take note of your energy levels at various parts of the day, especially the morning, to ensure you’re your diet is not interfering with your motivation or gains. You may even want to make a note any time you switch up your usual brands or food prep methods.
Adjust your nutrition plan as necessary. Check out these effective weight gain diets from WGN to learn how to calculate the numbers, and get inspiration for building a formal cutting/bulking schedule that fits your body.
Resources to Help You Get Fit
Weight gain journals are not just for charting progress. Since you will have your portfolio with you when eating and working out anyways, you might as well use it to carry around your reference guides and recipes.
We suggest slipping your notebook into a binder that has enough room for the basics:
–Calorie charts for your favorite foods
–Workout routine suggestions from friends and trainers
–Weekly shopping lists for food and supplements
–Posture guides for new exercises you want to try
Don’t try to pack a whole library in your workout binder, but do try to keep information on hand that can make your life easier.
It is far too tempting to skip those Internet searches to tally up your calorie totals or to research proper lifts, but a quick “cheat sheet” can make all the difference – your time is very valuable.
Other Tips to Consider
Consistency is essential. Recordkeeping is only useful if you are collecting enough data to see the big picture.
You need a diverse set of reference points to track down the causes of plateaus, loss of motivation, recurring injury, and other symptoms that may be slowing down your gains.
Careful weight gain journaling allows you to track down the source of the problem so you can stop sacrificing so much time and energy to the symptoms.
Make sure that you are actually reviewing your journal when things go wrong. If you are a visual thinker, you might take some time at the end of the week to plug your numbers into a graph-making program so you can better understand the fruits of your efforts.
Or at the very least, make sure to share your numbers with other bodybuilders and especially your trainer. Accurate advice and feedback requires accurate data.
Once you get in the habit of effective weight gain journaling, you’ll never want to go back to a reliance on guesswork. You have to understand your body before you can master it.
