In last week’s Fitness Friday we talked about setting attainable goals. Now that you have your goal in mind it is time to start working towards it. One key to success is recording your progress along the way. The process of recording not only allows you to see how far you have come, but it also keeps you honest with your progress.
Below you will find different ways to keep track of your fitness progress:
Create a Fitness Journal- You can buy an inexpensive notebook and simply record your fitness efforts. Make sure you include the following information: date, time of day and/or temperature, how you felt, how much time you spent, how far you went or how many reps you performed
Use a Calendar-Record the information listed above in your daily calendar. This is a good solution if you have calendar that has a page for each day where you have room to record more details.
Use an Online Service- There are many fabulous online fitness tracking services. Many of them are similar to social sites and allow you to interact with others who have similar fitness goals. A few of my favorites are:
Sparkpeople.com– This site offers not only fitness tracking, but diet plans, calorie counters, etc. They also have many diet and fitness related articles for you to read. You can use their forums to connect to others who share your fitness goals or live near you.
DailyMile.com-This is one of my favorites. You record your fitness activity and can see what other friends are doing as well. They have fun stats like how many TVs you could have powered or how many doughnuts you have burned.
MapMyRun.com/MapMyRide.com-These sites not only allow you to track your workouts, but they have a mapping service that allows you to use satellite style maps to create running/walking/baking routes and know exactly the distance you will be going.
Mobile Phone Apps-If you have a smart phone, you can download apps for your phone that will help you track this information. The MapMyRun family of sites offers apps for Blackberry, Android and iPhone platforms. Search your app stores for the app that works best for you
Once you have recorded your workouts for a couple of weeks, go back and read how you felt and what you have accomplished. You will be amazed at your progress. And that will turn in to motivation to keep going.
