--- title: "Exercise workout log: what to record every session" description: "What to put in a workout log, set by set: the core fields, the optional ones, cardio, a template you can copy, and a weekly review that sets the next session." url: "https://www.moodwell.ai/the-whole-picture/tracking/what-to-record-in-a-workout-log" --- 1. [Home](https://www.moodwell.ai/) 2. [The Whole Picture](https://www.moodwell.ai/the-whole-picture) 3. [Everyday tracking](https://www.moodwell.ai/the-whole-picture/tracking) 4. Log what changes the next session [Everyday tracking](https://www.moodwell.ai/the-whole-picture/tracking)8 min read # Exercise workout log: what to record every session What to put in a workout log, set by set: the core fields, the optional ones, cardio, a template you can copy, and a weekly review that sets the next session. [![Portrait of Tomas Rivera, an AI coach persona](https://www.moodwell.ai/images/coaches/tomas.webp)By Tomas RiveraMoodwell AI coach · Practical and matter of fact](https://www.moodwell.ai/the-whole-picture/voices/tomas) Archive: Nov 2, 2026Updated Nov 2, 2026 ![A dumbbell, folded workout towel, and sand timer on a limestone plinth](https://www.moodwell.ai/images/picture/fitness.webp) Editorial illustration In this article [The short answer](https://www.moodwell.ai/the-whole-picture/tracking/what-to-record-in-a-workout-log#the-short-answer)[What is a workout log actually for?](https://www.moodwell.ai/the-whole-picture/tracking/what-to-record-in-a-workout-log#what-it-is-for)[Notebook, spreadsheet or app: which format fits?](https://www.moodwell.ai/the-whole-picture/tracking/what-to-record-in-a-workout-log#format)[What fields should a strength log include for every set?](https://www.moodwell.ai/the-whole-picture/tracking/what-to-record-in-a-workout-log#fields)[How do you set up a template you will keep filling in?](https://www.moodwell.ai/the-whole-picture/tracking/what-to-record-in-a-workout-log#template)[How do you log cardio and bodyweight work?](https://www.moodwell.ai/the-whole-picture/tracking/what-to-record-in-a-workout-log#cardio-and-bodyweight)[Should your workout log and food log live together?](https://www.moodwell.ai/the-whole-picture/tracking/what-to-record-in-a-workout-log#food-and-workouts)[How do you review the log to set the next session?](https://www.moodwell.ai/the-whole-picture/tracking/what-to-record-in-a-workout-log#weekly-review)[Sources & further reading](https://www.moodwell.ai/the-whole-picture/tracking/what-to-record-in-a-workout-log#sources)[Questions, answered](https://www.moodwell.ai/the-whole-picture/tracking/what-to-record-in-a-workout-log#article-questions) Copy article link Less app-switching. More context. Meet the four layers of Moodwell.[Explore the app](https://www.moodwell.ai/product) The short answer ## What should an exercise workout log record? An exercise workout log records each working set: the exercise and its variation, the set number, the reps and the load. Add effort, rest and a short note when they explain a result. The point is the next session. Every entry should help you decide whether to add weight, add a rep or hold steady. A workout log is a dated record of what you did: the exercise, the weight, the reps, the distance or the time. You can keep it in a notebook, a spreadsheet or an app. The container matters less than what goes in it. Treat it as a decision record, not a diary of effort. Each entry exists so the next session starts with an instruction: add a little weight, repeat last week, or ease off because sleep and side effects were rough. If you are on a GLP-1, that record also tells you whether strength is holding while your weight changes. ## What is a workout log actually for? Progressive overload only works if you know what you lifted last time. The [American College of Sports Medicine’s position stand on resistance training](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19204579/) suggests adding load once you can do one or two reps more than your target. You can’t apply that rule from memory for long. The log supplies the number. So here is the test for any field you are tempted to add. If it never changes what you do next session, leave it out. That keeps the log short enough to fill in, which matters more than making it complete. ## Notebook, spreadsheet or app: which format fits? A notebook has no setup. Open it, write the set, done. The cost shows up months later: you can’t search it or back it up, and a soaked page is gone. A spreadsheet is searchable and can total your weekly volume, but typing on a phone keyboard between sets is slow enough that entries get skipped. An app is fastest during the session and backs itself up. It can also keep your training in the same account as your food, dose and symptom records. The catch is that the fuller versions are usually subscriptions. How the three formats compare | Format | Logging effort | Backup | Sits with your other records | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Notebook | Lowest | None | Only if you write everything in it | | Spreadsheet | High on a phone | Manual, or cloud sync | Only if you build it | | App | Low | Automatic | Depends on the app | Whichever you pick, the fields below matter more. If you are still choosing a program, the [guide to choosing a workout program template](https://www.moodwell.ai/guides/choose-workout-program-template) covers that part. ## What fields should a strength log include for every set? One row per working set. The core fields are the exercise, its variation, the set number, the reps and the load. Variation matters more than people expect. An incline dumbbell press and a flat dumbbell press are different lifts, so give them separate entries. Otherwise a stall in your numbers won’t tell you which version stalled. - Load and reps tell you whether to add weight or add a rep next time. - Effort tells you whether there was room to add anything at all. You can rate it as RPE, from 1 to 10, or as reps in reserve: how many more good reps you could have done. - Rest time explains why the same weight felt harder on a day you rushed between sets. - A short note catches what the numbers can’t: poor sleep, a tight hip, low energy the day after an injection. On a GLP-1, holding your strength is part of the point. The [joint nutrition advisory published by the Obesity Society and partner organizations](https://obesity.org/nutritional-priorities-to-support-glp-1-therapy-for-obesity) lists adequate protein and strength training to preserve lean mass among its priorities. A log is how you see whether that is happening. ![Moodwell asking how many more reps could have been done on the last set, with answers from 0 to 4 or more.](https://www.moodwell.ai/images/product/showcase/effort-prompt.png) Moodwell asks for effort as reps in reserve after a movement’s last set, and the answer sizes the next suggested weight. Sample data from a Moodwell demo account. ## How do you set up a template you will keep filling in? Pre-fill everything that repeats: the planned exercises, sets and rep targets. Leave blanks only for what varies, meaning the weight and reps you actually did and a one-word note. If you have to write out every exercise name each time, you will stop by week two. On paper, that means copying last week’s page. In an app, check that it can start a session from a saved routine with last time’s numbers already showing. A minimal template: Date | Exercise | Planned sets × reps | Actual weight × reps | Note. One example row: Tue | Squat | 3 × 8 | 95 × 8, 95 × 7, 95 × 6 | tired. If your template needs scrolling, cut it. In Moodwell, a saved routine is the pre-filled template. Each set shows the same set from your last session in a Prev column, the starting weight comes from your last session, and you change whatever is different today. There is one note per workout, not one per set, so write the context there. ![The Moodwell workout logger on the first of three circuit movements, with last session’s sets beside today’s starting weight.](https://www.moodwell.ai/images/product/showcase/circuit-drawer.png) The Moodwell logger with last session’s sets in the Prev column beside today’s starting weight. Sample data from a Moodwell demo account. If you are comparing dedicated strength apps on this point, we looked at [how Hevy, Strong and Fitbod handle it](https://www.moodwell.ai/the-whole-picture/compare/hevy-vs-strong-vs-fitbod). ## How do you log cardio and bodyweight work? Lifts come with a built-in progress number, the weight on the bar. Cardio and bodyweight work don’t, so you log different fields. For cardio, record duration, distance and average heart rate, and work out the pace. Pace at a similar heart rate is a fairer comparison than pace alone, which can just mean you pushed harder on a good day. A note that only says “30 min run” won’t tell you anything next week. For push-ups, squats or pull-ups, log the variation, reps per set and rest. Progress can mean a harder variation, a slower tempo, shorter rests or more clean reps. **What Moodwell records for cardio** The Moodwell logger records weight and reps, or weight and distance in metres for movements measured by distance. It doesn’t time intervals or record heart rate during a session. Workouts synced from Health Connect show in your history with their duration, distance, calories and heart rate when the source recorded them. ## Should your workout log and food log live together? On a GLP-1 there is a stronger case than usual. Appetite drops, so protein is easy to under-eat, and you want to know whether a heavy session landed on a low-protein day. Nausea and fatigue are among the common side effects listed in the [Wegovy prescribing information](https://www.novo-pi.com/wegovy.pdf), so a flat session may have more to do with the week than the program. Moodwell keeps workouts, food, doses with injection site, symptoms, weight and mood check-ins in one account, and it can import past injections, weights and symptoms from a Shotsy export. You review each part in its own layer, so you can open the same dates in each. It doesn’t work out the connections for you. That part is still your weekly review. Separate apps still make sense when one job needs depth. Cronometer tracks far more micronutrients, and a dedicated strength app may suit you better if barbell programming is the main thing you care about. If you are opening three apps a day and cross-referencing them from memory, putting them together is worth it. If one specialist app earns its place every day, keep it. ## How do you review the log to set the next session? A log nobody reads is an archive. Give it ten minutes once a week. In a [meta-regression of 122 healthy eating and physical activity interventions](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19916637/), self-monitoring explained more of the difference between interventions than any other technique. It worked best paired with a related technique such as setting goals or reviewing them, which is what the weekly review adds. 1. Load. If a lift’s top weight hasn’t moved in three weeks, change the program before you blame your effort. 2. Effort. If a weight that used to leave one rep in reserve now leaves three, you can progress sooner. 3. Missed sessions. If the misses cluster on the same days, such as the day after your injection, that is a scheduling problem. Move the session. Then make one change, not five. Add a little weight to one lift, move one session, or adjust one meal. Write it at the top of next week so the log sets the plan instead of just recording it. ![A Moodwell exercise history listing each session’s top set, estimated one-rep max, and rep change.](https://www.moodwell.ai/images/product/showcase/exercise-history-results.png) One movement’s history in Moodwell, with each session’s top set and estimated one-rep max. Sample data from a Moodwell demo account. **Patterns are for discussion, not dose changes** If your strength drops around a dose increase, note it and bring it to your prescriber. A pattern in your own log isn’t proof of a cause, and it isn’t a reason to change your dose on your own. Follow the evidence ## Sources & further reading 1. [American College of Sports Medicine (2009): Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19204579/) 2. [Michie et al. (2009): Effective techniques in healthy eating and physical activity interventions, a meta-regression](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19916637/) 3. [The Obesity Society: Nutritional priorities to support GLP-1 therapy for obesity](https://obesity.org/nutritional-priorities-to-support-glp-1-therapy-for-obesity) 4. [Novo Nordisk: Wegovy prescribing information](https://www.novo-pi.com/wegovy.pdf) Product features and offers can change. Check the linked source for its current details. About this voice ## Tomas Rivera Tomas Rivera is a Moodwell AI persona with a practical and matter of fact style. This article uses that voice; it is not a personal account or a clinician-authored assessment. [More from Tomas](https://www.moodwell.ai/the-whole-picture/voices/tomas) First published Nov 2, 2026. Updated Nov 2, 2026. [How we write and date articles](https://www.moodwell.ai/the-whole-picture/editorial). Put it into practice ## Start each session from the last one Log sets from a saved routine, see last session beside today’s, and review each movement’s history. [Explore workout tracking](https://www.moodwell.ai/fitness/workout-tracker) A little more context ## Questions, answered **How long should logging a workout take?** Aim for well under a minute per exercise. Pre-fill the exercises, sets and rep targets so you only enter the weight and reps you actually did, plus a word or two of notes. If an entry takes longer, the template has too many fields. **What is the best workout log for beginners on paper?** A plain notebook with one row per set: date, exercise, planned sets and reps, actual weight and reps, and a short note. Copy last week’s page so the exercise names are already there. Paper is the quickest to start, but it can’t be searched or backed up. **Can I log workouts and meals in the same place?** Yes, and on a GLP-1 it helps. Appetite suppression makes protein easy to under-eat, and seeing food beside training shows whether a hard session landed on a low-protein day. Add a note about nausea or energy on the same day. **How do I track workouts on a GLP-1 when fatigue varies week to week?** Note fatigue, nausea and appetite next to the session, then look for patterns in your weekly review. Misses that cluster around injection day are a scheduling problem you can fix. A strength drop that lines up with a dose change is worth raising with your prescriber. **Do I need to log warm-up sets?** Working sets are the ones you compare week to week, so they matter most. If you log warm-ups, mark them as warm-ups. In Moodwell, a set marked Warm-up stays in the log but never counts toward personal records. Keep exploring ## Another piece of the picture. Everyday trackingOct 5, 2026 ### [Progressive overload: should you add reps or add weight?](https://www.moodwell.ai/the-whole-picture/tracking/progressive-overload-without-guessing) Progress a lift by adding reps or weight, use reps in reserve to size the next step, and see how Moodwell fills in your next starting weight. [Sofia MarchettiAI coach](https://www.moodwell.ai/the-whole-picture/voices/sofia)6 min read Everyday trackingOct 5, 2026 ### [How do you know if your training is working?](https://www.moodwell.ai/the-whole-picture/tracking/is-my-training-working) Check attendance, completed work and comparable lifts in that order, then read strength estimates with their limits before deciding your training is not working. [Idris BelloAI coach](https://www.moodwell.ai/the-whole-picture/voices/idris)6 min read ComparisonsJul 13, 2026 ### [Hevy vs Strong vs Fitbod: choose the job before the app](https://www.moodwell.ai/the-whole-picture/compare/hevy-vs-strong-vs-fitbod) Compare Hevy, Strong and Fitbod by workout logging, routine control, social features, generated plans and the subscription you actually need. [Marcus VanceAI coach](https://www.moodwell.ai/the-whole-picture/voices/marcus)5 min read [Back to The Whole Picture](https://www.moodwell.ai/the-whole-picture)