Why you should track your workouts

The first thing you do before heading on a long road trip is to program your phone with the route’s directions. You do this so that you stay on the right path and get to where you’re headed in the most efficient way possible.

We view tracking workouts in the same way. It’s the map that guides your training, ensuring that each month is an improvement upon the last. Here are 6 reasons why tracking your workouts is so crucial.

1. Consistency

Ask any experienced lifter and they’ll tell you that the number one marker for success is consistency. It’s important to focus on your form, progressively overload and hit each muscle head equally, sure, but if you aren’t doing this on a regular basis then your progress will be slow.

A training app where you can schedule workouts is the perfect solution to this. When you input your workouts into a calendar and receive notifications when it’s time to train, it’s a lot harder to ignore a scheduled workout.

What’s more, there’s something to be said for the satisfaction gained from filling a calendar with a positive activity like exercise. It’s another reason to tick off a workout and, before you know it, you’ll have taken all of the decision fatigue out of training so you can focus on what matters — lifting.

2. Highlighting imbalances

It’s natural for us to enjoy training a certain muscle group the most. That might be a push session, a big arm day or blitzing your legs. But while it’s fine to have a favourite muscle to exercise, it can lead to imbalances if you then neglect other groups.

Rear delts is a common muscle to get left behind. If you’re training shoulders you might not think to do a reverse fly variant to hit them, and pull sessions can feel long enough without tagging a final exercise on at the end.

But still, it’s important to make time for each muscle group. Not only does it lead to a more complete physique, it can also prevent injury by making sure your body is getting stronger in unison. You don’t want to reach a point where you’re doing a heavy bench press only to find that your shoulders can’t provide the support you need.

Workout apps help this. By examining which exercises you’ve done in a given time period, you can see which muscles you’ve been hitting well and which ones need some more work.

3. Clear progress

It can be tough at times to stay motivated with a fitness schedule. In those moments, it can be a real boost to look at how far you’ve come already and let that be the fuel for your next workout.

Logging your data in a training app generates analytics that track your progress far better than a pen and paper can. From a simulated one-rep-max value to your progress in each movement over time, there’s a wealth of data you can access by simply tracking your workouts.

4. Time efficiency

Once a workout tracking app is set up and tailored to you, it saves a considerable amount of time when training. It can remember the weight you most recently lifted in each movement, build each routine you train and track your rest time.

Simply put, a training app takes the thought process out of your sessions. This makes them easier to stick to, more efficient and ensures nothing gets overlooked.

5. Social training

Even if you workout alone, training doesn’t have to be a solitary experience. There’s an incredibly active (pun intended) gym community on Instagram and other networks, so why not get involved?

Having your progress displayed in an easy-to-share form, like a workout app, makes it easy to share new lifts and how your fitness goals are progressing. Who knows, your actions might even inspire somebody else to put their fitness first and improve their quality of life.

6. Motivation

Making the intentional choice to download a fitness training app can help some people stay consistent with their training in more ways than just the calendar functionality. The act of downloading an app is a clear sign of commitment that you’re going to stay on track. This little reminder is the nudge that some people need if they’re considering slipping back into old routines.

So to say it simply, there are plenty of reasons why using a workout tracking app can support your training. Whether it’s the MuscleSquad Workout Tracker that you use or another platform, as long as you’re moving and putting your fitness first then we’d say that’s what matters.

Happy training. 👊