cross equip - Workout Journal

How you track your training – day by day

You stand at the barbell and can't remember what was on it last week. That is what a workout journal is for. In the Workout Journal every training day gets its own block: weekday, date, workout, strength and technique. Next to that sit three fields in one row: nutrition, sleep, other. At the bottom of the block there is a PR field – for the days when something new went up.

The book holds 190 of these blocks. At three sessions a week that carries you past a full year. At five it lasts around nine months. At the front you write down your goals – for one, three, six and twelve months. Every goal has three fields: start date, target date and the date you actually hit it.

What is in the book before the training pages start

Before the training pages start, 30 movements are illustrated – from the Air Squat to the Medicine Ball Clean. After that come 52 entries for your best lifts: deadlift, snatch, muscle-up, 2k row, ski erg, air bike. Each one with date, reps and weight. The Girls and The New Girls are printed in full – 23 benchmark WODs. Every WOD comes with a description, Rx weights and fields for date and result. After those you get 16 free slots for your own benchmarks. At the back you find the lbs–kg conversion. Next to it sits the 1RM table, from 50 up to 260 kg. It reads off the weights for 2 to 10 reps.

Put the book down on the floor or on a bench and it stays open. You can fold it all the way back, so one hand is enough to write. Chalk on your fingers doesn't get in the way. The inside paper is 115 g – a good deal thicker than the 80 g in your office printer. The cover is heavier again at 300 g and glossy. On the last page you write your name, the start date and the end date. Then the year is on record.