Training planning is one of the fundamental pillars that will ensure results. Why? It avoids wasting time, maintains motivation by observing progress, can be easily corrected, and gives us a much broader focus on our training. Observing a routine, we only see our plan for a few weeks, it takes away a vision of the future that is totally necessary when we want to obtain results.
In this article we will explain some guidelines that every training notebook should follow to fulfill its function. It is a publication in parallel with our #Training Challenge that will help us keep track of our evolution. However, it is useful for any athlete.
Fundamental aspects of a training notebook
We will list the fundamental aspects, in the successive sections they will be explained in more detail:
- Notes of sensations and difficulties.
- Future projection in the medium / long term.
- Representation of the progression from several different points (example: progression of marks, progression of body measurements, progression of sensations …).
- Important events.
- objectives
Of course it can include many more aspects, however these 5 are what make a normal notebook a good and useful training notebook. Keeping track of your training is not difficult and from Training.com we will always try to facilitate your task so that it is more comfortable and you obtain better results.
Notes of sensations and difficulties
It is likely that you remember your training a week ago, however it is just as likely that you do not remember the one you did one or more months ago. These sensations and difficulties cannot always be corrected in the same training session, but they can be solved by thinking cold, meditating and consulting information from home.
A note as simple as “Today I had soreness, I could not lift the established weight” becomes gold if you know how to handle a training notebook. How? Watching the training from the outside, on paper. For example, if that note appears repeatedly on Tuesday, it means that Monday’s training is weighing us down too much and that we should reduce its volume or intensity to perform better.
Does it support a single interpretation? Of course not, that same point could be given in this case: our athlete trains on Monday without having trained since the previous Thursday, on Tuesday he goes to his training and suffers from soreness. Does this mean you should reduce the intensity or volume of your Monday workout? Possibly not! If I did not have a follow-up I would correct badly , thinking only about the training of the previous day when, in reality, the problem is not that. The real problem is that between two workouts there are 96 hours of rest, something clearly excessive! The body adapts to rest and when you return to training it responds with a signal of untraining: stiffness.
Summary: Notes are essential when correcting training plans. When the moment of truth arrives, the time to carry out a training, what has been planned on a paper is theoretical and not always applicable, the notes help us to find those errors and find a way to solve them.
Future projection in the medium / long term
Training for a “now” and improvising on the fly is the best way to waste time in the gym or on the track. What’s more, not even a one or two month routine will prevent this from happening, as there is no large-scale view of training.
Training is not based on just one physical quality. For example, many people plan their workouts based on a hypertrophy routine for a month. When they finish the routine, they look for another and continue training. Is this correct? Simply no.
Do not worry since I will never tell you that something is not correct without explaining why: both strength or bodybuilding training and that of any other sports discipline train different physical qualities for seasons. For example, in bodybuilding there are periods of hypertrophy, strength and power (for simplicity), in cycling there are periods for one type of terrain or another, etc. If we simplify the training to do a succession of routines without rhyme or reason, we will weigh down any of the necessary physical qualities.
It is mandatory to do a planning in the medium / long term about what to do if you really want to obtain decent results . Do not expect miracles by simply varying the exercises in your routine, without training strength you will never achieve good hypertrophy. This planning must take into account all the necessary physical qualities and program them throughout the training plan. This is called periodization .
Representation of progression
We are not going to fool ourselves, if we do not notice progress we abandon what we are doing, it is that simple. Progression and motivation always go hand in hand, so it is extremely important that we know how to measure our progress, but not in any way, if not from different points of view.
If your representation of progression is based on looking in a mirror to see if you are better, you are making several mistakes: you cannot measure fluid retention, you cannot measure your strength gains, you cannot see your resistance to training, etc. Although this observation in the mirror is necessary, we do not have to stop there.
Our training notebook should always include our personal marks or RMs, that is, the highest number of repetitions with which we have been able to do with a certain weight in an exercise in bodybuilding or time in doing a certain distance in athletics or swimming. It is a simple and highly effective way to measure our progress. Likewise, it is important to remember that not only must there be maximum weight records, there must also be records for the maximum number of repetitions with a given weight, records for the maximum number of series with a given rest time, etc.
However, this method fails in specific cases. In the world of bodybuilding, the “aesthetic” result ends up being more important, seeing the changes in our body. The most reliable method to see this progress, without a doubt, is by taking measurements periodically. I use a system that I recommend to all of you, especially those who are doing the #Training Challenge:
- Before changing our routine : we weigh ourselves, we take our body measurements (at the end I will comment which are the most representative) and, if we have the necessary instruments, we measure our% of body fat.
- During the routine : we weigh ourselves every 7 days, always fasting after having used the bathroom.
- Every month : we take our body measurements again and measure our% body fat.
What body measurements are the most representative of aesthetic progress?
All measurements will be taken in a state of muscle relaxation unless otherwise indicated.
- Neck: around the neck.
- Shoulders: distance between both shoulders.
- Chest: measured at the level of the nipple, surrounding our chest and back.
- Arm: measured at the height of the highest point of the biceps when exerting force.
- Waist: measured at the narrowest area at the end of the torso.
- Hip: with feet together, measured at the widest point of the hips.
- Leg: measured at mid-thigh, encircling the leg.
- Calf: measured in the widest area of the calf, surrounding the calf.
Important events
Any athlete or sportsperson must know in which events they want to compete that season in order to plan training based on the given date. We must always keep these events in our head since they represent an end to our training and, therefore, the result obtained in it will influence our motivation.
In the specific case of bodybuilding, there are no events as such unless you are professionally dedicated to bodybuilding. However, there are some “dates” that usually mark a change in training. A date widely used in bodybuilding to change diet and training is summer , where a few months before the definition period begins for aesthetic reasons.
objectives
Every action is done for a purpose . The same method can lead two people to different objectives and it is the fulfillment of these that ends up determining whether a person continues doing what they do. For this reason, you must always set goals for both the short and long term. In addition, important events are closely related to the objectives set (classifications, participation, etc.).
But do not be fooled by appearances, an unrealistic objective can be even more harmful than not having a clear objective.
What is an unrealistic goal?
- The one that is raised before making a training plan is always an unrealistic goal. You cannot set a goal without even knowing where the road is going to theoretically go.
- Those long-term goals that are taken as short-term goals (example: for someone starting in the world of the marathon, wanting to make a good mark in the Madrid Marathon is a long-term goal. Taking it as a short-term goal deadline is setting an unrealistic goal.
- Wanting to look like someone . Not only in the world of bodybuilding, but also in any other sports discipline. No two people are the same, each with their strengths and weaknesses, so we must know how to take advantage of our own strengths to reach the final goal.
- Set a goal without taking into account your own physical, social and personal limitations. Someone who studies at the university and attends academies cannot set a large-scale objective because they do not have enough time.
- A long etcetera, however those are the most common cases.
Is there a “Best” format for a training notebook?
No, it does not exist. The format can be digital (in word, excel, notepad, specific programs, etc.) or non-digital (in folios, notebook, folder, etc.) and there is no “best” because what is comfortable for some is uncomfortable for others. If the format is not comfortable, no one is going to use a training notebook, it is that simple.
Choose the way that is most comfortable for you, since it will end up being the most effective . In my personal case, I use folios with millions of studs for training schedules and excel tables for progression representations.
Remember, having a training notebook is the easiest way to get better long-term results .
