What should you write in a workout log? One line per lift: weight, reps for each set, how close to failure the last set was (RPE), and what you plan to do next time. Add the date and the lift name and that is the whole log. The last two items are the ones that matter. If your log keeps reps set by set and ends with a next target, it can run your training. If it doesn't, it is a diary.
Most people who quit logging don't quit because writing is a chore. They quit because they never read it back. Two months of notes that don't change what you do on Monday are not worth the effort, and sooner or later you stop. This guide goes past the field list. You get a template you can copy today, the conventions for logging sets that go sideways, and a four-step routine for reading your last entry and setting today's weight.
Why most workout logs get abandoned
Search for how to track workouts and you get the same article repeatedly: date, exercise, weight, reps, sets, notes, "be consistent." The fields are right. But plenty of people fill them in faithfully for two months and still stall. Three habits tend to be behind it.
The entries are summaries. "Bench, 60kg (132 lb), 3 sets" throws away the one detail that matters, which is how many reps each set had. Someone who got 9, 9, 8 and someone who got 8, 8, 8 are in different places and should do different things next. An average can't tell you which.
The log is written from memory. Fill it in at home that evening and you remember that the last set felt rough but not the actual number. Wrong numbers pile up and eventually you own a log you can't trust.
There is no reading routine. A "next target" column sounds helpful, but if nothing says how you arrived at that number, you are guessing in a nicer font. Without a procedure for turning last session into today's plan, the log is storage.
All three come down to one idea. A workout log isn't a record of the past. It is the input for your next session. The rest of this guide follows from that.
The job of a log: feeding progressive overload
Progressive overload is doing slightly more than you did last time. To know what "slightly more" means today, you need last time's exact numbers. Whether to load 62.5kg (138 lb) or stay at 60kg for one more rep shouldn't come from how you remember last Wednesday. The log decides. The rule for choosing what to add is laid out with numbers in our progressive overload guide. That article covers what to raise and by how much. This one covers how to write down and read the material that decision runs on.
Treating the log as an input puts three demands on it:
- Numbers are stored per set, not per exercise.
- Last session's line for the same lift can be found during the workout in seconds.
- The entry ends with a next target.
A template that meets those three is all you need. Charts, photos and decoration are optional extras. This one covers training data only.
What to write in a workout log: six fields
The date goes once per session, so the per-lift list is six fields.
| Field | What goes in it | Example | Why it earns its place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lift | The exercise name, spelled the same every time | Bench press | If the name drifts, you can't find your last entry. |
| Weight | What you actually lifted (kg). Decide once whether the bar counts | 60 | The base for both volume and jumps. |
| Reps | Written set by set | 9 / 9 / 8 | Your add-weight condition is "every set," so you need each one. |
| Sets | Working sets only, warm-ups excluded | 3 | Adding a set is another way to progress. |
| RPE | How much was left in the tank after each set | 8 / 9 / 9 | Separates an easy 9 from a grinder. |
| Next target | Weight x reps x sets for the next session | 60 x 9 x 3 | Finishes next session's decision while the details are fresh. |
If you want one more column, keep it to a short note. "Spotter helped on set 3" or "rack moved a notch" is the kind of thing that gives context when you come back to the same weight. Meals, sleep and mood columns are where logs get long and then get dropped, so they stay out of this one.
If six columns sounds like a lot, start with three: weight, reps per set, next target. The lift and the date are obvious from where the line sits, and you can add RPE two weeks in. A short log you keep up beats a perfect one you abandon.
A workout log template you can copy
Paste this into a notes app, a spreadsheet or a notebook. One session is one table and one lift is one line. Reps for each set sit on a single line separated by slashes, so the line count stays flat.
Blank template
Date: ____ Session: ____
Lift | Weight (kg) | Reps (per set) | RPE (per set) | Next target
_____ | ______ | ___/___/___ | ___/___/___ | ______
_____ | ______ | ___/___/___ | ___/___/___ | ______
Notes (optional): ______
Filled-in example (a push day)
| Lift | Weight (kg) | Reps (per set) | RPE (per set) | Next target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bench press | 60 (132 lb) | 9 / 9 / 8 | 8 / 9 / 9 | 60 x 9 x 3 (get the 9 on set 3) |
| Overhead press | 35 (77 lb) | 8 / 8 / 8 | 8 / 8 / 9 | 35 x 9 x 3 |
| Incline dumbbell press | 22 (49 lb) | 10 / 10 / 9 | 8 / 9 / 9 | 22 x 10 x 3 |
| Cable pushdown | 25 (55 lb) | 12 / 12 / 12 | 7 / 8 / 8 | 27.5 (61 lb) x 10 x 3 (top of range, weight goes up) |
Two things to notice. First, the reps column. Bench at 9 / 9 / 8 is not an average. It is set-by-set fact, and the 8 on the last set is exactly what produced the next target of 60 x 9 x 3. Second, the last column. The cable pushdown hit 12 on every set, the top of its range, so the next target has more weight and drops back to 10 reps. Fill in the next target the moment the session ends. That is when you remember it best.
How to log sets when reps vary or a set stops short
Reps will differ from set to set, so a few conventions save you from a log you can't decode a week later.
When reps differ, write them as they happened. 9 / 9 / 8, in set order. The goal is to see which set was the weak one.
When weight changes within the session, pair each set. If you hit a top set and then back off, write 60x8, 55x10 (121 lb), one weight-by-reps pair per set, separated by commas. Don't write "various" in the weight column.
When a set fails, record the number and the fact. If the target was 9 and you stopped at 7, write "7 (failed)." A bare 7 doesn't tell you whether you stopped on purpose or ran out. Likewise mark reps you got with help apart from unassisted ones, such as "8+1 (assisted)," so your comparison stays honest.
Leave warm-ups out of working sets. Counting them lengthens every line and muddies the comparison. Skip them or jot them in notes, but don't count them in the set total. Whatever you pick, keep it, because changing the rule midstream breaks every earlier comparison.
Fix your bar convention once. Total load with the bar included or plates only, either works. A convention that changes halfway turns the same number into a different weight.
How to record RPE: how many reps were left
A 60kg set of 9 can be easy one day and barely survivable the next. Reps alone hide that difference. RPE (rate of perceived exertion) is the column that captures it, as one number per set.
Keep the method simple. Right after you rack the weight, ask: "How many more reps could I have done?" Then convert with this table.
| Reps left | RPE | What it felt like |
|---|---|---|
| 0 (couldn't do another) | 10 | Max effort. |
| 1 | 9 | One more was possible. |
| 2 | 8 | Some room left. |
| 3 or more | 7 or lower | A light set. |
Expect to be inaccurate at first. People both hold back when they could have continued and overrate how much they had left. Accuracy matters less than using the same yardstick every time. After a few weeks, your own scale settles.
RPE works as a supporting signal for the weight decision. Say every set reached the top of your range but the last set was an RPE 10. You were at the limit, and you could reasonably repeat the weight once more before jumping. If you hit the target at RPE 7, you can stop worrying about next session's increase. This is context, not a second rule. The condition for adding weight stays "every set hits its target."
How to read your log: from last line to today's weight
This is the part most guides skip. Filling in the template is half the job. The other half is reading the previous line before the session and setting today's numbers. There are four steps.
- Find the most recent line for the same lift. If you skipped it last time, take the nearest earlier entry.
- Look at the lowest rep count across the sets. The minimum is what counts, not the average.
- Compare that minimum to the target. If every set met the target, move up one notch. If any set fell short, repeat the same target.
- Check RPE as a tiebreaker. If the last set was a 9 or 10, consider confirming once more before adding.
Here it is with numbers. The target is 60kg for 9 reps x 3 sets, the jump is 2.5kg (5.5 lb), and the rep range is 8 to 10.
| Date | Weight | Reps | RPE | Next target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 5 (Mon) | 60kg | 9 / 9 / 8 | 8 / 9 / 9 | 60 x 9 x 3 |
| Oct 7 (Wed) | 60kg | 9 / 9 / 9 | 8 / 9 / 9 | 60 x 10 x 3 |
| Oct 9 (Fri) | 60kg | 10 / 10 / 9 | 8 / 9 / 10 | 60 x 10 x 3 |
On the Oct 5 line, the lowest value is the 8 on the final set. That missed the target of 9, so the plan for Oct 7 is the same 60 x 9 x 3. On Oct 7 you got 9 / 9 / 9, every set met the target, so the goal moves to 10 reps. On Oct 9 you got 10 / 10 / 9, one short on the last set, and the last-set RPE of 10 says you were at your limit. Repeat 60 x 10 x 3. When a session finally shows 10 on every set, the weight goes to 62.5kg (138 lb) and the target resets to 8. The whole read takes about a minute before you start.
The log works here as evidence, not a calculator. Because the line holds set-by-set reps and RPE, "should I try more today?" becomes "I stalled on the last set on Oct 9, so I run the same target again." For the jump sizes and rep ranges behind this, use the tables in the progressive overload guide as they are.
When and where to write: right after each set, and which tool
The best time to log is after each lift, not after the whole session. Writing everything at the end means the first lifts fade first. Rest between sets runs one to three minutes, which is enough to jot the weight and reps of the set you just finished. RPE is only accurate while the feeling is fresh, so it is the one column you shouldn't batch up for later.
You have three realistic tool choices. Any of them works if it meets the three conditions from earlier: per-set records, quick access to last session's line, and a next-target slot.
| Tool | Strengths | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Paper notebook | No battery, fast once it's habit. | You flip pages to find last time, and trends are hard to see. |
| Notes app or spreadsheet | The template pastes in cleanly and is searchable. | Pulling up last session is manual and gets longer to scroll. |
| Dedicated workout app | Many show last time beside the input field. | Each works differently, and some require an account or subscription, so check before you commit. |
The deciding test is a single question: before today's workout, can you find last session's set-by-set numbers in ten seconds? If paper passes, stay on paper. If it doesn't, change tools. People expect a new tool to change their log, but it only changes how much it costs to find the previous line. The lower that cost, the longer the reading habit lasts.
Progro puts this routine inside the app
Everything above is one loop: log sets, read the last line, write the next target. Progro is a workout log app built around that loop. Start a routine and each set already holds its target weight and reps. Change them to what you did and check the set off. After the session, each exercise lines up the previous session against today, set by set, so you can see how each lift moved. In Set Targets (Pro), sets that hit their target carry today's numbers into the next workout, which is the "next target" column of the template. Memos stay with each exercise for next time, and the rest timer shows on the lock screen through a Live Activity.
There are no ads, no account, no cloud, and data stays on your phone. It is a one-time $2.99 purchase, not a subscription.
FAQ
I don't really know what RPE is. Should I leave it blank?
Leaving it blank for the first week or two is fine. The cure for "I can't tell" is a fixed question, not more experience. Right after the last rep of a set, ask how many more you could have done, and write that down the same way every time. Within a few weeks you will see how the same weight feels different from day to day.
What if I missed a few sessions, or trained without logging?
Leave those days blank and pick up from the next session you record. Filling gaps from memory puts a wrong number into your rule, and a wrong input is worse than none. Always compare against the most recent session you logged accurately.
How many lines should a day of logging take if I want to keep it up?
One line per lift. Write the set-by-set numbers on that line separated by slashes, and a five-lift session is five lines. The moment entry feels like work, logs tend to die, so when in doubt cut a field instead of adding one.
