Whether new to training or not, there are varied ways that people write out workouts. The detail varies, especially when writing our own workouts, as we generally know our personal variables. However, there are some key pieces of information that you should be aware of on a workout, whether, you wrote it, your coach wrote it, or it’s the school’s/department’s training plan.
First, let’s look at an example of a simple workout you might write for yourself
Monday | ||
Bench Press | 5x5 |
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Flys | 3x10 |
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Tricep Extensions | 3x10 |
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What information do we have? The day of the week, the exercise, how many set’s and repetitions, and a space to record weights used.
What are missing? Rest times, weights to be used, and intensity (How difficult was it).
These are not necessary items for your workout, but coming up with a solid training plan can go along way in achieving your goals. Now we can look at a sample day from a training plan.
Monday | ||||
Exercise | Sets/Reps | Weight | Rest time | Notes |
Bench Press | 6x3 | 154#/90%/RPE8 | 3-5mins |
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Lat Pull Down | 4x6 | 140#/80% | 2-3mins |
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DB Incline | 4x6 | 40# | 2mins |
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Flys | 4x8 | 30# | 2mins |
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Reverse Hyper | 4x15 | 90# | 2mins |
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As we look at this training day, we have a very clear cut plan; everything is laid out. We have the exercise: Bench Press; the sets/reps, the weight (and a percentage based off of 1 rep max, with a RPE option), rest times, and notes.
The notes section can either be coach notes, or you record about the workout. Coach notes might include cues, a specific piece of a equipment, or a tempo for the lift.
Generally, percentages and/or RPE are going to used for main movements. Weights would be prescribed for accessory movements. If we use our notes properly, tracking notes about the set, how certain things felt, etc., we can use that data to make meaningful changes to reach our goals. Meaningful data leads to meaningful change.
What are some key pieces of data that you like to track in your training?
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