Training Diaries:
If you are serious about becoming a superstar bodybuilder, it is essential that you keep a faithful and detailed training diary throughout your bodybuilding training. “By keeping a training journal, you will increase your awareness of what you are doing in your bodybuilding,” says three-time Mr. Olympia Frank Zane.
Seven-time Mr. Olympia Arnold Schwarzenegger further stresses the value of maintaining a comprehensive training log, “Write everything down. Unless you take accurate notes about your training and record the results you receive from it, you will have difficulty in determining which training techniques work bet on your unique body.”
Ultimately, you will be successful as a bodybuilder only as a function of how quickly
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I don’t think it would be excessive to review these notes weekly, and certainly you should review all of them each month. This will give you a clear indication of which training routines, exercises, and techniques—to say nothing of which nutritional variable—are working best for you.
Referring to your older records can also be quite inspirational, because they allow you to graphically note your progression in training poundage’s and intensity levels. From day to day or week to week you probably won’t be able to see much progress. But over a period of several months you will be able to see that you have made significant strides. It’s not uncommon for an experienced bodybuilder to gain 50-60 pounds on selected basic movements (e.g., squats, benches) over a one-year period. And when you see results this great, your enthusiasm for each workout will be greatly increased.
At the most basic level you should record the date of each workout, the exercises performed, the weights used in each movement, and the sets and reps performed. You can do this in any type of notebook, particularly in the inexpensive bound ledger books available at office supply stores. Or you can use the convenient Muscle & Fitness Training Diary (contemporary Books, 1982) that I put together for use by serious