Wow! I can not think of a more boring but important topic as tracking progress. I will keep this short so you don’t fall asleep, unless you want to, then read twice. That should do the trick. All kidding aside, the easiest way to track you progress and make sure you are not spinning your wheels is to keep an exercise journal.
As a former meathead (I use that term affectionately) I thought there was only one way to measure progress, add more weight to the bar! If I am squatting 365 this week, better boost it up to 385 next week. That way I know I am getting stronger. This is dumb on many levels, but give me a break, I was young and compared to most of my thoughts, this was brilliant.
In reality, you can jump weight quickly when starting a new routine. In the short term, 6-8 weeks, you become more efficient and adapted to doing the lift you have been practicing enabling you to lift more. This is not the same as actually getting stronger. This is why so many people, including myself, have sustained injuries when hitting their heavy weeks. You jump weights too quickly and your body is not ready for it.
The same logic applies to endurance sports, bodyweight training, etc.
How do we solve this problem?
We measure and track workload. There is an infinite way you can define workload but only a few are necessary for keeping a journal.
Total weight per exercise and per workout our my favorite. The equation is weight X reps. If you do 10 dips and you weigh 100 lbs, your total workload for that set is 1,000 lbs. Do 3 more sets for a total of 4 sets and 40 reps, your workload is 4,000 lbs. A big realization when you start looking at your workouts this way is that it is much easier to increase your overall workload by adding one more set or 2 extra reps per set as opposed to adding weight to the bar. Doesn't look as cool, but no one is really paying attention anyway.
A quick example of the math:
3 sets of 5 deadlifts at 300 lbs = a workload of 4,500lbs.
Add 25 lbs to the bar and do the 3X5 set/rep combo and your workload is now = 4,875 lbs. Compare that to adding one additional set of the original 300 lbs, 4X5 @300 and your new workload is 6,000 lbs! That is a huge difference.
Working to increase your workload over time is safer and more effective. It also is much more satisfying to look at your total workload. The picture below is a sample of a spread sheet that I use on my iPad to track progress by looking at workload. It is simple to make with any spreadsheet program or app. If you would like a copy of mine for reference, shoot me an e-mail at outdoorfitnessproject@gmail.com and I will send to you for free.
Page out of an exercise journal I created using Numbers on the IPad.
Another common methods used to measure workload is amount of weight lifted over time. For example 1,000 lbs lifted in 10 minutes is a greater workload than 1,000 lbs lifted in 15 minutes. This type of increase in workload can also be considered a more intense workout. Like I said earlier, there are thousands of ways to go about defining and measuring workload.
Don’t overthink it, just track total weight lifted. If you do this consistently, you will be doing more than 99% (just made that up, but probably true) of fitness enthusiast out there. Add in consistency of effort and you will be unstoppable!! Take action, start your fitness journal and go increase your workload!!