Road To Nationals 4

Road to Nationals 4: Why do I need a training log?

Craig Gilbert

Once upon a time I used to just lift weights without any real thought as to how I was performing or what I needed to focus on. It was a simpler time, but like all weightlifting children I would eventually grow up to be a weightlifting adult, with all the responsibilities that a weightlifting adult has. Responsibilities like improving my form and increasing the weight on the bar, and taking ownership of my own progress.

Eventually I went off to weightlifting school, where I quickly discovered a major difference between me and all the other weightlifting kids (who were all better than me btw) – these other kids all had training logs, while I had none. They would perform a set, the coach would make a comment or two, and these kids would immediately write something down in their books. Then they would perform another set, and their mistakes would seem to vanish. What magic was this? As it turns out, they were all using a training log.

If your goal is to progress as a weightlifter and to make the most efficient use of your training time as you can, then the use of a training log is mandatory! This is a page from my book (but I don’t expect anyone to be able to read those scribbles):

While what you record in your book is ultimately up to you, I would consider the following items to be basic requirements (this is what I record):

·       If your goals include competing, then record your bodyweight daily. You need a good understanding

o    of your natural weight range and what your competition category would be. You also need to know what your working weights and PRs are in kilograms. This is Canada and we use the metric system!

·       What lift you are working on in a particular session, and what the given complex or rep scheme is, maybe with a brief description to remind yourself of what to do. If your coach says “do hang snatches,” then unless it is your first time you should know exactly what a hang snatch is. If you keep forgetting, write it down!

·       Your working weights. Don’t bother recording every warm up set, just the assigned working sets.

·       An honest evaluation of every working set. Did you press out or drop the bar? How did you miss, and what was the reason? If your lift was good, why was it good? It is extremely important that you develop the ability to analyse your own lifts and are able to make an honest assessment of your performance. Get in the habit of thinking about what just went wrong (or right!).

·       Your coach’s comments. This is a big one! You are responsible for your improvement, and that means knowing what it is that you need to focus on. Does your coach tell you to move your feet every single day? Then write it down and take it to heart instead of just nodding your head, only to make all the same mistakes in the next set. This also gives you a goal to focus on for the next set. If your coach has to tell you the exact same things every training session, eventually they are going to stop because you are not putting the effort in that improvement requires.

·       Any auxiliary work that you do, such as pulls or squats.

·       If you are going to be training alone somewhere (like open gym), ask your coach what you should be doing and write it down. This will give you some guidance when working alone.

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     Your homework, like mobility exercises.

·       Something that was good about the training session, any success that you experience, and of course your PRs!

Remember that your training log is not merely record keeping, but a tool that you can use to improve your training and performance.