Others say...

"Wonderful for Achieving Your Goals, but Not "THE ULTIMATE" "
I really like this workout log. I love the 6-month goal concept and the weekly goal set up and review. It really works well as part of my "weekly review" a la Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. I bought one about a three months ago and really didn't use it that consistently, but thought it was cool. As I recently made a new re-commitment to my fitness, I have bought a new one and used it every day!

Each daily page contains a lot of space for noting your day's work as well as tidbits of health-related info. The "Mind-Body Notes" section is a cool addition, and having to write something in there forces me to be cognizant of my that relationship. The spiral binding is helpful for keeping it open when I write in it between sets. Also, it's a great place to store the pen I use to write in my journal. And its size is great, as it fits neatly into the small pocket of my gym bag, yet is not so small that my hand is unsupported as I write (like some journals).

It doesn't get 5 stars because it does have a few *minor* flaws that could take it from "the Ultimate Workout Log" (check out the cover) to "THE ULTIMATE Workout Log" (as in no one would ever need to make one ever again). I would love it if Suzanne took some of these suggestions and made a new version.

I recognize that this book was not written just for me, and that others have needs that are different from mine. However, I frequently run out of lines in the "Strength Training" section on days that I lift a lot, and I cannot fathom why anyone would need three lines for "Cardio", but then again that probably has a lot to do with my distaste for doing cardio! I feel like the trivia and such at the top of each page takes up too much valuable real estate, as do the margins, so that's where some more space could come from.

Also, I wish that it were easier to just open to the right page each day. Every time I open it, I spend a few seconds quickly flipping through the pages to find "today". When I'm in a hurry, I come pretty close to tearing the pages. I used to have this really cheap pocket calendar that had perforated corners, so that you could easily rip off the corner of every completed day. That way, you just set your thumb on that corner, and open up. Voila! You're at the page you need to be at! Alternatively, a nifty ribbon could work, but would be difficult with the spiral binding.

Finally, since I am a visual thinker and a very analytical thinker, I like graphs! I wish that the book included a page or two with either some axes and or just plain graph paper so I could easily track my progress. Maybe a few more blank pages would work. I've tried cannibalizing some relatively blank pages, but it's not ideal. Plus, I'm not so hot at my free-hand graphing!

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Overall, this is a wonderful workout log. I heartily recommend it to anyone, and feel fully confident that it will help me achieve my goals and help YOU achieve YOURS!
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"Great for Novices and Pros"
I love this workout log. It is a comprehensive six month workout/training log that is great for the beginner or training athlete. I have always liked keeping track of my workouts and in the past have tried Excel spreadsheets, spiral bound notebooks, and other workout logs/books. None have compared to the Ultimate Workout Log. Here is everything that it helps you track:

--Long and short term goals
--Morning info (hours of sleep)
--Daily workout rating
--Cardio exercise
--Strength training (room for 10 machines/exercises)
--Nutrition notes (I use this to track calories and foods eaten)
--Mind body notes
--Daily and weekly wrap-ups

At the back of the book there is an area to track daily and weekly ratings (which is nice because I often forget to take a day off or give my body a couple days of lower intensity exercise). There is also an area to track personal records (for me this section includes losing 25 pounds so far and beginning to train for a 5k) and a six month wrap-up. There is also a list of resources for further enlightenment on training and exercise.

This is a great resource for anyone who wants to lose weight and keep track of the workout progress. I highly recommend it and will definitely be buying another one when this six months is up!


"Not for those who are serious about keeping a workout diary."
I was in search of a workout log because I believe that keeping a daily record of your exercises, nutrition...etc is a good way to keep you motivated and for you to learn your patterns. They are an invaluable tool for those who are serious about diet and exercise. Without doing much research (which is my own fault) I decided to pick this one up on a whim. It was a mistake.

This book starts with a short section on setting goals and using the log as your workout diary. The inside of the front cover has a section where you can set your goals for the next six months. In the back of the log you get a few tools such as a section that shows how many calories you burn for a given activity, a section for personal records and a six-month wrap-up that lets you summarize the last six months. The meat of the book is a workout log that is divided by weeks. You get a page for each day and at the end of the week you get a weekly wrap-up page that lets you record notes on your cardio, mind/body training, strength training and nutrition. On each page of the workout log you get a little blurb of either trivia, myths or a quote from an athlete.

This all sounds great on paper but there are some major flaws in the design of this workout log. Most of the flaws lie in the daily logs, which is too bad because that's obviously what you're going to use the most!

Space is a major concern here, and it's my biggest complaint. The author attempted to cram way too much on a single page. You can search this book on Amazon to get an idea of how this log is laid out. Here are some examples of the space issues:

The Morning Info section is 3/4 inch width and less then 1/2 inch high! There's barely enough room for initials here let alone a recording of "morning info".

There are only three lines for cardio. On a given day I might do more then three different things. I might start out on an elliptical and biking in the morning, walk a mile for lunch, do some swimming when I get home and go to my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class in the evening. It gets hard to record all of these so I end up going down into the strength training section for this. The notes section for the cardio is less then 1 1/2 inches so you better be short with your notes! (or write really really tiny!).

The strength training isn't much better. You get more lines (10) for this section, but even that isn't enough for an "ultimate" workout log. For example, if I do my upper body then i'm going to at least do my biceps, triceps, chest, abs, back, shoulders and forearms. Usually I do 2-3 exercises on each. Even if I do 2 then I would need 14 spaces. You also get to record the weight, sets and reps. This section isn't very good because it becomes hard to record here when you change weights in a single set. The notes section is the same as cardio so you get less then 1 1/2 inches for your notes on each exercise.

This is the 3rd edition of the book and it advertises that it includes yoga and pilates. Well, this is a 2 3/4 by 1 inch box where you get to record all of your yoga and pilates information! (I don't do either right now, but if I did I imagine that this isn't enough room for that).

You get a useless section for nutrition notes, which has 4 lines (you can use the very top for a 5th line). Each line is 2 3/4 inches long so good luck recording any valuable nutrition information (food, calories, fat, carbs...etc). If you eat 5+ meals a day then this section is very useless. I eat 5 meals a day plus small snacks and I find it very hard to record everything. I usually end up writing in the mind-body notes above.

One other major issue is that each page already has the day of the week on it. This is too bad because if you decide that you don't feel like writing because of a free day, or for any other reason then it becomes a wasted page. I really wish the author would have thought everything through with this workout log.

Finally there is an awkwardly placed daily wrap-up section.

If you are doing any serious diet/exercise program then this log is not for you. If you are the type that just wants to jot a few words down then this may work for you, but you will probably have to work around some sections (such as the nutrition section) for it to be effective in any way. I like to keep more detailed notes so my pages usually end up looking like a mess. Each page is very awkward and cumbersome to work with. Writing in a log every day can take some getting used to. When it becomes very cumbersome then it also becomes very annoying and feels like a chore. I suggest you use Amazon to search inside and see the layout. Just keep in mind that the pages are much smaller then what you will see on your screen.

I really wish I would have thought all of this out before my purchase, but I rushed into this, which is my own fault. I am very surprised that this log has a 4.5/5 here on Amazon (at the time of this review).

Luckily I found the BodyMinder fitness diary. This log is a whole lot better. Instead of trying to cram everything on one page it uses a two page approach. This is much more roomy and allows you to record a lot more information. Also BodyMinder is much more discrete in the gym. BodyMinder has more useful tools such as a section that contains common foods and their nutrition (and allows you to enter your own foods)... but all of this is a different review.





"This is my third copy!"
I like this book because it is small enough to take to the gym with me. This is my third one! There is plenty of space for me to plan my workout and record my progress. My husband saw mine and now he wants a copy!Renew, Refocus and Recover!

"Perfect for Beginners"
Beginners who need extra motivation will find this log an invaluable tool to help with their workouts. Weight trainers can use it to record their daily workouts.