Write entries your future self will not have to decode
There is no official grammar for a gym log. The useful convention is the one you can read six weeks later without guessing. These examples deliberately spell out the ambiguous parts.
Situation
Clear entry
Why the detail matters
Barbell
Back squat — 5 reps × 100 kg
Total bar load is explicit
Dumbbells
Incline press — 9 reps × 22 kg/hand
No confusion between one and both dumbbells
Machine
Leg press, Matrix #4 — 12 reps × pin 8
The printed stack is tied to a machine
Assistance
Pull-up — 6 reps × 25 kg assistance
Lower assistance can be interpreted correctly
Body weight
Push-up — 18 reps, feet elevated 30 cm
The variation is part of the load context
Unilateral
Split squat — L 8 / R 8 × 18 kg/hand
Both sides and the dumbbell convention are visible
Training detail
Use one format for every working set
A workout log is easier to scan when every entry answers the same three questions: which movement, how many repetitions, and what resistance? A compact line such as ‘Barbell bench press — 8 reps — 80 kg’ is enough for a normal set. Keep the order stable. When you return after a week, you should not have to remember whether ‘20 × 10’ meant twenty kilograms for ten reps or ten kilograms for twenty. Labels beat clever shorthand.
Write the full exercise variation first
Record completed reps, not scheduled reps
Attach kg, lb, plate number, band, or body-weight context
Training detail
Record what happened, not the plan you imagined
A plan and a log have different jobs. The plan says what you intended to attempt; the log records what happened. If the target was eight reps and the set stopped at six, keep both numbers only if the distinction helps: ‘target 8; completed 6.’ Do not quietly replace the result with eight because the row was pre-filled. The untidy result is exactly the piece of context that may matter before the next session.
Keep the target in a separate field or note
Save the result immediately after the set
Leave an interrupted set visible instead of deleting it
Training detail
Separate warm-ups from working sets
Warm-up sets can be worth keeping when they explain how you reached the working load, especially on a heavy compound movement or after time away. They should not be mistaken for the work you later compare. Prefix them with WU, place them in a dedicated group, or summarize them in one line. Then keep the working sets together. This makes weekly set counts less misleading and keeps the important comparison visible on a small screen.
Mark warm-ups with WU or a separate group
Keep working sets adjacent
Do not count ramp-up sets accidentally during review
Training detail
Keep units consistent
Choose kilograms or pounds for a movement and always show the unit. If you travel and switch, label the new entry rather than converting old history in your head. Machines need their own context: stack pin 8 is not a universal load, and two cable systems can feel different at the same printed number. For dumbbells, say whether the value is per hand. For assisted pull-ups, record the assistance setting and remember that a lower assistance number usually means more of your body weight was lifted.
Write 22 kg/hand rather than a bare 22
Name the machine or gym when the stack differs
Record assisted movements as assistance, not external load
Training detail
Use notes sparingly and specifically
The best notes explain a number that would otherwise be misread. ‘Two-second pause,’ ‘new machine,’ ‘shortened range after rep 7,’ or ‘phone call interrupted rest’ each changes a later comparison. ‘Felt good’ can be pleasant to keep, but it rarely explains what to do next. Notes should be factual and brief enough to enter during rest. If a symptom is concerning, do not reduce it to a logging puzzle; stop the exercise and use appropriate professional help.
Name setup or technique changes
Mark interruptions and unusually short rest
Keep health decisions outside the scope of the log
Training detail
Review the last comparable session
Before an exercise, find the most recent entry with the same variation, unit, and rough setup. A flat barbell bench press is not the same record as an incline dumbbell press. Once the comparison is fair, use it as a starting point rather than a demand. Repeating the same work with cleaner execution or on a difficult day can be useful. Training does not need a personal record every session to count.
Match movement, equipment, and unit
Read every working set rather than the best set
Choose a starting target you can revise after warm-ups
Training detail
Keep the first version small
A useful log can begin with only exercise, reps, and resistance. Add rest time, tempo, RPE, or repetitions in reserve when you understand the term and will actually use it. Effort estimates are estimates, not laboratory measurements; research shows their accuracy changes with load, exercise, and experience. More fields do not automatically create better data. Consistency comes from a format you can maintain between sets and interpret without inventing precision later.
Start with fields you can record reliably
Label optional effort ratings clearly
Drop metrics that never affect a decision
Real-world cleanup
Turn a messy session into an honest entry
Suppose the plan said three sets of eight dumbbell rows at 30 kg. The gym was busy. You used a different bench, completed 8, 8, and 6 reps, then finished with 26 kg for 9 reps. A clean record is not ‘4 × 8 at 30.’ It is four lines: 8 × 30, 8 × 30, 6 × 30, 9 × 26, plus ‘higher bench than usual.’ That entry is less symmetrical and far more useful.
Do the same with missed details. If you forgot whether the second set was nine or ten reps, write ‘9–10, not recorded exactly.’ A range with an uncertainty label is better than a precise number manufactured later. The goal is a dependable history, not immaculate typography.
Optional effort fields
RPE and RIR are useful only when you define them
RIR means repetitions in reserve: your estimate of how many good repetitions remained. RPE is a rating of perceived exertion. If you use either, include the scale in the log and keep the rating attached to a specific set. ‘RIR 2’ is not a fact in the same sense as 80 kg; it is a judgment made under fatigue.
Research in trained lifters found that RIR estimates were more accurate with heavier loads than lighter ones. That does not make the metric useless. It means you should avoid treating a one-point change as proof of progress, especially when the exercise or load changed.
Sources and limits
The numbers are observations, not a prescription
The ACSM position stand supplies broad resistance-training context. The RIR study below is included because it shows why an effort estimate should stay labeled as an estimate. Neither source chooses your exercise, load, or technique, and this guide does not replace qualified coaching or healthcare.
PlanMyGym keeps your completed sets and recent exercise context together, so you can record the work in front of you without rebuilding a spreadsheet each visit.