What you can read from the comparison
For strength work we compare volume (weight × sets × reps) and show the change in load and in total reps beside it. Entries are matched on the exercise name, so “Cable row” and “cable row” count as the same exercise while “Row” is a different one. The name list under the field is there so you can pick the spelling you used last time. In the example the goblet squat goes from 12 kg to 14 kg at the same 3 × 8, so volume goes from 288 to 336, up 17%, and effort from 7 to 8. That is the comparison the log is for. Cardio is the weaker half. It compares minutes and distance, then the pace they make. Pace across two different routes means little; the example’s second walk says so in its own note. If you run the same loop each time it is useful. Otherwise read the minutes and ignore the pace.
| Change | What we’d read into it |
|---|---|
| Same work, effort up | Recovery, not strength. Sleep, a cold, a new job. Hold the load for a week. |
| Effort 9 or 10 two sessions running | Near a limit. Hold the load rather than adding to it. |
What the notes field is for
Write why a session changed (“time ran out”, “machine taken, used dumbbells”) so a drop in volume doesn’t read as a bad day. Pain goes in the same field, kept apart from effort: a 7 that hurts and a 7 that doesn’t are different sessions, and the effort number alone can’t say which. Write what and where, “sharp, left knee, bottom of the squat”, with the date. The log can’t diagnose it. That note is what we’d want to have when going to a physiotherapist.
When to change the plan
The first cable row’s +100% is time, not strength: the earlier session ended after one set. That is why the notes sit next to the numbers. If a time slot keeps cutting sessions short, fix the slot. If you think in pounds and miles, switch the units before you enter anything; the log keeps the number you typed and doesn’t convert.
Sources
- NHS: Physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64
Page last reviewed 22 May 2024
The NHS asks for 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, plus strength work on two days. If you have not been active for a while or have a medical condition, it says to talk to your GP first.