How to Use an Athletics Training-Log
Whether you are using a training-log, journal, diary in a paper-back, spreadsheet or training software format you’ll want to make sure you are recording the basics no matter what sport you are training in. There can be many people involved in an athletes training and each person might be looking for performance data differently. Here’s a list of basics to get you started:
Recording Workouts- Make sure you are recording the objective information from your athletics workouts. You record the volume of time you spend doing the athletics workout. The Rate of Perceived Effort (RPE) and use a heart-rate monitor. Outside of these three factors, the measurements are subjective and will vary from person to person. Some people want to record the type of equipment they used, the weather patterns, sleep patterns and more. By recording these basics, you are getting the information that matters for your coach, physiologist and psychologist (if applicable).
Measuring Your Stress Responses- Complete your athletics workouts by measuring your stress responses the next morning. Measuring your waking heart-rate and taking a psychological stress test such as the POMS or DALDA will give you the feedback you require from the volume and intensity of your workout to determine if it was effective or not.
Injuries – If an injury occurs, make sure to note the injuries incurred from this athletics workout. This allows any general practitioners or physiotherapist in your life to get a complete picture of what happened from the volume and intensity of the workouts that are being prescribed.
Video Analysis – With smart phones today, recording a video athletics workout should be an easy step. While their are some great video analysis software on the market it’s important to understand the basics of video analysis is to simply record the performance. So to record your performance with a cell-phone is worth it when you combine it with your athletics workout information.
Meals – Recording your caloric intake of carbohydrates, proteins and fats each day to get your core measurements. Your meals act as the fuel for your athletics workouts, its important to make sure you are getting the proper calorie and CPF% intake based on the volume and intensity you are doing.
Height – Tracking your height is important for teenage athletes as it allows you to monitor the peak height velocity of each person. By tracking the growth percentages from month to month you can use the analysis as a measurement tool to adapt the training plan as the athlete is growing.
Weight – While monitoring weight at the elite level is not as common the average athlete can benefit from monitoring their weight from month to month.
Notes – You’ll certainly want to take as many notes as you can including, athletics workouts, meals, height and weight management. When you bring all the notes together throughout a day and over time they tell the story of your training along with the performance data you are capturing.
| Try This: | I recommend using a Free Athletics Training-Log to track your athletics workouts. |
