Guide · Tracking
Track Workout
Progress
What to write down each session, what to use for it, and how to use it to add weight at the right time.
- Progressive overload
- What to measure
Plenty of people train consistently and still stall without knowing why. Quite often, they don't write anything down. Tracking your performance session after session tells you what weight to use today, and shows early when a lift has stopped moving.
This guide covers the numbers that matter, the tools you can use (app, notebook, spreadsheet) and how to use them to apply progressive overload.
Why track your progress?
Progressive overload
To add weight or reps, you need to know what you did last time. With a log, you don't have to guess.
Motivation
On a low day, looking at what you lifted three months ago helps. Progress is slow, and without numbers it's easy to forget how far you've come.
Identify weaknesses
Going back through your log shows which lifts have been stuck for weeks and where the program needs a change.
Less guesswork
You walk into the gym knowing which weight to pick up and how many sets to do, without trying to remember.
In practice: logging the weight and reps of every set is enough to start. The rest (volume, estimated 1RM, how the set felt) can come later, once the habit is there.
Discover BenchRep GymTrackerMetrics to track
1 Weight lifted per set
This is the basic data. Write down the weight and reps of every set, exercise by exercise. All of progressive overload depends on it.
Notation example:
Bench press: 176 lbs × 10, 176 lbs × 9, 165 lbs × 10
2 Training volume
Volume = weight × reps × sets. It gives you a rough idea of how much work you did on a lift or in a session, and lets you compare one week with another.
Volume calculation:
3 sets of 10 reps at 176 lbs = 176 × 10 × 3 = 5,280 lbs
3 Estimated 1RM (max strength)
Your 1RM (one rep max) is the weight you could lift exactly once. It's estimated from a normal set, and it's the reference used to set training weights.
Intensity zones
- • Strength: 85-95% 1RM (1-5 reps)
- • Hypertrophy: 70-85% 1RM (6-12 reps)
- • Endurance: 50-70% 1RM (12+ reps)
Usefulness
- • Program your cycles
- • Measure your progression
- • Adjust your loads
4 Body measurements
The scale doesn't tell the whole story. A tape measure and a few photos show better where you're gaining muscle or losing fat. BenchRep GymTracker charts your body weight, but measurements and photos aren't in the app yet, so keep those separately.
5 Feel and performance
How you feel helps you judge effort and spot fatigue that's building up.
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RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion)
Rate each set out of 10. An RPE of 8 means you had about 2 reps left.
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Sleep quality
After a bad night, a weaker session is nothing to worry about
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Energy level
Fatigue that lasts for weeks often means you're not recovering enough
The app
What BenchRep works out for you
You log the weight, the reps and, if you like, the RPE and a note. After every workout, BenchRep GymTracker picks up your records, estimated 1RM included. Each exercise has its own chart, and your stats are compared period over period.
Download, €8.99 onceHow to track your workouts
Workout tracking apps
The most practical option at the gym. An app like BenchRep lets you:
- Log your sets in seconds directly at the gym
- Visualize your progression with clear graphs
- Pick up your records, estimated 1RM included, and compare your stats period over period
- See what you did last time as soon as you start an exercise
- Find your data in your phone's iCloud or Google backup
Paper notebook
Works well if you'd rather leave your phone in your bag.
Advantages
- • No notifications mid-session
- • Nothing to install
- • No battery to worry about
Disadvantages
- • No automatic calculations
- • No graphs
- • Easy to lose or leave at home
Excel/Google Sheets spreadsheet
For people who like building their own formulas and charts.
Typing into a spreadsheet on a phone between sets gets old fast. Many people fill it in after the session, from memory, and the numbers suffer for it.
Our recommendation
We make BenchRep, so we're not neutral here. An app is still the least effort at the gym, and the charts build themselves. BenchRep GymTracker costs €8.99, paid once, and is available on Google Play, and coming soon to the App Store. That said, a well-kept notebook beats an app you never open.
Download, €8.99 onceProgressive overload principle
Tracking is mostly there for one thing: applying progressive overload, the principle that progress in the gym rests on.
What is progressive overload?
It means gradually making the work harder for your muscles. If the weight, reps and volume stay the same for months, progress eventually stops.
Your body adapts to what you ask of it. For it to keep adapting, the demand has to go up, even a little.
The 4 methods of progressive overload
Increase weight
The simplest one. Add 2.5-10 lbs depending on the lift as soon as you reach the top of your rep range.
Example: 176 lbs × 12 reps → 181 lbs × 8-10 reps
Increase reps
Keep the same weight and add a rep or two from one session to the next, up to the top of the range.
Example: 176 lbs × 8, 8, 7 → 176 lbs × 10, 9, 8 → 176 lbs × 12, 11, 10
Increase volume
Add a set to an exercise while keeping the same weight and reps.
Example: 3 sets → 4 sets at same weight/reps
Reduce rest
Gradually shorten the breaks between sets. This helps muscular endurance more than strength.
Example: 90s rest → 75s → 60s between sets
How BenchRep helps you
When you start an exercise, BenchRep shows your last session and its coach suggests today's load. You can see at a glance what you need to beat.
exercises in the library
demo videos
ready-made programs
Common mistakes to avoid
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Only tracking certain exercises
Log your isolation work too, not just the big lifts. That's often where a stall goes unnoticed.
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Logging after the fact
Log right after each set. By the end of the session, you won't remember whether it was 8 reps or 9.
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Focusing only on weight
Twenty more pounds with sloppy form isn't progress. Look at reps, volume and RPE too.
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Giving up after a few weeks
A log gets interesting after a few months, when you can compare one period with another.
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Never analyzing your data
Once a month, take ten minutes to see what moved and what stalled, then change the program if needed.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to track everything?
The weight and reps of every set, yes: without them, it's hard to know when to add weight. RPE, notes and body measurements are useful but optional. Start simple and add the rest if you find a use for it.
Doesn't it take too much time?
With an app, logging a set takes a few seconds: weight and reps. Over a session of 15-20 sets, that adds up to a minute or two, done during your rest periods.
I'm a beginner, should I already track?
Yes, and that's when it helps most. Early on, the weight can go up almost every session, as long as you know what you lifted last time. The habit is also easier to build from the start.
What's the difference between BenchRep and a notebook?
BenchRep picks up your records (estimated 1RM included), draws a chart for each exercise and compares your stats period over period. Everything stays on your phone and is part of its iCloud or Google backup if that's turned on. With a notebook, you do those calculations and charts by hand.
How do I keep up the habit of logging?
Log at the same moment every time, right after each set. After a few weeks you'll do it without thinking. And when a record falls, seeing it written down feels good.
Track every set with BenchRep
BenchRep GymTracker is available on Google Play. You log your sets, the app draws the charts and picks up your records. €8.99 once, no subscription, no account, updates included.
Coming soon to the App Store
Get it on Google Play- 618 exercises, 602 with a video
- 15 programs included
- Works offline
- No account needed