Logging a strength session
Each block on the strength sheet stands for one training day. Circle the weekday in the tinted column, write the date under it, and on taller blocks add a word or two in Focus, such as "legs" or "upper body", so you can find that session again later.
Use one row per exercise. Write the name in the wide Exercise column, then fill the sets from left to right: the weight you used goes in the narrow cell under the unit, the number of repetitions in the Reps cell next to it. A set of 8 at 135 lb reads as 135 and 8 under Set 1. For bodyweight moves, write BW in the weight cell or leave it empty. Unused sets stay blank.
The notes space takes anything the numbers miss: a seat or pin setting on a machine, a change of grip, or a reminder for next time. In portrait it is a row under each block, in landscape a column next to every exercise.
Logging cardio
The cardio sheet runs through the week in the order you picked, with two rows per day for days with more than one session. The columns are meant like this:
| Column | What to write |
|---|---|
| Date | The calendar date of the session |
| Activity | Run, walk, ride, swim or class, plus the route or machine if it helps |
| Time | How long the session lasted, for example 32:15 |
| Distance | In the unit printed in the heading, mi or km |
| Pace or speed | Minutes per mile or kilometer for runs and walks, mph or km/h for rides |
| Avg HR | The average heart rate your watch or chest strap reports, if you track it |
| How it felt | Ring 1 for very easy up to 5 for very hard, on your own scale |
Pace is time divided by distance, speed is distance divided by time. A 3 mile run in 30 minutes is a pace of 10 minutes per mile, the same as 6 mph. If you never wear a heart rate monitor, hide that column and the others get the space. At the end of the week, add up Time and Distance and write the sums in the Week total boxes.
Following your progress over the weeks
One sheet covers one week, so the value builds up when you keep them together. File the pages in date order in a folder or clipboard, with the newest on top. Before a session, a quick look at last week's block shows the weights and reps you wrote down, which saves guessing at the gym.
Writing the exercises in the same order every week makes rows easy to compare across sheets. When you reach a weight or distance for the first time, mark it in the notes, for example with a small star. On the cardio sheet, the week totals give you a simple line to compare from one week to the next, and the 1 to 5 ratings show how hard the week felt on top of what you did.
If you track other routines alongside training, such as sleep or water, the printable habit tracker gives each habit a row with one box per day of the month.
Tools that work with the log
The one-rep max calculator takes the weight and reps of a set straight from your sheet and estimates your one-rep max, along with the training weight at each percentage. The running pace calculator fills the pace column for you: enter time and distance and it returns pace per mile or kilometer, with splits. For the Avg HR column, the heart rate zones tool gives five zones in beats per minute from your age or a measured maximum, or with the Karvonen method once you add your resting heart rate, so you can see where a session's average falls. The calories burned calculator estimates the energy used for an activity from its MET value, your weight and the minutes in the Time column.
Printing the sheet
Choose the paper size loaded in your printer and turn off fit to page or shrink in the print dialog, so the rows keep their height. Portrait gives more exercise rows per day; landscape gives each set more width and adds the notes column, which helps if you write weights with decimals. The color you pick goes into the rule under the title, the shaded rows and columns, the total boxes and the weekend days; black keeps the whole sheet in greys.
Frequently asked questions
Is the workout log free?
Yes. Download it as often as you like and print a fresh sheet every week. There is no signup and no watermark, only a short line with our web address at the bottom of the page.
What is on each layout?
Strength gives every training day its own block: a column to circle the weekday and write the date, rows for exercises and 5 sets with a weight and a reps cell each, plus room for notes. Cardio lists the week day by day with two rows per day for date, activity, time, distance, pace or speed, average heart rate and a 1 to 5 rating. Mixed puts 2 strength days on the top half and one cardio row per day below.
How many exercises fit on one strength day?
That depends on the paper, the orientation and how many days share the page, and the line under the preview always shows the current number. On US Letter in portrait without a goal line, 3 days per page give 10 exercise rows per day, 4 days give 6 and 5 days give 4. Landscape trades rows for wider set cells and adds a notes column next to each exercise.
Can I mix kilograms with miles?
Yes. Weight and distance are set separately, so you can print kg with mi, or lb with km. The units appear in the column headings: the weight cell of every set and the distance and pace columns of the cardio table.
What if I do fewer than five sets?
Leave the extra cells empty. If you do more than five, carry on in the next row and write the same exercise name again, or note the extra sets in the notes space.
Why are some characters missing from my name or goal?
The PDF uses a standard font that covers English and most Western European letters. Emoji and other scripts such as Greek, Cyrillic or Japanese cannot be printed with it, so they are dropped, and some rare accented letters lose the accent. A note under the fields appears when that happens, and the preview shows the text as it will print.