A free workout log template you can use today

Choose your format

Download the workout log CSV for a spreadsheet. Open or import the file, then duplicate the blank rows for each exercise. Keep a separate copy of the original if you want a fresh sheet for each session.

Open the printable workout log, then use your browser’s Print command. You can print it on paper or choose Save as PDF. The sheet includes room for six exercises with three sets each, plus session notes.

What to record

For dumbbells, choose a convention and label it. “20 kg per hand” avoids the ambiguity of “40 kg total.” For a barbell, write the total loaded weight including the bar if that is the convention you use. A cable stack label is most useful when you also know which machine you used.

A filled example

If your plan says three sets of ten, this session still gets recorded as 10, 9, 8. Filling every row with ten would hide the information you need for the next workout. Keep the planned reps in the target column and the completed reps in their own column.

Use the log before the next workout

1. 1Find the previous session for the same exercise and setup.
2. 2Read the completed reps and weight before choosing today’s load.
3. 3Check whether anything changed, such as the rest interval or machine.
4. 4Write a modest next-session target that follows your program.
5. 5After training, compare the new completed sets with the old ones.

Make progress visible without adding busywork

A log helps when it answers a decision. If your program uses double progression, note the rep range and the rule for adding load. Three sets of 8–12 become easy to review when each set has its own row.

Reps in reserve can add context, but they are optional and estimated. You do not need to fill every column to keep a useful record. Exercise, completed reps and load with its unit are a good starting point.

Keep warm-up sets labeled. The printable sheet has a separate warm-up line so they do not accidentally become part of the working-set progression target. If you use the CSV, its set-type column lets you keep them in the same file.

A template versus an app

Paper is easy to glance at between sets, and a spreadsheet lets you arrange your own columns. The work comes when you want to search an exercise’s history or remember to bring the sheet. Choose the format you will keep using.

This template records a workout. It does not choose a suitable program or verify exercise technique. The ACSM’s resistance-training summary puts consistent training and gradual progress ahead of unnecessary complexity.

Who SayLift is for

If writing rows gets in the way, SayLift lets you speak your completed session on iPhone and review the exercises, reps and weights before saving. Manual logging is there too, with previous-session numbers beside the sets.

You can paste an existing routine as text to build your plan in the app. That is a plan-import feature, rather than an import of this CSV’s historical workouts. Get SayLift on the App Store when you want your session history and next-weight coaching in one place.