Training diary: when to add reps, weight or neither

A useful training diary makes the next session easier to plan. Weight and repetitions are the beginning, not the whole record. An exercise name without equipment, setup or movement notes can make two different tasks look identical. If the bench angle changes or a machine has a different lever, comparing the displayed load alone can mislead you.

Use a short record: date, exercise and equipment, working sets and repetitions, load, agreed effort description, rest period and one relevant note. For a coached programme, keep the coach's notation rather than translating it into a different scoring system each week. Record what happened, including an interrupted set. Do not rewrite a difficult session into the numbers you hoped to achieve. The goal is a usable decision trail, not a perfect-looking spreadsheet.

Imagine a fictional exercise with three recorded working sets. Session A shows ten, ten and nine repetitions at a displayed load of 20 kg, with two-minute rests. Session B shows eleven, ten and nine at the same load and rest, with the same setup and the agreed movement standard. That is one additional recorded repetition under comparable conditions. It is useful information, not proof that every relevant physical quality improved.

Session C shows twelve, eleven and ten, but the note says a different machine and four-minute rests. Do not merge it into the same trend without qualification. Preserve the record and mark the changed conditions. A diary is most valuable when it stops an attractive but invalid comparison. If you cannot tell whether execution remained comparable, the next useful action may be a technique conversation rather than a heavier set.

A coach may use a repetition range and a condition for increasing load. Write the actual rule beside the exercise: which sets must reach the target, what execution standard applies and whether the effort description must remain comparable. Without those details, “add weight when it feels easy” can mean something different every session.

For illustration, suppose a written plan asks for a given repetition range and review when all working sets reach its upper end with the agreed execution and effort. Reaching the target in only the first set does not satisfy that fictional rule. Nor does reaching it by shortening the movement or extending rests unintentionally. This explains how to read a rule; it is not a personalised prescription for a particular range, load or exercise. If the plan does not define the condition, ask before improvising a new one.

Repeating a load can be the sensible choice when you are learning the movement, returning after a disrupted schedule or checking whether the last record was comparable. Keeping the written target while improving consistency is different from ignoring the programme. Record the reason so that a future review can distinguish deliberate repetition from a forgotten decision.

The ACSM's 2026 summary for healthy adults emphasises consistent participation and individualisation rather than a single complicated programme. It does not require adding weight at every visit. Avoid converting one disappointing session into a diagnosis of a plateau. Compare several relevant records, check whether the exercise was actually performed and describe changes in equipment, schedule or execution. Persistent unexplained difficulty or symptoms deserve an appropriate professional assessment, not a spreadsheet formula.

At the end of the week, choose one exercise to review. Write the planned rule, the last two comparable records, any changed conditions and the question you need answered. A useful coach message is: “The first two sets reached the written range; the third did not. Rest stayed at the planned duration. Should I repeat the load or change something?” It is more actionable than “my programme stopped working”.

Use the blank worksheet to keep those facts together. Do not add every wearable score simply because it exists. A small record that changes the next decision is more valuable than a large collection you never review. If your coach changes the rule, date the change and keep the old records, so the new instruction is not accidentally applied to a different training block.