Is It Worth Tracking My Workouts As a Beginner or Should I Just Go by Feel

Why 'Going by Feel' Guarantees You Stay a Beginner

To answer the question 'Is it worth tracking my workouts as a beginner or should I just go by feel?'-yes, absolutely, because tracking is the only thing that guarantees you won't be lifting the exact same weights six months from now. You're in the gym, you see people tapping on their phones between sets, and you wonder if it's all necessary. The idea of just 'going by feel' or 'listening to your body' sounds so much simpler, more intuitive. But here's the truth no one tells you: as a beginner, your 'feel' is an unreliable narrator. Your body doesn't know the difference between doing squats with 135 pounds for 8 reps today and doing it for 9 reps next week. But that single extra rep is where all your progress lives. 'Feel' is a liar. It’s influenced by how much you slept, the coffee you drank, and the stress from your workday. It's not a reliable metric for strength. The foundation of getting stronger, a principle called progressive overload, is brutally simple: you must do slightly more work over time. Tracking isn't some complicated chore for elite athletes. It's just a logbook. It's the proof that you are, in fact, doing more. Without it, you're not training; you're just exercising and hoping for the best. Hope is not a strategy for getting stronger.

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Track your lifts in the Mofilo app. See your strength grow week by week.

The Simple Math That Separates Guessing from Gaining

Progress in the gym isn't magic, it's math. It’s about increasing your total workout volume over time. Volume is simply weight x sets x reps. If that number doesn't go up, you don't get stronger. Tracking makes this visible. Let's look at two scenarios for a beginner doing a bench press for the next four weeks.

Scenario 1: Going by Feel

• Week 1: You pick 135 lbs. It feels 'pretty hard.' You do 3 sets of about 8 reps.
• Week 2: You didn't sleep well. 135 lbs feels 'heavy today.' You manage 3 sets of 6-7 reps.
• Week 3: You feel great. 135 lbs feels 'easy.' You hit 3 sets of 9 reps.
• Week 4: You feel normal. You go back to 135 lbs for 3 sets of 8 reps.

After a month, you are in the exact same place you started. You haven't forced your body to adapt because the stimulus was random. You're just guessing.

Scenario 2: Tracking Your Lifts

• Week 1: You bench 135 lbs for 8, 8, 7 reps. You write it down. Total reps: 23.
• Week 2: You open your log. The goal is to beat 23 reps. You focus and hit 8, 8, 8. Total reps: 24. You win.
• Week 3: The goal is to beat 24. You push hard and get 9, 8, 8. Total reps: 25. You win again.
• Week 4: The goal is to beat 25. You manage 9, 9, 8. Total reps: 26. You've consistently improved.

In this scenario, progress is undeniable. You have proof. The number one mistake beginners make is thinking they need to add 10 pounds to the bar every week. Progress is often just one more rep. Tracking is what allows you to see and celebrate that one-rep victory, which is the building block for every 10-pound jump you'll make later.

You see the logic. Add one rep. Add five pounds. It's simple. But here's the question that stops 90% of people: What did you squat for how many reps *three Thursdays ago*? If you can't answer that in 5 seconds, you're not using progressive overload. You're just hoping for it.

Weeks of progress. All in one place.

Every workout is logged. You have proof that you are getting stronger.

The 3-Number System: Your First Tracking Protocol

Forget complicated spreadsheets and metrics you don't understand. As a beginner, you can get 95% of the benefits of tracking by focusing on just three simple numbers. This is the minimum effective dose to guarantee you're not wasting your time.

Step 1: Choose Your Program and Tool

First, you need a plan. Don't just wander around the gym doing random machines. Pick a proven beginner program, like a 3-day full-body routine. Consistency with a good program is everything. Next, choose your tool. You have two great options: a simple paper notebook and a pen, or a tracking app on your phone. A notebook is cheap, reliable, and has no notifications to distract you. An app can do the math for you and show you progress graphs, which can be very motivating. Don't overthink it; just pick one and start.

Step 2: Track Only These 3 Things

For every single exercise you do, write down these three pieces of information. Nothing else matters for now.

1. Exercise Name: (e.g., Barbell Squat, Dumbbell Bench Press)
2. Weight Used: (e.g., 95 lbs, 25 lb dumbbells)
3. Reps Per Set: (e.g., Set 1: 8, Set 2: 7, Set 3: 6)

That's it. Your log for one exercise might look like this:

*Barbell Squat*

• 95 lbs x 8
• 95 lbs x 8
• 95 lbs x 7

This takes about 15 seconds to log after your last set. This simple act is what separates intentional training from aimless exercise.

Step 3: Follow the 'Beat the Logbook' Rule

This is where the magic happens. Before you start an exercise, open your logbook or app and look at what you did last time. Your entire goal for that exercise is to beat the previous numbers in one of two ways:

• Add Reps: If you squatted 95 lbs for 8, 8, 7 reps last week, your goal this week is to get at least one more rep. Maybe you hit 8, 8, 8. That's a win. Or maybe you hit 9, 8, 7. That's also a win. Any improvement counts.
• Add Weight: Once you can comfortably hit your target rep range (for example, 3 sets of 10 reps) with a certain weight, it's time to increase the load. Add the smallest possible increment-usually 5 pounds for barbell lifts or 2.5-5 pounds for dumbbell lifts. The next workout, your reps will likely drop (e.g., from 3x10 at 95 lbs to 3x7 at 100 lbs), and you begin the process of adding reps again.

This cycle of adding reps, then adding weight, is the engine of your progress for the first 1-2 years of lifting.

What to Do When You Get Stuck

You will not be able to beat the logbook every single workout forever. That's completely normal. If you fail to make any progress on a specific lift for two or three consecutive sessions, don't panic. First, check your recovery: are you sleeping at least 7-8 hours? Are you eating enough protein? If those are in check, you may need a deload. A deload week simply means reducing your training intensity to allow your body to recover. A simple way to do this is to reduce the weight on all your lifts by 15-20% for one week, then jump back to your previous working weights the following week. Often, you'll come back stronger.

What Your First 60 Days of Tracking Will Actually Look Like

Starting a new habit can feel strange, and tracking your workouts is no different. Knowing what to expect can keep you from quitting before you experience the benefits.

Week 1-2: The Awkward Phase

This phase is about building the habit, not breaking records. It will feel clunky. You'll be fumbling with your notebook or phone. You might forget to log a set here and there. That's okay. The goal is just consistency in the act of tracking. Your strength gains in these first two weeks are mostly neurological-your brain is learning how to perform the movements more efficiently. You might add 10-15 pounds to your squat, not because your muscles got that much bigger, but because your coordination improved. Don't get discouraged if it feels weird; push through.

Week 3-8: The 'Aha!' Moment

Sometime in your second month, you'll have a breakthrough. You'll scroll back to your first week's workouts and see hard data. The dumbbell press you started with 30-pound dumbbells for 6 reps? You're now using 40-pound dumbbells for 8 reps. This is the moment it clicks. This is the proof that your effort is paying off. You'll realize that 'going by feel' would have left you stuck with those 30s, wondering why you weren't getting stronger. Expect to see a 15-25% increase in strength on your main compound lifts during these first two months. This visible progress is the most powerful motivation you can find.

Warning Signs It's Not Working

If you get to the end of week 4 and your numbers are almost identical to week 1 across most of your lifts, something is off. Tracking reveals problems. The logbook isn't moving because of an external factor. The three most common culprits are:

1. Lack of Effort: Are you truly pushing to beat your previous numbers, or just going through the motions?
2. Poor Nutrition: Are you eating enough protein (aim for 0.8-1.0 grams per pound of bodyweight) to repair and build muscle?
3. Inadequate Sleep: Are you getting 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night? Your muscles grow when you rest, not when you train.

Frequently Asked Questions

What to Track Besides Weight and Reps

As a beginner, nothing else. For the first 3-6 months, your sole focus should be on consistently adding weight or reps. Once the habit is ingrained, you could consider adding rest periods or a simple RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) score, but it's not necessary early on.

Tracking for Cardio vs. Lifting

The principle of progressive overload is the same. For lifting, you track weight and reps. For steady-state cardio (like running on a treadmill), you track duration and distance/speed. Your goal is to run slightly farther in the same amount of time, or the same distance in slightly less time.

The Best App vs. a Notebook

There is no 'best' tool, only the one you will use consistently. A simple $2 notebook is foolproof and distraction-free. An app can provide motivating graphs and calculate your total workout volume automatically. If you're easily distracted by your phone, start with a notebook.

When 'Going by Feel' Is Actually Useful

'Going by feel' (a concept called autoregulation) is a tool for advanced lifters, not beginners. After years of training and tracking, an experienced lifter has a highly calibrated sense of their body's capacity. They can adjust a planned workout based on their recovery. As a beginner, your 'feel' is not yet calibrated. Stick to the plan and trust the logbook.