If you are a do-it-yourselfer, then chances are it’s to the basement for you. So you are going be learning on your own as to what to do and what not to do. That is good, but be cautions. Now those of you who decide to join a gym, you are going to learn how to monitor your progress. On the other hand, the basement iron men will need to monitor your progress on your own.
One thing you might think about is keeping a journal of your daily workout. By charting what you do everyday you are going to see how you improve. If you have a PC, then set up a spreadsheet that has all the “workouts” listed on the chart. For example, on your list put: push-ups; sit-ups; curls; bench press; dumb bells; etc. Once you have listed all the exercises that you want to do during a workout session, provide a place to write down how much weight you used; the date(s) of the workout session; repetitions you did; the time it took you to perform each workout; the condition or the way you felt after each workout session; etc.
By making a comprehensive list of everything you did and everything you felt before, during, and after the workout session you will (hopefully) see an improvement in your ability. You should be gradually increasing the amount of weight that you lift, amount of push-up you do, etc.
Now if you decide to ignore this journal stuff, you will only have your memory to be your guide. Not a problem, but it helps to see what you did in the past compared to what you can do in the present. You know, sort of like when you were two years old and wanted nothing more that to grow taller each and every day, so you took your pocket knife and scribed your wall just two inches above your head to see where you are at so far. Well it upset mom and dad, but I bet they were amused by your journal nonetheless.
Another way to monitor your progress is by noticing your waistline. If you find yourself going to the shopping mall to purchase a new belt or a smaller pair of britches, then chances are good that this extra effort is starting to pay off. Your body may ache like you’re going to fall apart like a leper in a windstorm, but if you did not overdo it along the way that pain is a good thing.
