Workout Chronicles

Working out is really a competition--against yourself. And the best way to know if you're winning is to track your progress. Sounds great, except it's hard enough to remember to pack a sports bra, much less recall how much weight you hoisted last Tuesday. That's why you've gotta write it down. Every detail you put on paper will let you know when to scale back and when to jack it up a notch. Even better, you'll know you're getting fitter. We talked to fitness gurus to find out the five most important things you should record after every workout. Any pad will do (our pick: the very cute Hable Construction spiral-top notebook, $16, seejanework.com). Tackle all your goals just by jotting down a few notes? We'll ink that deal.

Log this: Date, Day, Time, Location, and whatever strength moves or cardio you do that day
To figure out: Your ideal workout conditions
How to use the intel: At the end of every week, place a star by the days you were especially productive and an "X" by the ones when you felt like hell. After a month, note the trends and adjust your schedule accordingly. "Maybe you'll notice that you can lift more weight first thing in the morning and push yourself harder on the track after work," says Kelli Calabrese, M.S., C.S.C.S., a trainer in Flower Mound, Texas. (Yes, that's the name of her town. We asked--twice.)

Log this Reps, sets, and weights
To figure out: How to tweak your strength workout to achieve max results
How to use the intel: To keep improving strength and tone, you need to up the number of sets, reps, or weight each time you do a particular workout. Whichever you choose, increase that same factor across the board, like this: If last week you did one set each of 8, 10, and 12 reps per exercise, today aim for 10, 12, and 15 reps. This might sound like a big fat duh, but when you're doing 10 different exercises in a workout, it's hard to remember info like this, says Pamela Peeke, M.D., M.P.H., author of Fit to Live. "It takes the thinking out of it and helps you set goals, so every workout you're challenging yourself a little more," Calabrese says.