The most important piece of equipment for making gains

Strength training doesn't require a lot of equipment. I started with Mark Lauren's book, You are your own gym which uses your own body weight. But even in his book there is some equipment that one needs for some of the exercises. With running you really only need a good pair of shoes (and shorts in most countries). There is the whole barefoot running movement, but even with this movement they still encourage some foot protection, the most popular being VibramFive Fingers. But shoes and weights aren't the most important piece of equipment for making gains - the humble notepad is.

The humble notepad, and her friend the pen, are the most important pieces of equipment for making gains.

With a fresh approach to exercise, whether it be cardio or strength, the gains are rapid. You run 1km in the first week - awesome. The second week you manage 2km - 100% gains. By the end of the 4th week you are running 5km - how good is this!! At some point, around the 2-3 month mark things begin to slow down. Progress becomes difficult. Your 5km time isn't getting any faster. The 10km feels too far. With a drop in progress so goes the motivation. Progress often equals motivation. That's where the humble notepad comes in.

The humble notepad doesn't lie. She just reports the facts. If you haven't put in the work she will tell you. If you have put in the work and you are making gains, she'll tell you that too. She tells the truth and tells it you straight. And when you are making gains, however small, she'll keep you motivated.

In strength training I record every exercise, every set, every single rep. It's not hard. I do a set, I write it down. In a single session I may do 4 exercises with 3 sets each. That's 12 numbers I need to write down. After each set I write down what I did. The next week when I redo the same routine I make sure I increase even if it's just 1 rep. Small gains are progress. One extra rep per week means that after 3 months it's time to add more weight - more weight means I'm getting stronger. Without the notepad I'm left to my memory of what I did the previous week - that's not going to be accurate. The notepad won't lie to me but my memory will.

As I prepare for the marathon I want to take the same approach. What type of run am I doing (Slow, HIIT, Yassos, Long, FastFinish)? How did it go? If I'm running Yassos then I want to record the number of intervals and the speed. If I'm doing more Yassos or doing them faster then I'm making gains. If my long run is getting longer then I'm making gains. The notepad won't lie - she will show me if I'm making gains or if I'm stalled.

Motivation in the beginning is easy because the gains come quickly. After the easy-phase progress slows down and motivation with it, unless I see gains, however small. How about you? Do you use a notepad? Do you prefer paper or electronic? How are you measuring your progress with the goals you have set for yourself? What difference do you think a notepad would make to your motivation and progress?