Workout Volume Log

Who this is for

Every set, and the total lifted. Write each exercise set by set with its reps and weight, and the log works out the volume of each set, a running total for the exercise and the total for the whole session.

Gym-goers who lift with free weights or machines and want a plain record of what they did in a session, rather than a programme telling them what to do.

What this helps you track

• Each exercise broken down set by set, with reps, weight and rest
• The volume of each set, worked out as reps times weight
• A running volume for each exercise as the sets go in
• The session's total volume, total reps and number of sets
• The heaviest weight used in the session

How to use it

1. Fill the header: your name, the date, the kind of session, where you trained, how long it lasted and the unit you weigh in.
2. Write the first exercise on a new row for each set, numbering the sets 1, 2, 3 and so on.
3. Enter the reps you did and the weight you used for each set, plus the rest you took if you time it.
4. Volume per set and the exercise running total fill in by themselves in the browser and the workbook; on paper, multiply reps by weight.
5. Start the set number again at 1 when you move to the next exercise, so its running total starts fresh.
6. Read the session total from the summary and keep each session's sheet to compare later.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

What does volume mean here?

Reps multiplied by weight for each set, added up. It is a simple measure of how much work was done in a session. The log calculates it from your own figures and does not say what volume you should aim for.

How do I log bodyweight exercises?

Leave the weight blank, or enter any added weight you carried such as a belt or vest. The reps still count towards total reps, and the volume shows only the weight you actually entered.

Why does the exercise total restart?

The running total adds each set to the one above while the set number keeps going up. When you write set 1 again for a new exercise, it starts from that set's volume, so each exercise gets its own figure.

Kilograms or pounds?

Either. Write the unit you use in the header and keep to it for the whole session. The sums work the same way; mixing units on one sheet would make the totals meaningless.