In praise of the nerdy little workout notebook

I have mentioned my Nerdy Little Workout Notebook before, more than once. It coexists constantly in my bag with my journal and my writing ideas notebook. Yes, that is a lot of notebooks to lug around. But they help.

Today is my Nerdy Little Workout Notebook’s one-year anniversary.

Now I ain’t tryin to turn this into some kinda fitness blog. But I thought that for comparison’s sake, I’d transcribe both my inaugural Nerdy Little Notebook workout from 4/6/11, and the one I did earlier today, 4/6/12.

4/6/11

Squats 2×15 = 20 lb barbell

Lat pulldown 2×15=70 lbs

Standing overhead shoulder press 2×15=20 lb barbell

One-arm dumbbell row 2×15=15 lb

Bench press 2×15=45 lbs (bar alone)

Calf raise 1×15=90 lb

Crunches 2×15

4/6/12

Bench press (in squat cage, which is far easier than with free weights since the bar itself is stabilized and you’re just pushing it up and letting it down) 1×12=95, 1×10=115, 1×8=135, 1×6=145

Lat pulldown 1×12=70, 1×10=85, 1×8=100,1×6=115

Incline press 1×12=10 lb dumbbells, 1×10=15s, 1×8=20s, 1×6=25s

One-arm dumbbell rows 1×12=15 lb, 1×10=20, 1×8=25, 1×6=30

Seated shoulder press 1×12=10 lb dumbbells, 1×10=15s, 1×8=20s, 1×6=25s

Front raises 1×12=5 lb dumbbells, 1×10=6s, 1×8=7s, 1×6=8s

Alternate dumbbell curls 1×12=10s, 1×10=15s, 1×8=20s, 1×6=25s

Hammer curls 2×12=20s

Triceps pushdowns 1×12=30 lbs, 1×10=40, 1×8=50

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I try not to pay excessive, obsessive attention to certain other numbers one can track, the ones stitched into pieces of clothing or displayed on a scale. I don’t always succeed, but I try.

But I am totally fine with obsessively tracking the numbers that tell me how much I can lift.

And credit where credit is due: that first workout, and many of the ones that have followed, came from Stumptuous.