What is the best way to track your workouts?

I've been building a workout tracker app since 2013, so I have obvious opinions here. But before I try to convince you that an app is the answer, let me be honest: the best way to track your workouts depends on how you train, what you care about, and what you'll actually stick with.

My own tracking journey started with a notebook. Then I switched to an app called GymBuddy, which eventually got abandoned by its developer, leaving me with no way to access my data. Back to the notebook. That frustration is actually what led me to build RepCount in the first place. I've also used spreadsheets for structured percentage-based programs like Madcow and 5/3/1, where the weights are calculated in advance and a spreadsheet genuinely makes sense.

I haven't personally tracked workouts with the Notes app or Notion, but I've been in this space for over a decade, and I have a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn't.

Quick summary

Why track workouts at all?

Before comparing methods, let's talk about why this matters. If you don't care about getting stronger over time, you don't need to track anything. Just go to the gym and move your body. That's fine.

But if you want to get stronger (actually, measurably stronger) you need progressive overload. That means doing slightly more than last time: a bit more weight, one more rep, an extra set. And you can't progressively overload if you don't know what you did last time.

This is the part most people underestimate. You walk into the gym, you think you remember what you squatted last week, and you're usually wrong. Maybe by 2.5kg, maybe by a rep, maybe by a whole set. And it's not just the numbers. It's the small details. Was that last rep a grinder, or did you have one more in the tank? That's the difference between adding weight today or repeating the same load and pushing for an extra rep. Those small incremental decisions are how you actually get stronger over time, and they're almost impossible to make well from memory.

So the real question isn't whether to track your workouts. It's how.

Pen and paper

The classic. A notebook and a pen. This is where I started, and it's where millions of lifters still are. People have been getting strong this way since long before smartphones existed.

What's good about it: There's zero learning curve. You write down the exercise, the weight, the reps. Done. No app to open, no account to create, no notifications. Some people genuinely focus better when they're not touching their phone between sets, and I respect that completely. There's also something satisfying about flipping through a filled notebook. It feels tangible in a way that digital data doesn't.

Where it falls short: This is exactly what drove me to build RepCount. Finding what you did last time is the problem. If you're doing a Push/Pull/Legs split three days a week, your last bench press session might be several pages back. Now find your bench press from four weeks ago. Now try to figure out whether your bench has gone up over the last three months. It's technically possible, but nobody actually does it. You'd have to manually scan through pages of handwriting and compile the numbers yourself.

The other problem is durability. Notebooks get lost, get wet, get left at the gym. If your notebook goes missing, months of training data disappear with it. There's no backup.

Best for: Lifters who value simplicity above everything else, don't care about long-term progress charts, and train with a simple routine they rarely change.

The Notes app (Apple Notes, Google Keep)

The most common starting point for people who want to track digitally but don't want to download a dedicated app. You open the Notes app (it's already on your phone) and type something like "Bench 80kg 5x5, Squat 100kg 3x8."

What's good about it: It's free, it's fast to start, and your phone is already in your pocket. You don't need to download anything or learn a new app. If you just want a quick record of what you did today, it does the job.

Where it falls short: The same place pen and paper does, except it gets messy even faster. After a few weeks you have a wall of unstructured text. Finding your last squat session means scrolling and scanning. There are no charts, no personal records, no way to see trends. You can't sort by exercise or filter by date range.

The other issue is that it gives you nothing back. You put data in, but you never get any useful feedback. No progress charts, no records, no indication of whether you're actually improving. It's easy to stop bothering when tracking feels like a chore with no payoff.

Best for: Someone who just wants to jot down today's workout and doesn't plan to look back at it very often. It's a step up from not tracking at all, but barely.

Spreadsheets (Google Sheets, Excel)

This is one I actually have experience with, but specifically for structured percentage-based programs, not as a general daily workout log. I've used spreadsheets for programs like Madcow 5x5, Wendler's 5/3/1, and various 12-week bench press peaking programs where all the weights are pre-calculated.

What's good about them: For that specific use case, where you have a structured program and know the weights in advance, spreadsheets are excellent. You plug in your maxes, the formulas calculate your working weights for every session, and you just follow the plan. There are thousands of free program templates floating around online for exactly this purpose.

Where they fall short: In practice, I ended up printing out the plan and tracking the actual workouts separately anyway. The spreadsheet was great for calculating the weights, but it wasn't something I used mid-session. And that's the fundamental issue: a spreadsheet is a planning tool, not a logging tool.

The other limitation is that your training data stays locked in that one spreadsheet for that one program. When the program ends, or you switch to something less structured, you're starting from scratch. There's no continuity between programs. No way to see how your squat has progressed across the last three programs you ran.

Best for: Running a specific percentage-based program like 5/3/1 or Madcow where the weights are pre-calculated. Also great for data-oriented lifters who train at a home gym where a laptop is nearby. Less practical as an everyday workout log.

Notion and productivity tools

I haven't used Notion to track workouts myself, but it comes up often, especially from people in tech who already use Notion for everything else. The appeal makes sense: it's flexible, it looks good, and keeping your workout log there means one less app to manage.

What's good about it: You can build a Notion database with properties for exercise, weight, reps, sets, date, and whatever else you want. It looks clean, it's customisable, and it syncs across devices. For people who already think in Notion, the mental model makes sense.

Where it falls short: Notion was designed for project management and note-taking, not for logging sets of bench press while you're sweaty and out of breath. Opening Notion, navigating to your workout database, creating a new entry, filling in properties. It's a lot of taps for something you need to do fifteen to twenty times per workout.

The setup is often impressive. The follow-through usually isn't. A beautiful Notion workout template doesn't help much if the friction of actually using it mid-session means you stop filling it in after a few weeks.

There's also no automatic progress tracking. Notion won't tell you that you just hit a new 5-rep max on deadlift. You'd need to build that logic yourself, and at that point, you're basically building a workout tracker app inside a productivity tool.

Best for: People who genuinely enjoy building systems in Notion and are okay with a slower logging experience. It works better for planning training blocks than for mid-workout logging.

Dedicated workout tracker apps

This is where I'm biased, and I'll own it. I built RepCount because I tried the notebook approach twice, got burned when GymBuddy was abandoned, used spreadsheets for specific programs, and still couldn't find something that was fast enough to use between sets while also showing me my progress over time.

What's good about them: A purpose-built workout tracker is designed for exactly one thing: logging sets quickly and showing you your progress over time. The best ones pre-fill today's workout with what you did last time, so you immediately see the weight to beat. You tap to log a set, and it takes a few seconds. Personal records are tracked automatically across every rep range. Charts show whether your bench is going up, down, or sideways, without you having to build anything.

The speed matters more than people think. When you're resting 90 seconds between sets of heavy squats, you don't want to fight with a spreadsheet or scroll through a notes file. You want to glance at your phone, see that you did 120kg for 5 reps last time, and know you're going for 122.5kg. That's it.

Long-term data is where apps really pull ahead. After six months of consistent logging, you can see patterns that no other method reveals: which exercises are progressing, which are stalled, how your volume has changed over time, whether you're actually recovering between sessions. A year of data is genuinely powerful. Two years is transformative for your training.

Where they fall short: It's another app on your phone. That's a fair objection. RepCount has a generous free tier (unlimited workouts, routines, and custom exercises, no ads) so you can try it without paying anything. And if you want the full experience with advanced charts, supersets, and drop sets, the premium subscription is priced to be reasonable.

There's also the question of trust, and this one is personal for me, because it's what happened with GymBuddy. You're putting years of training data into someone else's app. If the developer stops maintaining it or shuts down, you could lose everything. Check the app's update history and how long it's been around before committing your data to it. I worked on RepCount solo for about ten years. Now we're a team of two, working on it full time. It's a sustainable business with many long-time customers, some of whom have been logging workouts with us since 2013. We're not going anywhere.

Best for: Anyone who takes their training seriously and wants to actually see progress over time. Whether you're a beginner or someone with ten years of lifting experience, the speed and automatic tracking of a dedicated app makes a real difference.

What I'd recommend

Here's my honest take, including the cases where I wouldn't recommend an app:

If you just started lifting and aren't sure you'll stick with it: Use the Notes app for a month. Get the habit of recording what you do. If you're still going after a month, switch to a proper tracker.

If you're running a structured percentage-based program: Use a spreadsheet. For something like 5/3/1 or Madcow where the weights are pre-calculated, a spreadsheet template is genuinely the right tool. You can still log the actual workout in an app alongside it if you want the long-term data.

If you're a spreadsheet person who trains at home: Build a spreadsheet. You'll love it, and the laptop-nearby factor removes the biggest friction. Just back it up.

If you like building systems and don't mind slower logging: Try Notion. You might be one of the people who actually maintains it. Just be honest with yourself after a few weeks about whether you're actually using it or just admiring the template.

If you want to get stronger and care about progress: Use a dedicated workout tracker app. The speed, the automatic pre-fills, the progress charts, the personal records. None of the other methods come close for long-term strength development. I built RepCount for exactly this reason, and it has passed two million downloads.

If you genuinely focus better without a phone: Use pen and paper. Some people are just wired this way, and fighting it isn't worth it. Consider taking a photo of each page as a backup.

The most common mistake

The biggest mistake isn't choosing the wrong method. It's not tracking at all. The lifters I've seen stall are usually the ones not tracking. They end up doing the same weight for months, feeling like they're working hard but not understanding why they're not progressing.

Any tracking is better than no tracking. A messy note in your phone is better than trying to remember. A half-maintained spreadsheet is better than guessing.

But if you've been in the gym for more than a few months and you're serious about getting stronger, something that shows you your progress over time, something that tells you what to beat today, is genuinely worth it. That's what a dedicated tracker does, and it's why I've spent thirteen years building one.

Try RepCount

If you want to try a dedicated workout tracker, I'd obviously love for you to try RepCount. It's free to download, free to log unlimited workouts, and you don't need to create an account to start.

Download RepCount for iOS or Download RepCount for Android.

Log a few sessions. If it's not for you, no hard feelings. The important thing is that you're tracking.

But I think you'll like it.

RepCount has been available on iOS and Android since 2013 and is built by Siper Apps AB in Stockholm, Sweden.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best way to track workouts?

A dedicated workout tracker app is the best way to track workouts for most people. It's the fastest to use between sets and automatically tracks your progress, personal records, and training volume over time. Pen and paper and spreadsheets also work, but they don't give you the automatic feedback that helps you progressively overload.

Should I use a notebook or an app to track workouts?

Both work, but an app is better for long-term progress tracking. A notebook is simple and distraction-free, but you can't easily look up what you squatted three months ago or see whether your bench press is trending up. Apps like RepCount pre-fill your workout with last session's numbers, which makes progressive overload much easier.

Can I track workouts in Notion?

You can, but I find the logging experience too slow mid-workout. Notion is designed for project management, not for logging sets while you're resting between heavy squats. It works better for planning training blocks than for real-time workout tracking.

Can I use a spreadsheet to track workouts?

Spreadsheets are great for structured percentage-based programs like 5/3/1 or Madcow, where the weights are pre-calculated. They're less practical as an everyday workout log. Using a spreadsheet on your phone between sets is clunky, and I ended up printing the plan and tracking separately, and I doubt I'm alone.

Can I track workouts with Apple Notes or Google Keep?

Yes, but it's the most basic form of tracking. You'll have an unstructured list of text with no charts, no personal records, and no way to see trends. It's better than nothing, but you'll likely outgrow it quickly if you're serious about getting stronger.

What is the best free workout tracker app?

RepCount has one of the most generous free tiers available: unlimited workouts, unlimited routines, unlimited custom exercises, and no ads. Many other workout trackers limit the number of routines or custom exercises you can create on free, which can feel restrictive once you've been training for a while.

Is it worth paying for a workout tracker app?

If you train consistently and care about progress, yes. Premium features like advanced charts, supersets, and detailed analytics help you understand your training at a deeper level. But try the free version first. You can always upgrade later if you want more.

What should I track in my workouts?

At minimum: the exercise, the weight, and the reps for each set. That's enough for progressive overload. If you want to go deeper, you can also track rest times, RPE (rate of perceived exertion), and body weight. Don't over-complicate it. Consistency matters more than detail.