About Online Training Diaries
Online training diaries refer to web-based workout logs where athletes and fitness enthusiasts can record workouts, fitness goals and keep track of anthropometric data like weight, body mass index and heart rates. They offer a variety of tools and features that help athletes keep track of important training goals and workouts. There are an abundant number of free online training diaries that can be used for just about any endurance sport imaginable. There are also online training diaries that charge a fee claiming that they have more advanced tools and features that justify the cost.
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History
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Use of a training diary, at least for runners, according to Matt Fitzgerald in the introduction to his book, "The Runner's Diary: A Daily Training Log," is a runner's tradition that has been around for decades. Fitzgerald wrote that Alfred Shrubb, a legendary English runner born in 1878, kept detailed training notes on his training in diary form. Prior to the explosion of the Internet and the proliferation of home computers, training diaries were generally kept using pen and paper, sometimes in a format of the athlete's own design and sometimes in spiral or hard bound training logs designed for the purpose that appeared during the running boom that occurred during the eighties. As late as 1993, Hal Higdon still referred to pen and paper training diaries in his book, "Marathon: The Ultimate Training and Racing Guide." The best information available indicates that the first online training diaries appeared on the scene in the mid-'90s.
Function
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Online training diaries are useful for a number of reasons, the same reasons in fact that the predecessor pen-and-paper diaries were valuable. Online versions are simply more convenient to work with because repetitive data can be stored and does not have to be repeatedly entered. Many online diaries often perform calculations for the user rendering it unnecessary to do them by hand. In endurance sports it is useful for athletes to keep track of things like mileage and intensity of workouts to guard against over-training, which can lead to injuries and lost training time.
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Features
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Beyond serving as a ready repository for historical workout data, many online training diaries offer tools that enhance training. Most have tools for keeping track of weight gains and losses; workout intensity in the form of resting, average and maximum heart rates; and cumulative data like weekly, monthly and annual milestones accomplished. For example: total laps for swimmers, total kilometers ridden for cyclists and total miles for runners and walkers. Some even have tools to map and record favorite running and biking routes. Another common tool is graphing capability where with the click of a mouse, athletes can review historical cumulative data and workout intensity records in graphical form to readily observe training trends and improvements in fitness and progress towards important training goals. Even the free online training diaries offer a substantial number of sophisticated tools.
Considerations
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For those considering the use of an online training diary, test-drive a few of the free ones available first to determine whether they have tools adequate for the purposes you intend a training diary to serve in your own training program. There are online training diaries that are designed for particular sports like strength training, running, swimming and cycling as well as those that are more generalized and can be effectively used by triathletes who spend time training in several sports. If you are a distance runner, likely a diary designed specifically for that sport will serve you best and you can easily find one that will fit the bill. If you cannot find a free online diary that meets your expectations and needs, many of the pay diary sites offer trial periods so that you can make an informed decision on usability.
Benefits
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One important benefit of online training diaries is when injuries occur, an athlete can usually ascertain what went wrong when reviewing the historical training data documented in her training diary. This can significantly reduce lost training time due to injuries caused by over-training. Online training diaries can also serve as a source of motivation by providing a powerful form of accountability. Athletes who have a habit of recording their workouts and missed workouts are much more likely to avoid skipping scheduled workouts. Online training diaries can also serve in the role of a virtual trainer of sorts in that new workout programs can be built using historical data.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Wikimedia Commons/Rafaelgarcia
