Ever get frustrated that you can’t quite find the right tool for the job? Even seemingly easy jobs like tracking your workout data? Sure, there are apps for that… but apps can crash. What if there was a custom journal to record all your fitness related information in one handy place? Well… There is!
Last year I experienced some significant losses. Remember when I lost my job? Or, arguably even more tragic, when I lost all my WOD data?? Lots of loss huh?
Well, perhaps at least the latter loss could have been prevented…? Enter Journal Menu: Workout Journals for Athletes!
Journal Menu brings fitness enthusiasts custom journals for logging all our workout data. Would any off-the-shelf spiral-bound collection of paper work for recording WODs? Well… yes. But why would you want that when you can have a journal that was made just for you??
First, who/what is Journal Menu? The team at JM originally were looking for the right journal to fit the needs of a friend… and they couldn’t find one. So what did they do? They made one! And poof, Journal Menu was born.
So what makes Journal Menu so special? Well, they are made by athletes for athletes, so they understand our needs for a functional workout tracker. Just check out the usefulness of a typical journal page.
There’s a place for your lift info, metcon tracking, goal work and mobility… everything you would want to track for a workout! Cool huh? There’s even a motivational quote at the top of each page! That would make for an awesome journal right there, but it’s the extras that put Journal Menu over the top. Check out the additional features included:
- Goal section
- Mobilization guide
- Hero WOD listing
- Benchmark WOD listing
- Tracking for specific lifts
- Super useful weight percentage chart
And custom means just that, custom! I picked out the colors and quote for the front of my journal. You recognize that quote, right?
Super useful. And for all my non-CrossFitting friends out there, fear not – there are other themes for a custom journal! Journal Menu offers running journals, yoga, triathlon, even day planners – all with fitness in mind.
Excited? You should be. Want to be even more excited? I’m giving away one free custom JM journal to one of you lucky readers!
I can’t imagine why anyone would not want a journal for themselves, but if you are unsure of reasons why working tracking is important, let me share a few reasons:
- Progress – to see how far you’ve come.
- Motivation – to keep going when progression gets tough.
- Patterns – to discover if something, such as nutrition or sleep, is affecting your workouts positively or negatively.
- Memories – to savor this journey that we are on.
Ok, you’re for sure ready to try out your own Journal Menu now. Go visit them, check out everything they have to offer, and pick out your own custom journal.
Each journal can be outfitted with whatever YOU need for YOUR fitness journey. (It’s probably no coincidence that journey and journal are practically the same word, right?) You pick your pages. You pick the units (lbs/kgs). You pick your design on the waterproof cover. Starting at $15, it’s for sure a worthwhile investment!
I want to say thank you to Journal Menu for sending me my journal at no cost and sponsoring the giveaway. Of course, all opinions here are my own. Enter to win your journal below, and be sure to check out Journal Menu on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest!
I love mine!
I had a custom one done for a friend (and used some ideas I thought of AFTER i got mine).
On the back of hers is a goal list of top things she wants to accomplish this year.
On mine, I have a picture of a girl doing a muscle-up with an inspirational quote – so every single day I am faced with that!
jennifer recently posted…Crossfit Games Open 15.3: So You Didn’t Get that Muscle Up
Awesome Jen. Yeah I wanted my quote to actually mean something to me, not just a random quote, so I picked the one that meant the most to me at the time. The MU on the back is a great motivational idea!
I’m old fashioned and still like to have things written down with pen and paper.
Thanks for the giveaway.
Right on Jill, thanks for checking it out! =)
I love tracking my progress and feel that journaling is the best way to do it! Right now I just use a notebook but I would love to have a custom one with lift tracking etc!
Jen @ Chase the Red Grape recently posted…Friday Favourites! Smile!
No doubt Jen, having a journal that is made for your needs would definitely make you love tracking even more!
I use several different apps to tracking different parts of my healthy journey (food, wods, running, etc.) and it drives me bonkers! I would love to have everything written out in a journal!
Casey recently posted…Friday Favorites: Stripes
Hey Casey, I’m with you. I have one for WODs, I logged my miles (when I actually do run) separately, and if I tracked food it would be someplace else too. Consolidating into one place would make things so much easier and probably reveal some interconnections between all the activities which may not be as clear when done apart.
I love being able to grab my notes at the gym to figure out what weight I should be using. And LOVE that JM is from Bainbridge!
For sure Morgan, I wish I could take back the YEARS when I toiled in the gym, trying to remember what weight I used last time I did a particular exercise or what percentage I should be using!
So, I hate to admit this – but other than Runkeeper, I am not a huge fan of apps – I usually write stuff down on a post it and then tend to loose it – sad but true! These Journals are no joke! I took a look at some of their running ones and I must say I love ’em – and the price!!! Thanks for the review Chris – I don’t think I would have ever sniffed Journal Menu out if not for your review!
Shashi at RunninSrilankan recently posted…Vanilla Infused Fried Rice {The Recipe Redux}
Apps only go so far Shashi… and then they crash and lose everything! Ugh! Glad I could shed some light on a product that hopefully you will find useful!
I’ve been getting so increasingly frustrated with BTWB as I try to use it before wods. I’m actually going to order one of these here soon. But, winning it would be even better! Nice quite btw.
I guess I didn’t leave the right kind of comment now that I read :). But I want a journal so I can track progress between this year’s games and next year’s.
Alex @ Alex Tries it Out recently posted…15.2 + 15.3 Scaled Recaps: Crossfit Open 2015
Haha, no worries, you can leave whatever comment you want! =) I think for those of us that love this sport, seeing our progress on such a wide plane can be difficult sometimes, especially when we are in the day-to-day grind of trying to improve. Journals are great for that!
I want to run some half marathons and a full but am prone to injury, taking my training more closely would help
You’re probably right Paige, tracking and maybe logging soreness/discomfort and maybe observing a pattern. Do you do any strength training to perhaps help injury-proof your body?
Always good to have a proper written journal. I’m just about to finish my 3rd CF journal… coincidence…? 🙂
I love how you kids across the pond use the word ‘proper’. It always makes me smile. And definitely quite the coincidence! =)
I’ve never even thought of it as being a bit different! I’m full of random words though – my usual favourite is gubbins – “a general clutter, stuff, a collection or assortment of unconnected items”. You should slip that into conversation just to see people’s reaction!
David recently posted…Random Chicane
Haha I’ll let you know the reaction!
I think it helps keep me motivated and I can track my progress.
Both excellent reasons!
We’ve been using a basic website & some spreadsheets, but yeah…sometime nothing beats good old paper & pen! Thanks for the heads-up on this product, and for supporting the smaller CF businesses!
No doubt, glad you checked them out Dave!