Thursday Thoughts – Journal Menu WOD log book review

Hi there!

Happy Thursday!

So, back in September, Jennifer at Wine to Weightlifting blogged about her new custom WOD log book from Journal Menu.

She even had a giveaway! Which I didn’t win. 😦

Total bummer, right?

Actually, no, because, after reading her review and checking them out, I had pretty much decided I was going to have one anyway.

So, it’s good that someone else won!

It took me probably a good 3 days to go through the site and see all the options.

I could choose from one of their awesome pre-made journal or I could customize my own.

And by customize, I mean both inside and out.

The thought of that was totally attractive to me because 1. I can be picky. (What? Who, me?) and 2. I have a tendency to be picky. (stop me if you’ve heard this before)

I’m used to running log books that have limited space – or just the right amount of space if you’re only recording a run. I was constantly squeezing words into tiny little spaces, trying to record a WOD. Heaven forbid I had a double that day and tried to record both a run AND a WOD.

And WOD recording is more than just writing down what it was or what you did. You need to write down weight progression, how you felt, if you failed at a weight, if you set a PR, what the warm-up was (seriously, if the WOD is burpees and the warm-up includes burpees or push-ups, I think that’s important to note to fully understand how the WOD went or if you happened to say, get 4 strict pull ups in a row (EEEP!), you might want to write that down), etc.

And, I never learned shorthand so…..I need my space. My notes can be extensive, at times. 🙂

Plus, I was finding that, with that limited space, I was less inclined to actually write things down and that’s an integral part of CrossFit.  You can’t track progression and improvements if you don’t write it down.

So, a customized log book it was!

In addition to being able to send in my own photo (yep, that’s me pre-pixie cut!), I was able to choose the background, print color (um, hello, PURPLE!), and even the color of the ring binding!

I even got a proof of what the cover would look like before they went to print! How amazing is that?!

I added my favorite quote to the back.  I love the way they highlighted the NOW and the MOST.

Now, let’s talk about the inside.

There are SO MANY options for the inside!!!

Too many for me to really cover so I’ll share with you the ones that were the most important to me and why.

Movement standards.

I’ve been CrossFitting for over a year now (except with the break when we moved, I think the total time might actually equal a year) and I still watch videos for movements/lifts that I’ve done countless times.

Being able to see diagrams and read about both setup and execution helps me to prepare mentally for that day’s WOD.

Mental preparation helps me to understand my physical performance, especially when Coach is working with me and giving me tips and cues.

WOD recording

I went back and forth and round and round with myself about all the options for these pages. Seriously, there were 20 different options. 20!!!

I could have record one WOD to a page or up to four WODs to a page, all with different options and in different styles.

I opted for the “Pretty Open” style with 2 WODs per page. This way, I could write to my little heart’s content and still have room if I needed to record a run! I also like the chart that allows me to record my food/sleep/stress/mood because those things are all very important keys to how/why my body performed a certain way.  In fact, I’ve discovered I need to work on the fuel aspect – the eating enough at the right times part of it. I think I knew before but the writing it down forced me to see it and think about it and realize that I’m pretty much STARVING every time I get to the gym and that’s not a good thing. So, I’m making active efforts to up my protein at lunch and in my PM snack because that’s where I think the problem lies.

I also LOVE the motivational quotes at the top of each page. And, I’m totally nerd enough that I refuse to read the upcoming quotes until I get to that page. 🙂

Anyhoo…..

Calendar pages

I decided on blank monthly calender pages so I could have a quick view of what my workouts look like, especially if I just wanted to look at my running.

I’m only using the WOD pages for WODs so I need a place to record my runs if I don’t double on that day.

I also have pages where I can record my times for the Girl WODs (benchmarks), Hero WODs, and my work (1RM, 3RM, 5RM, etc) on various weightlifting movements.

My logbook is filled with so much more than what I’ve shared here – common bar setups, functional movements, travel WODs, warmups, mobilization guides, etc – and yet, it’s slim enough for me to carry around in my purse and it didn’t break the bank. Nor did it take forever for me to get! I literally leaped for joy when I discovered it in my mailbox! 🙂

Journal Menu also has a Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram where they share daily doses of motivation and info about their awesome products.

OH! I almost forgot!

When I got my log book, there was a handwritten Thank You note included in there.

When was the last time Amazon sent you a handwritten Thank You note for purchasing something from them AND told you that you were awesome? Yeah, that’s what I thought.

This company is special. You should definitely check them out.

Talk to me: Where do you record your workouts? DO you record your workouts?

– jennifer