Customer Reviews

BodyMinder Workout and Exercise Journal (A Fitness Diary)

5 star:		(104)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

When looking on Amazon, the search inside feature shows an older edition. After purchasing, I found there have been some improvements.

Notably, the dietary section now includes boxes for breakfast-snack-lunch-snack-dinner-snack. This fits nicely for people who are following a diet that requires them to eat 5-6 small meals per day instead of the old standard of 3 meals. To make room for this, the "Other Exercise" section has been shrunk a bit. Instead of having big check boxes for various activities such as gardening and yoga (which was a waste of space to people who didn't use them), there are now 5 blank lines where you can write in your own activities, whatever they may be.

The cardio workout section has also been reformatted. The cross-country skier and jump rope have been removed, but there are three blank lines where people could add those back if they want.

Anyway, I would say that this was already an excellent product, and it is nice to know that it improves with time. Here are some things I like as compared to other workout journals I looked at.
- I like that it is both a workout and food diary AND gives plenty of space for both. It is important to pay attention to both in order to get and stay fit.
- I like that it has a lot of lines for weight training exercises. Some others did not have near enough for my needs.
- Some other journals I've looked at had much smaller spaces for writing in.
- Some journals had pictures on the cover of fitness models. I don't want to carry something into the gym that looks like the cover of a lady's fitness magazine or a men's muscle magazine either. I prefer the conservative fake leather look of this journal.
- The spiral binding allows it to lay flat for easy use.
- I found the brief section of common food counts handy. Best of all, they left space where I could add my own foods.
- The introductory material is helpful but brief. It tells you how to use the log. It doesn't tell you how to work out.
- It has a good weekly planning section at the beginning and goals/progress section at the end.
- The calendar in the back was handy for reference.

I will definitely buy this one again when I have filled in all the days.

Now that Weider's Weight Training log is out of print, this may be the best choice. Very usable, but the meal record is only 4/6 there: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks. Most modern programs recommend 5 or 6 evenly spaced smaller meals rather than the out of date 3 wholesome meals a day. Similarly, the Exercise Record is only 4/5 there: room for only 4 sets. Many programs, such as low weight/high rep, require space for 5 sets. A vinyl pouch in the back would also be useful.
Added 2/2005 - they've added a page with 3 vinyl pouches in newer versions!
Added 12/2005 - Weider's new edition is now available on Amazon. But I've grown to like this one slightly better than that one over time. Note, you have to buy 4 of these to cover a year if you work out every day. Weider's is prenumbered for 52 weeks and is best used to fully log a whole year starting in January. They're the same height and width, but the BodyMinder is half as thick. Weider is one page per day with a Daily Planner where you can put meals, BodyMinder is two pages per day with every bell and whistle listed (click surprise me a couple of times in "look inside" and both pages will eventually show up). Both conveniently open to fold flat on ring bindings which will hold your pen, too. You might want to compare the two before buying - they're both very good.

And I've used plenty...from spiral bound books to computer programs to PDA programs to my own log sheets. This has everything that I need/want and is flexible enough for me to log my gym workouts as well as my other exercise activies, such as martial arts, bicycling, etc.

For those who are doing the Body for Life program, this workout log would be an excellent choice. I found when I was doing Body for Life that not all logs were set up in a way that worked well for that program. This one does.

The features are great, but the log isen't loaded down with fluff or unnecessary stuff.

Finally---the workout log I've been searching for!

The BodyMinder is the perfect workout journal. It is an organizing person's dream tracker. It encompasses every possible activity a person can do and allows you to track it. Here's some additional info you don't see in the description/pictures:
Each day is 2 pages
Tracks 8 different cardio activities and leaves 4 lines blank for you to fill your own in
Tracks strength training, allows you to write down the muscle group you're working, the equipment, 4 sets, and you can rate the ease of that particular machine/action
Tracks other exercises for the day including games/competitions and gardening/housework. The games/competitions are tracked separately in the back of the book and allows you to describe the game you played.
Tracks your daily diet, how many glasses of water, vitamins
After all that, it still gives you space to add comments, reminders, your trainer's name, your exercise buddy's name, what time you worked out during the day.
Tracks weekly workout goals, diet goals, and body measurements.
Also, you can record your gym's information and what you've spent on fitness expenses (also broken down into 4 expense groups)
It is worth the money!!

This journal is quite comprehensive in terms of types of exercise listed, which I appreciate as my work-out is varied. The strength training section is perfect for almost any program. It's also helpful and easy to keep track of your diet, and let's face it, the two go hand-in-hand. I also like the "extras" included in this diary, like the weekly planning schedule, progress pages and calendar.

This journal is the BEST on the market! My boyfiend, a personal trainer, ordered one for each of his clients and they love it! The best gift to motivate clients! Very easy to use and well organized. Also try the DietMinder. You will be amazed at what you put ( and don't put!) in your mouth.

This book is an excellent tool for keeping track of what you eat and drink. It has plenty of room to write down all your meals plus snacks. It also has little boxes you check off everytime you drink a glass of water. Studies show that people who record everything they eat have a higher rate of success in losing weight than those who dont. It has worked for me!

This training log is the absolute best I have ever purchased. In the past I have used Weider's Log, M&F Hers Log, and The Ultimate Workout Log. The Ultimate Workout Log was poorly bound with comb-binding and didn't hold up well. That is what led me to try Bodyminder's. It is bound well with nylon spiral binding. Nice thick faux-leather cover, a transparent pocket inside the back to store misc. papers (I tuck my pencil in there). Each day is a two-page spread with a myriad of choices. There is a great deal of room for recording each weight training exercise -14 rows and columns to record 4 sets, as well as columns to mark which muscle group and difficulty. There are a couple of spots for notes, reminders, supplements. All in all, it is the most thorough log I have ever owned. I love it!

I've used a log for several years and I've recently switched to this one. I like it for several reasons. I've grown to like the simple black cover over the brightly colored covers of my other logs. This log has enough space to capture everything you could want from food, to goals, to cardio, to strength training. It doesn't have a separate space for mind/body like Pilates or Yoga but there's enough extra lines that you can add it where you see fit. It's so professionally done. There's a calendar in the back, food information in the front. There's space for competitions but that could be used for anything, including races or meets or anything. Two sheets opposite each other for each day, each log contains space for 13 weeks (91 days).

If you enjoy keeping a log you will like this a lot, if you've never thought of keeping a log but think it might help (studies show it does) then try this one. The beauty of it is if you don't want to use something you don't have to but it's there to help you along the way if you do. Happy New Year and Happy New You!

I have been on those exercise wrecks that so many of you get on, where you stay on it for two weeks then off for a couple weeks then on for a week then off and with this journal it helps me keep on track. I love that it is small and easy to store in your workout bag or where ever you like it, plus it has where you can note your vitmins and supplements that day, how much water you drink so you know if you need more that day, plus you can keep track of your progress in the back with all your measurements. It also has a strength training log which is great for remembering what weight you did and what pounds you used so you can progress up. It also has a place to keep dietary notes as what you ate that day so you can see what you did that day and maybe decrease what you eat so you can track your progress. It also has a chart of calories for different foods so you do have to go and look it up somewhere else. This has been the best book overall I have purchased and I have purchased quit a bit in the last many years. This is the best book by far!!!!!!!