How to track your lifts at different gyms

Give each comparison enough context

A useful entry might say “Main gym · seated cable row M1 · 45 kg displayed · 10 reps.” That is more informative than “row, 45, 10” when your next session is in a hotel. A gym name tells you where you trained; the equipment identity tells you which previous set is most relevant.

Keep the same basic log at every location: date, exercise, set type, load, unit and completed reps. Add the details that affect your ability to repeat the setup. You do not need to describe the whole room. A short machine label and a stable note are usually easier to reuse than a long explanation written from memory.

Why two cable machines can show different weights

A stack label is not enough to establish that two machines provide the same resistance. For example, Life Fitness specifies a 4:1 resistance arrangement on its Dual Adjustable Pulley.^[1] That is a concrete reason to check the machine’s own specification rather than assuming every cable station behaves like a directly lifted stack.

For logging, keep the displayed number and identify the machine. Do not divide or multiply a label based on a guessed pulley ratio: the labeling convention itself needs to be known. Attachments and setup also need to match before an entry becomes a useful repeat comparison. You can preserve the record without pretending to calculate an exact equivalent load on another station.

Worked example: two gyms, two separate records

This original example follows a seated cable row on two identified machines. All numbers are invented to demonstrate bookkeeping. Each visit contains three working sets, and the setup is unchanged within each machine’s pair of visits. The example is not a workout prescription or a customer result.

Download the two-gym example CSV to see one row per set, including machine identity, setup and the displayed-load convention. Open it in a spreadsheet and filter by equipment ID before comparing dates. The file contains plain data without formulas or an automatic app-import promise.

At M1, the log shows two more reps at the same displayed load across three sets. The recorded load-times-reps total changes from 45 × 29 = 1,305 to 45 × 31 = 1,395 kg. At H1, it changes from 35 × 33 = 1,155 to 35 × 35 = 1,225 kg, also two more reps at an unchanged load.

Those are useful observations within each setup. Comparing 1,395 with 1,225 across the machines does not establish which session was harder or how much stronger someone was. Nor is a move from the main gym’s 45 to the hotel’s 35 evidence of lost strength. The equipment changed along with the number.

Check free-weight labels too

Barbells need the actual bar mass included when your convention is total load. Not every bar is 20 kg: Rogue’s Bella Bar is specified at 15 kg, while its product page also identifies the Ohio Bar as 20 kg.^[2] Check the equipment you use instead of carrying an assumption from your usual gym.

With one 10 kg plate on each side, a 15 kg bar totals 35 kg and a 20 kg bar totals 40 kg, before any additional counted equipment. The plates look the same in your note, but the totals differ. Record the total according to your convention, then retain the bar detail if you need it to explain a change.

For dumbbells, check both the unit and whether your log means one hand or both hands. A label in pounds should remain in pounds unless you explicitly convert it and record the result consistently. Our guide to logging dumbbell weight covers paired, alternating and single-arm examples.

Do I need a separate exercise for every gym?

No. A change of building alone does not have to create a new exercise history. If you can identify a genuinely comparable movement, load convention and setup, keep the exercise consistent and record the location as context. Separate a machine or variation when combining its numbers would make later comparisons misleading.

Avoid names such as “row 2” that stop meaning anything a month later. “Seated cable row · hotel H1” is clearer. If you later discover that two entries referred to the same station, correct the naming consistently while keeping the original dates and completed values. A naming cleanup should not rewrite what you lifted.

When your usual exercise is unavailable

Keep the planned exercise and the performed exercise distinguishable. If you replace a cable row with a dumbbell row, record the dumbbell row you actually complete and note the substitution. Carrying the old exercise name onto the new movement creates a false continuation of its numbers.

This is also worth checking when you import a workout plan from a screenshot. First preserve what the source says. Then make any location-specific replacement deliberately. Do not let an unavailable machine turn into an unnoticed exercise mismatch during import.

Review progress using the matching record

• Find the previous visit with the same exercise, equipment and setup.
• Confirm the unit, load convention and working-set count before comparing reps or totals.
• Read notes about substitutions or changed conditions. Keep uncertain comparisons qualified.
• Write the observation precisely, such as “two more reps at 45 kg on M1,” and use your program to decide the next target.

The same discipline applies to estimates. The one-rep-max calculator cannot turn different machines into equivalent lifts. For the distinction between a rep record, a volume total and an estimated maximum, read estimated 1RM, volume and rep PRs. Start with comparable entries; the summary comes after.