How to Log Workouts in Your Own Language
Quick answer: Write your workouts the way you already think about them, in your own language, and keep three things fixed: one name per exercise, numbers in a consistent format like 80kg 3x8, and dates in your local order. Most gym apps only translate their menus, so look for one that reads what you actually type.
Maybe you learned to lift in Spanish, so your notebook says "Sentadilla 80kg 3x8" and has never once said "Squat".
Then you download a workout app, and before you can log a single set it wants you to find "Barbell Back Squat" in an English exercise list.
Can a workout app understand notes written in another language?
Most cannot, even when the app is "available in your language". That phrase almost always means the menus, buttons and exercise library have been translated. What you type is still expected to match the app's own list.
Translated menus are genuinely useful. Hevy, for example, lists 16 interface languages on its App Store page, from Arabic to Turkish.
But a translated menu does not read your notes. If you think in "Kniebeuge" and "Bankdrücken", a translated exercise picker still makes you search, scroll and tap for every movement, every session.
What is the difference between a translated app and one that reads your language?
The distinction decides how much friction you get between sets:
| Translated interface | Reads what you type | |
|---|---|---|
| Menus and buttons | In your language | Depends on the app |
| How you log a set | Pick from a list, fill in fields | Type a line of text |
| Exercise names | The app's own names, translated | The names you wrote |
| Works with an existing notebook | You retype it into forms | You paste or photograph it |
If you already log in a notes app or on paper, the second column is the one that matters. Your history is already written in your language. The question is whether an app can use it without making you rewrite it.
How do you log workouts in your own language?
The rules are the same on paper, in a notes app, or in a tracker. None of them require English.
- Pick one name per exercise and never change it. "Sentadilla" every week, not "sentadilla" one week and "squats" the next. Consistency is what turns a list of sessions into a progress history.
- Keep the numbers universal.
Sentadilla 80kg 3x8,Kniebeuge 100kg 5x5andSupino 60kg 3x10read the same way to anyone. Weight, then sets times reps. Our guide to writing down your workouts covers the shorthand in full. - Write the unit every time.
kgorlbsafter the number. A note that says "100" is ambiguous in any language. - Put the date in your local order, and stay consistent.
6/05is 6 May in most of the world and June 5 in the US. Pick your country's format and do not switch. - Put the day or split name on its own line. "Día de pierna", "Push" or "Oberkörper" above the exercises keeps sessions separate when you look back.
Examples in a few languages
Día de pierna
Sentadilla 80kg 3x8
Peso muerto rumano 60kg 3x10
Push
Développé couché 70kg 4x6
Élévations latérales 10kg 3x12
Oberkörper
Bankdrücken 80kg 5x5
Klimmzüge BW 3x8
Each line is exercise, weight, then sets and reps, whatever language the exercise name is in. That consistent order is what lets you (or an app) compare one session with the next.
What goes wrong when you log in two languages?
The same lift ends up split across two histories. This is the most common problem for bilingual lifters, and it happens on paper as well as in apps.
Write "Sentadilla" at your home gym and "Squat" when you train with English-speaking friends, and you now have two exercises. Neither one shows your real progress, because half your sessions are filed under the other name.
The fix is to choose a canonical name and map the other one to it. On paper, that means correcting old entries. In an app, it means merging the two exercises once, so every future session lands in one history no matter which word you wrote.
Logging in your own language with Gym Note Plus
Gym Note Plus reads workout notes written in plain text and turns them into logged sets, reps and weights. The parser is not limited to a list of languages. You write the note in whatever language you think in.
What that means in practice:
- Exercise names stay in your language. The app does not translate "Sentadilla" into "Squat". It keeps the name you wrote, so your history reads the way your notebook does.
- Dates follow your country's format. A note dated
6/05is read as 6 May in the UK and as June 5 in the US, based on your region. - Two names for one lift can be merged once. After you merge "Sentadilla" into "Squat" (or the other way round), later notes using either word are logged under the same exercise. The rename or merge exercises guide shows how.
- The menus are translated into 13 languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Polish, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Filipino, and three variants of Chinese. For languages without translated menus, such as Portuguese, Swedish, Dutch, Turkish, Arabic, Hebrew or Thai, the app still pre-fills its sample workout note in that language.
You can also photograph a handwritten page instead of typing it, which is useful if years of history already live in a paper notebook.
If you want to see how a note of yours gets structured before installing anything, paste one into the free notes to workout tool.
If your notebook is in Spanish, your workout history should be in Spanish too. Translating it is extra work that makes the data less yours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I log workouts in Spanish, German or Portuguese?
Yes, as long as the method you use does not force you to pick exercises from a fixed English list. On paper or in a notes app, write in any language. In a tracker, look for one that reads typed notes rather than one that only translates its menus.
What does "available in your language" mean for a gym app?
It usually means the interface has been translated: buttons, menus and the built-in exercise library. It rarely means the app can understand free text you type in that language. Check whether logging a set means typing or picking from a list.
Should I translate my exercise names into English?
No. Translating adds a step between sets and gives you nothing back. What matters for tracking is using the same name every time. A consistent name in your own language tracks progress exactly as well as an English one.
How do I stop the same exercise showing up twice?
Choose one name and use it every session. If you have already logged the lift under two names, merge them into one. After that, both spellings count toward a single progress history.
Does the date format matter when logging workouts?
Yes. 6/05 means 6 May in most countries and June 5 in the US. Use your own country's order consistently, or write the month as a word, so older entries are never misread.
Final Takeaways
- "Available in your language" usually means translated menus, not an app that understands what you type.
- Log in the language you think in. Translating exercise names into English costs time and adds nothing.
- One name per exercise is the rule that makes any log trackable, in any language.
- Keep numbers, units and dates consistent:
80kg 3x8, the unit every time, and your local date order. - If you use two languages, merge the duplicate names once so your progress lives in one history.
Josh Ibbotson
Josh is the creator of Gym Note Plus, building tools that make workout tracking as simple as taking notes.
Ready to try it out?
Download Gym Note Plus and start tracking your workouts the way you want.
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