A weekly gym and running log: what to record and add up
Rally team · · 5 min read
To track gym workouts and running in the same week, use one row per session, keep activity-specific details separate and choose one definition of time. Add sessions and minutes using that rule; keep weights, reps and distance in their own columns. When a workout includes both activities, a shared session ID helps you avoid counting it twice.
What to record for each workout
The weekly view answers when you trained and what you logged. The detailed view answers what you did within each activity. Keep the detail in your usual app if you prefer, and bring only what the group needs into a shared log.
For example, Strava’s strength documentation separates exercises, sets, reps and weight. Those fields describe a gym session, but they do not use the same unit as running distance. A shared spreadsheet can hold both activities without turning them into a single score.
- Common fields: session ID, date, activity, time with its definition and logging status.
- Gym: exercises, sets, reps and load, if you already track those details; label kg or lb.
- Running: distance with its unit, the time used and pace calculated from those same inputs.
- Optional sharing: a short comment. You do not need to publish your route, gym or exact schedule.
Elapsed time and moving time are different
Strava distinguishes elapsed time, which includes stops between start and finish, from moving time. The activity and app view can display one or the other. Read the label before copying a number.
For this guide’s template, we chose elapsed time per session. This is an organizing rule, not an intensity measure. If you prefer a different rule, write it down and keep it consistent: do not silently combine gym minutes that include breaks with running minutes that exclude them.
If you use our pace calculator, enter distance and time from the same run. A calculation that includes stops can differ from the moving pace on your watch or app. Do not change a record just to make the numbers match.
A weekly log example with a mixed session
This fictional example shows how to record completed sessions. It is not a workout plan or a recommended frequency. Add your own dates and the actual details from each record.
Each ID represents one session. In C, the gym and running blocks belong to the same workout: keep them inside that entry rather than adding them again as two separate sessions.
Swipe across the table to read all columns.
| Session | Activity | Logged time | Separate details | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Gym | 40 min | Sets and loads kept in the strength log | Completed |
| B | Running | 30 min | 5 km; pace using that time: 6:00 min/km | Completed |
| C | Mixed | 45 min | 30 min gym + 15 min running; distance pending | Completed; one field missing |
Summarize the week without inventing totals
The example contains three sessions and 115 logged minutes: 40 + 30 + 45. The mixed session counts once. This total describes recorded time under your chosen rule; it does not establish greater intensity, better performance or equivalence between people.
The known distance is 5 km, but the running distance for C is missing. The weekly distance total is therefore incomplete. Do not replace the missing entry with zero or present those 5 km as the entire week’s distance.
Do not add weight lifted and distance run to invent a score. If the group uses points from an app, keep those separate and check its rules. A game leaderboard and a detailed workout log answer different questions.
- Sessions: count unique IDs, not how many screenshots or apps show the activity.
- Time: check the definition and avoid overlapping intervals before adding them.
- Distance: use consistent km or miles and mark missing entries.
- Strength: review each exercise with its units; do not turn it into distance or points without an explicit rule.
When your watch and another app show the same session
Choose which record will be the reference for that session. Compare the date, activity and duration before treating them as different workouts. If a copy has different details, flag it for review instead of adding it automatically.
The A, B or C session ID is a suggestion for your note or spreadsheet, not a deduplication feature this website runs. The table does not import watch data or change any app. Each person keeps and corrects their record where they created it.
What to share with friends and where Rally fits
Before starting, agree on what you want to see together: completed sessions, comments or a leaderboard. Personal details can stay in another tool. Your logging agreement does not need to choose anyone’s exercise plan.
Rally supports logging different workout activities and following a weekly leaderboard with friends, according to its public listing. If you use it, review its points rules in the linked calculator. This spreadsheet does not change Rally’s scoring or promise to sync the group’s apps.
Use the printable calendar if you only want to mark workout days, the pace calculator to check a run or the challenge planner to write down your agreement. This guide and example are original suggestions from the Rally team.
Sources and editorial approach
Official sources reviewed on October 31, 2026. Features and conditions can change. Rally publishes this content and develops one of the apps mentioned.