The most difficult part of working out is actually getting yourself to do it – at least, that’s what it’s been in my experience! I’ve found that the thing that motivates me most is when I actually keep track of my workouts. I used to make a little calendar for myself, and then circle the days on which I worked out. It was awesome to see the days I worked out all laid out in front of me – and I’ve always preferred to track my workouts after the fact, as scheduling them in advance can be a bit daunting. I loved that if I saw that a week had only one or two circles, it would motivate me to work out more the next week – and if I saw that one week was filled with circles, I’d be pumped on how well I was doing, and it would motivate me to keep it up!

There was only one teeny problem with this little calendar system I was using: It wasn’t cute. I’m a visual person in many ways and I like to be surrounded with things that are aesthetically appealing at all times. While my calendar was made using all different colored markers, it still looked like a calendar. It was full of letters and numbers and I just wasn’t having it, so I came up with a way to create a workout tracker that’s disguised as a decoration: the Hanging Driftwood Workout Tracker.

Here’s how it works:

Your workout tracker represents a month. Each hanging piece of twine represents one week within that month. Each time you work out, you can add a bead onto the string that represents whichever week you’re in. As you see the beads start to add up, you’ll become more and more motivated to keep working out – especially because the more beads you add, the prettier your decoration will become. :)

And here’s how it’s done!

What you need:

Picture nails, beads with wide holes, twine, a piece of wood (I used driftwood that I found at the beach), and a hammer. You’ll also need scissors.

Optional: paintbrush and acrylic paint.

What you do:

If you want to decorate your wood like I did, do that first! I just made a little design using yellow paint. When you’re finished, allow the paint to dry.

Once your paint is dry, cut a piece of twine and tie a knot at either end. You can cut this as long or short as you like – it will be used to hang your workout tracker.

Position one knot on the top left of your wood. Place a nail through the knot, and hammer the nail all the way into the wood. Repeat on the top right side.

Now your wood should be able to hang!

Cut 5 pieces of twine any length and knot one end of each. Each piece will represent one workout week!

Nail each piece of twine to the bottom of your wood. When held upright, the unknotted side of each piece should hang towards the ground.

Now it’s time for the beads! If you truly want to use this as a workout motivator, don’t add any beads until you actually work out!

Thread one bead onto the twine that represents the week you’re in, tying a knot beneath it to secure it in place. If you plan on working out multiple times this week, be sure to tie the knot close to the top, so there’s room for more beads!

At the end of the month, your workout tracker should look something like this!

When you’ve completed a month, you can take the beads off and start again, or use the old workout tracker as a decoration and make an entire new one for the new month!

Enjoy and happy workouts!!

Photos by FP Brigette.

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