Quick Answer: Tracking accessory work is just as important as logging your main lifts. With Gladiator Lift you can record every set, rep, and RPE for your accessories in the same log as your primary movements, giving you a complete picture of your training volume and progress over time.
Most lifters obsess over their squat, bench, and deadlift numbers but barely glance at their accessory work. That is a mistake. Accessory exercises fill the gaps that the big three cannot cover alone, and without a log, you are flying blind on half your training volume.
This guide walks you through exactly how to track accessory work in your training log so your weak points finally get the attention they deserve.
Why Accessory Work Deserves a Dedicated Log
Your main lifts tell one story. Your accessories tell the rest.
Accessories are the movements that reinforce the primary lifts—Romanian deadlifts, face pulls, cable rows, tricep pushdowns, and dozens more. Without tracking them, you have no way to know whether you are making progress on the muscles that matter most.Over a training block, untracked accessories often drift. Sets get skipped, weights stagnate, and volume quietly drops without you noticing. A dedicated log section prevents this. When you can see last week's numbers in front of you, you stay honest and consistent.
Tracking accessories also helps you identify which movements correlate with improvements in your primary lifts. If your bench press stalls and you notice your tricep volume dropped three weeks earlier, that is actionable data.
Choosing What to Track
Not every warm-up movement needs a full log entry, but every working set does.
Start by dividing your accessory exercises into two categories:
| Category | Examples | Track? |
|---|---|---|
| Primary accessories | Romanian deadlift, Bulgarian split squat, incline press | Yes — full sets, reps, weight, RPE |
| Secondary accessories | Face pulls, band pull-aparts, calf raises | Yes — sets and reps minimum |
| Warm-up / activation | Monster walks, shoulder circles | Optional — notes only |
The rule of thumb is simple: if it is in your program, it gets logged. If it is just a warm-up ritual, a quick note is enough.
You should also decide whether to track RIR (reps in reserve) or RPE for your accessories. This is especially useful for higher-rep hypertrophy work where you are pushing close to failure.
How to Structure Accessory Entries in Your Log
Structure your log entries consistently so the data is useful when you review it later.
A good accessory log entry includes:
- Exercise name — use the same name every session so searches work correctly
- Sets × Reps × Weight — e.g., 3×10×135 lbs
- RPE or RIR — especially for hypertrophy-focused accessories
- Short note — only when something notable happened (grip slipped, tempo changed, etc.)
Here is an example layout for a pull day:
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Weight | RPE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbell Row | 4 | 8 | 185 lbs | 7 |
| Face Pull | 3 | 15 | 30 lbs | 6 |
| Hammer Curl | 3 | 12 | 40 lbs | 8 |
| Lat Pulldown | 3 | 10 | 120 lbs | 7 |
This level of detail sounds tedious at first, but once you are in a rhythm it takes less than two minutes per session.
Tracking Volume and Progression for Accessories
Volume is the primary driver of hypertrophy, so your log needs to support volume tracking over time.Calculate your weekly volume per muscle group by adding up total sets across all exercises that target that muscle. Most coaches recommend:
- 10–20 working sets per muscle group per week for hypertrophy
- 5–10 sets per week for maintenance during a strength-focused phase
When you review your log week over week, look for these patterns:
- Flat volume — you are maintaining. Fine for a strength block, concerning if hypertrophy is the goal.
- Dropping volume — usually means skipped sets or missed sessions. Investigate why.
- Ramping volume — healthy sign during an accumulation phase, but watch for fatigue.
For progression, accessories do not need to follow the same linear progression as your main lifts. Instead, aim to increase reps before weight. Once you can hit the top of your rep range for all sets with good form, add a small load increment and reset your reps.
A simple progression model for accessories:
- Set a target rep range, for example 3×8–12
- Start at the lower end of the range (3Ă—8)
- Add one rep per session until you hit the top (3Ă—12)
- Add 5–10 lbs and drop back to 3×8
- Repeat
Log every single step of this process so you can look back and see genuine progress.
Common Accessory Tracking Mistakes
Even dedicated lifters fall into these traps. Watch out for them.
Logging only the main lifts. Half a log is still half blind. If you finish your session before logging accessories, they get skipped. Log as you go, not after the fact. Using inconsistent exercise names. Logging "cable row" one week and "seated row" the next creates duplicate entries that break your progress history. Pick one name per exercise and stick with it. Ignoring rep quality. A log that says 3Ă—12 tells you nothing about how those 12 reps looked. Add a quick note when your form broke down or you cut range of motion short. That context matters when you review it later. Chasing numbers for the wrong exercises. Not every accessory needs to go up every week. Corrective exercises like band pull-aparts or face pulls are better measured by consistency and quality than load. Skipping the weekly review. Your log is only as useful as your willingness to read it. Block ten minutes at the end of each week to scan your accessory entries and ask: Am I making progress? Is volume where it should be?Using Gladiator Lift to Log Accessory Work
Gladiator Lift is designed for lifters who take every part of their training seriously—not just the headline numbers.The app's exercise library includes hundreds of accessory movements, and you can add custom exercises for anything unusual. Within each workout, you can tag exercises by type (primary lift, accessory, corrective) so your log stays organized without extra effort.
Gladiator Lift's volume summary dashboard automatically calculates your weekly sets per muscle group across both primary and accessory movements. You can see at a glance whether your posterior chain is getting enough attention or whether your push/pull balance is off.
For progression, the app tracks your rep PRs on every exercise, including accessories, so you get the same satisfaction from hitting a new 12-rep max on Romanian deadlifts as you do from a competition max squat.
The RPE logging feature works on every movement in your session, making it easy to monitor how close to failure your accessories are running—useful data for managing fatigue in a high-volume training block.
Putting It All Together
Tracking accessory work is not complicated, but it does require discipline.
Start by logging every working set with sets, reps, weight, and RPE. Use consistent exercise names and review your volume weekly. Apply a simple rep-first progression model and add load once you consistently hit the top of your rep range.
The lifters who make the fastest long-term progress are not always the strongest—they are the most systematic. A detailed log of your accessory work is one of the highest-leverage habits you can build, and Gladiator Lift gives you the tools to make it effortless.
Related reading: Workout Tracking for Beginners: Where to Start · Best KPIs for Strength Athletes to Track