There are many gadgets and apps available to record your workouts and track your training progress.
Most athletes already have a smart watch that records workouts and measures heart rate, pace, speed, elevation, power, distance, etc. If you don’t yet have one or in the market for a new one, i’ve had the best luck with Garmin devices. I personally have used the Fenix since its third iteration. Though it’s a sizable investment, I’ve not regretted the purchase once I started using the watch. On newer models I especially like the acclimatization and pulse oximeter features. Though I’m not a fan of it rating every run against the last one. There’s nothing more defeating than being a mile into a run, feeling great, hearing a ding! come from your wrist, looking down and Garmin telling you that you’re unproductive.
When you begin a training regimen, record all of your training sessions with your smart watch. There are arguments against recording strength sessions because they will skew your overall fitness calculation since your HR will be much lower than during a cardio session., so if you’re a HR zone purist, omit don’t record strength.. I strongly recommend uploading all of your workouts to an application that analyzes fitness, fatigue, training load, and heart rate zones. I, and every athlete I have coached, have used Training Peaks for many years. I like that it is geared toward endurance athletes, and has solid analytical data. The UI could be improved IMO but the analytics outweigh the some-times clunky interface. I especially like the ability to measure an athletes fitness, fatigue, and training load. And, I like that an athlete has access to all of the data and analytics that I do as a coach, it empowers the athlete and is another way to keep them engaged in their progress.
A word of caution: don’t let the data be the only measure of your progress. I’ve worked with several athletes that question whether they should complete a workout because their Oura ring told them to take a rest day. Data is great, it can be powerful. But, also thoughtfully consider how your body is feeling. If you’re not sore or fatigued, you probably don’t need a rest day.
In the end, I encourage athletes to test all of the gadgets and technology that the can, find one that works for you and your coach, and use it in a thoughtful way that enhances training, it shouldn’t be burdensome.