Apps for logging workouts/activity
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I've recently started with a PT (physical therapist, not personal trainer), and I have specific exercises to do. I also need to keep up with biking, hiking, walking, etc. |
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I do all the above with paper and pen. I don't see the benefit of using an app unless you think you'd be more inclined to keep a log on your phone vs pen and paper. I tried a couple apps (free) that were annoying when I was doing a non-standard exercise like a theraband. Or if I didn't know the name of the exercise and just called it something like "that one exercise where I look like someone doing a disco". They produced histograms and summaries that were sometimes interesting but I think just reading through past entries was enough to help me figure out what sort of progress I was making. |
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Well, actually, that's also a possibility. Where to start with that, even, has meant scribbles on scraps. A day planner? Calendar? Back side of grocery receipts? :-) |
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I will second the paper and pen idea. If you can't organize anything worthwhile using a paper and pen, then you likely need to build organizational skills which are best learned in a free-form environment, such as writing down actual things done in training using a paper and pen. It is the idea of following your own path, as opposed to the path of someone else, in this case (using an app) someone whos life experience likely is almost entirely within the context of a contemporary office environment. This will build 10-100 times the organization skills using an app would, and thus will do 10-100 times more good for your life. |
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I use a pretty small notebook that I got at walmart. One that I can barely fit in my pocket of my gym shorts. I think it was smaller than day planner size. Some people at the gym (non-climbing gym) use sheets of paper they formatted in a notebook but that was a lot of work. The small notebook lasted me a whole year of exercises, although during the summer when it's nice I don't log as much exercises. During the winter I'm using 2 pages a day or so. That was one part that I thought might annoy me - having to split up notebooks when I run out of space. I think that's the only downside. |
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Paper printouts of an excel sheet for the week have been the most useful for me. |
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Thanks, guys! My impression was that gym stuff didn't crunch into an app well. |
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The thing about these apps is they are used to collect data: want to jack someones health insurance? Do they have a climbing gym app of any kind on their phone? Do they buy climbing shoes? Data shows a climbing gym app on a phone has a correlation of 0.90 with climbing outside at least two weekends a year, and it shows buying climbing shoes once has a correlation of 0.10 with climbing outside at least two weekends a year (we go through your e-mails and text messages with a word filter to check your personal correspondence for verification, which are literally all kept in an enormous data center in Utah...wouldn't want to de-legitimize our actions to our sheeple!), and that increases the likelihood of a serious accident: looks like your insurance is going up! No data on you? Who knows what risk you are. Better hedge our bets and only offer you sky high rates! Yeah for technology! |
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Hi Old Lady H -- |
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Thanks, smarsh! |
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Thanks OLH. One of my favorite pieces from him: the geometry is anti de sitter, and the fish to me represents what I claim to be a cool feature of our world: The fact that the speed of light is different through air than through a water (or any other material), which I propose leads to us seeing refraction of light in water (or other substances) due to our minds placing objects in the wrong place in spacetime and due to the fact that our minds literally interpret light to create our visual picture of the world. The coolest way to see this is to watch water lap up over a rock on a shoreline which rises very gradually out of the water, and watch as the rock rises up with the water as it rises over the rock. FWIW according to QED (the theory of physics which describes all light and matter), the actual amount of the refraction of the light is a direct result of this variation of speed as the light travels through any given medium. Also, interestingly, animals which interact with water surfaces often have a double-cone feature of some kind in their eyes, which I propose allows them to see without the refraction: each cone is calibrated to the speed of light through the various media (some amphibians have three cones btw). Thus this is a very meaningful piece of art to me. Thanks for noticing :) |
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FitNotes is what I use, it works pretty good and it's free. |
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Check out Evernote. Not a preformatted option but a good way to organize notes and you can take pics with it too. I've been logging workouts for the last 2 years with it. I have looked at several workout trackers but none really fit the type of training I do. I like keeping my monthly plans on a spreadsheet, but logging workouts in one is a PIA. |
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Steve Pulver wrote:FitNotes is what I use, it works pretty good and it's free.So, for now, I'm trying this one out. I'll see how it goes, for a month or so. I do have several PT exercises I had to figure out how to add (weight/reps for theraband?), plus, what to do with 121 reps working a courier route yesterday? Lol! I'm also keeping a paper log/journal. I rooted through blank books I've acquired (used book store in house at the library, can't resist poking in there), and found the "Engineer's Field Transit Book" I picked up a few years back. It even has tables in the back, if I'm suddenly in need of excavating a roadway embankment! Anyway, I printed out the x-rays, and pasted them in there, to remind why I need to stay motivated. Soon, I do think I'd like to let my phone track walks and hikes. Strava sounds like a good fit, but we'll see. Thanks for the input, all of your suggestions are helpful, as I expect it's going to take some time to get this dialed. Mainly, honestly, it's also about long term motivation. This isn't just a rehab sort of thing, it's a move it or lose it. That's definitely the crux. Best, Helen |
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Old lady H wrote: Soon, I do think I'd like to let my phone track walks and hikes.I've enjoyed using MapMyFitness for this. If you struggle with motivation, the gameification features may help you (achievement badges, challenges, etc). |
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Old lady H wrote:Mainly, honestly, it's also about long term motivation. This isn't just a rehab sort of thing, it's a move it or lose it. That's definitely the crux. Best, HelenMutual commitment with a friend can be valuable for long term motivation. For example, you go to the gym with your friend once a week to train together. For many people, external commitments like that are harder to break, and can make the process more fun. |
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I use Microsoft Access and link it to Excel to make charts. Lots of flexibility for making your own stuff, if you don't have to use an app. |
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Thanks, all! |
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Old lady H wrote:plus I can never remember anything, so I'm pen and paper at the gym, just for weight and reps.Nothing makes counting harder than lifting (esp heavy) weights. Friend of mine has a pile of rocks he uses to count sets. I like pen and paper, more portable. |
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Patrick Shyvers wrote: Nothing makes counting harder than lifting (esp heavy) weights. Friend of mine has a pile of rocks he uses to count sets. I like pen and paper, more portable.Lol! Remember, even without an injury per se, we're basically talking rehab here. My "heavy" at the moment, is only 50 lbs., and that's on a seated leg press. Both legs. Just two sets, so I'm counting reps, basically. Notepad so I know where I was last time. Soon, maybe this week, I'm going to bite the bullet and see how bad single leg is. That will be sobering, but good to measure against. The leg machines are grouped, so I usually have someone beside me doing the big stuff! Fun to see what bodies are capable of. I'm better than a month ago, that's for sure. I also used the mirror at the gym to take a full length selfie, since it's the start of the year. I'll tack that up somewhere to remind me to hang on to what I've got. |
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I'd check out TrainingPeaks.com |