Exercise/Workout/Fitness Tracking Software
What exercise tracking software is good on the Mac? I downloaded a few (Fitness Tracker Pro, and Open Fitness) but they are so terrible: i.e.: open fitness didn't even open; fitness tracker pro doesn't remember my workouts.
I'm just looking for a software suite/app in which I can track my workouts (be it lifting weight, running, biking, or skipping
)...It needs to have a journal-type tracking function so I can look at my workouts at a glance (week, 2, 3 weeks, a month, etc...)
Also, are there any programs in this category that have the same apps for palm/pocket pc/iPod so I can sync my mac with them and track my workouts while I'm working out?
Any suggestions?
Thanks
I'm just looking for a software suite/app in which I can track my workouts (be it lifting weight, running, biking, or skipping
)...It needs to have a journal-type tracking function so I can look at my workouts at a glance (week, 2, 3 weeks, a month, etc...)Also, are there any programs in this category that have the same apps for palm/pocket pc/iPod so I can sync my mac with them and track my workouts while I'm working out?
Any suggestions?
Thanks
Comments
got it from versiontracker
http://menshealth.genesant.com
I'm not so anal about tracking my workout habits, but I already use iCal for tracking my consulting hours and I'd think doing the same for gym visits is a no brainer... and free!
I already use a spreadsheet, but it's a pain in the a$$.
I don't yet know how to use file maker, but I'll learn and try it out.
For now, I'll just probably use either the spreadsheet or iCal. By the way, wouldn't it be great if you could input your workouts on your iPod while you're at the gym? For example, I though about doing this with my Excel SS and my Palm Tungsten. Use documents to go to have the spread sheet on the palm, bring it with me, input the workout while you're doing working out (in breaks, etc..) and then sync it back up and you're set; no need to write down your workout on paper, then input it into whatever you're using...
Perhaps sometime in the future we'll be able to do this with an Apple device (iPod with input capabiliites ala touchscreen Palm???)
8) I hope in hhmm maybe 2-4 years...
Fitness Brain
Muscle!
Weightmania Pro
Now let's get this thread moving. Anyone seen any cool benches or dumbells.
I'm considering the Nautilus dumbells
The only problem is they only go to 52.5lbs and I'll need more for isolated curls. I love the action and space saving design.
Originally posted by hmurchison
The only problem is they only go to 52.5lbs and I'll need more for isolated curls.
You're a computer geek! Why are you that strong? Oh, we need to fix this.
(looks for hmurchison's pocket protector)
Originally posted by CosmoNut
You're a computer geek! Why are you that strong? Oh, we need to fix this.
(looks for hmurchison's pocket protector)
Oh I'm not that strong. I only curl 40lbs right now. My gf said she likes biceps ...so hey.
Man I checked out Weightmania Pro, nice looking app! Normally Fitness apps aren't exactly the most comprehensive but this apps looks fully functional. I think I'm going to buy it once I decide on a new Mac.
Please don't take my "Geek Pass"
reg
Originally posted by hmurchison
Now let's get this thread moving. Anyone seen any cool benches or dumbells.
Not to derail the thread or anything, but I use a half cage by Body Solid much like the one here, and this bench by Nautilus. I originally looked for an all-in-one weight bench, but a guy at a weight lifting equipment store suggested this setup, and I'm glad he did because I've learned to love the versatility of having the rack and the bench separate. And it all looks nice to the eye even out of the basement. I actually have this in my bedroom because there isn't space available anywhere else, and I don't get tired of looking at it. My half cage / rack is glossy white though, and the one in the picture looks a bit gray so I guess they changed the color a bit. After buying those two things I bought a 7 foot bar and 300 lb. weight set. I already had an older dumbbell setup with lots of different free weights. I'd love to get one of those all-in-one dumbbell sets but the price is too steep for me to justify when I already have a system that works well enough. Also keep in mind that the all-in-one dumbbell's are pretty wide, which can get be cumbersome in certain movements or even prevent you from doing a certain movement altogether.
As far as software, I can't really add anything as I've always simply made up my own sheets when needed. Back to your regularly scheduled topic.
For a bodybuilder type that wants to track their nutrition down to grams of carbs and proteins, then I would see how a well-designed spreadsheet could make a real difference and make daily life less of a hassle.
For anyone else, I would think a simple workout diary (text) that lists the work done (and possibly how you are feeling, etc) gives most of the benefit that can be got.
If you want to take it a step further and really track progress in specific exercises, then maybe a combination of workout diary, and a spreadsheet for the exercise that is singled out for attention.
Or make the workout diary a spreadsheet with even space for each day regardless of amount of exercise (it's just bits, they don't cost anything), a cell for text description of the exercise, and key results in big numbers so when you look at the bird's eye view, you see those results and how they change in relation to time. It would also be possible to make automatical views of the spreadsheet that isolate certain factors.
Originally posted by Gon
What do you actually want to track?
I want the program to suggest exercises, based on what you have been doing and how well. It would create a month at a time program, which I could print out, and every month it would rotate exercises so that I get good coverage and avoid repetition.
i do 30 pushups every other day and 50 crunches a day, which is hardly anything, but i'm not sure why i am doing it.
Originally posted by progmac
i've never really lifted weights before, so maybe i just don't get it, but it seems to me that the only reason to lift weights is so that you can lift even more of them in the future. am i wrong? cardio seems to be where all the benefits are.
i do 30 pushups every other day and 50 crunches a day, which is hardly anything, but i'm not sure why i am doing it.
It's good for you. You're doing a decent amount..enough to keep the muscles engaged and vibrant. I find that lifting heavy weights really limits my flexibility and that bothers me. I need to focus more on cardio and cut body fat. I carry my weight in the torso so I hate gaining and it's becoming far too easy to do just that.
I guess my real goal is not to be very large but cut and with good stamina.
Originally posted by mmmpie
I want the program to suggest exercises, based on what you have been doing and how well. It would create a month at a time program, which I could print out, and every month it would rotate exercises so that I get good coverage and avoid repetition.
My mom has one of those. It's called a "trainer". Once a week she goes to the gym and does what the trainer tells her to. She can tell the trainer how the exercises feel, and get them adjusted. This fits her well; she is the type that isn't really interested in exercising and left to herself would not exercise at all.
So finding a trainer is one way to go. If you don't want to go that way, you should read up on things and then make your own decisions. And you could join a good forum where people talk about such things. (I'd link a forum, but it's wrong language.) There is no software to do what you are asking.
For weightlifting, this is the single greatest place on the web to go as a beginner. I got started with it. I did the "Intermediate - 3 day split" workout for half a year. Note that you don't actually have to do all three days inside a week, just do the exercises in this order. The site has good explanations for technique for most lifts, and good info for training in general.
http://www.stumptuous.com/weights.html
After doing that for half a year, did I go on to do a more complicated routine? No. I read "Power to the People" from Tsatsouline and absorbed the strength training principles therein. I did only two different exercises. That's two exercises overall, not two in one day. And it paid off. In weightlifting, if you do exercises that hit the whole body or almost whole body at once, like deadlift, snatch and such with free weights, you don't need to vary. In fact you should do the same set of exercises for a long time in a row. If you skipped from exercise to exercise, never accustomed enough to the technique that you really knew how much weight you can move, you have to guess conservatively and then you miss out on the hardest exercise. This either gives you too little resistance, or isn't safe.
I have yet to find good info on how to combine aerobic and strength training.