
Ask HN: A simple workout tracker - wheresvic1
Hi,<p>I recently got back to the gym and I was really happy to have my old training plans. Are any simple workout trackers that I could use to record these plans?<p>I&#x27;d like something that is:
- usable via the web and mobile
- has some basic tracking
- flexible in allowing me to input data the way I want it
- something better than excel :)
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cromd
I've been through a number of systems for this. I think where I've landed is
that this is probably the ideal code-it-yourself opportunity. People often
suggest todo lists as very easy, but I find those even more complicated than
workout tracking. You need to track multiple lists, update existing records,
etc. Workout data is pretty "append only".

For my workouts, which are fairly simple (and usually involve body weight, a
simplifying assumption), a shell script to log the data and a python script to
analyze the data works great. When I do 20 pushups, I say "log_exercise
pushups 20", with autocomplete and all. It just adds a row to a 3 column file
with the epoch timestamp, exercise name, and quantity. With that log, it's
very easy to analyze my pushup/chinup/plank/running activity over time. I
generally limit my analysis to things like "am I able to do more of xyz than a
month ago?" or "how many pushups have I done on average over the past 6
months?" (seeing "avg 2 pushups a day over the past 60 days" gets me
embarrassed!).

As for web/mobile, I just put my workout in Google Keep on my phone (notes
like "10 chinups, 2 miles running, 6 more chinups...") and just enter it in
when I get back. For me, this pain is outweighed by having complete control in
other areas.

I initially thought "oh, this must be a solved problem", so I would look for
apps. Over time I realized that a lot of features just weren't necessary for
me. I found that graphs of my pushups over time didn't give me additional
information. I could see from a table whether or not I was doing a lot or a
little. Syncing across devices or seeing it on the go wasn't important.
Sharing with my friends wasn't important. Nor was seeing percent increases or
goal setting. The biggest benefit was from going from keeping no records to
consistently keeping records, and adding a tiny bit of structure.

