Level up, Super Me 3

February 18, 2011 8:29 AM

I want to gamify (see Gamification) my current fitness routines. Tell me what tools to use and suggestions for fun times!

I'm a data nerd and love working with any kind of metrics and analytics. I am already very happy and secure with my fitness practices, but I want to start tracking the hard data of what I do and making it more "game like." I want to really optimize my behavior and feel my best -- numbers are always the best motivator for me. Here's what I currently do in a perfect week (I won't be changing this and am not looking for suggestions to that effect):

- CrossFit style conditioning workouts 4-5 times per week
- Powerlifting (squat, deadlift, overhead and bench presses) three times per week
- At least one "fun run" per week -- a few miles at an easy pace to get out in nice weather on a rest day
- Skill practice on gymnastics movements
- Eat about 90% paleo.
- Sleep eight hours per night


And in terms of data and tracking, I currently:

- Write down all workouts in a notebook
- Photograph my meals and post to a blog

I'd like to make my blog a lot more comprehensive but also track all kinds of data related to health and wellness. I'm looking for suggestions for tools I could use (e.g. iPhone apps, anything I could use besides Excel) as well as ways to structure my "game". I hope this makes sense! Thanks in advance!

posted by telegraph to health & fitness (13 answers total)

Have you considered grappling?

BJJ has achievement badges: stripes, belts, and tournament wins. :)
posted by edguardo at 8:35 AM on February 18, 2011

HealthMonth.
posted by Memo at 8:40 AM on February 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

I like the Daytum App. The website interface never really worked for me, but the app does a nice job.
posted by backwards guitar at 8:56 AM on February 18, 2011

Seconding Health Month. It really seems to complement what you are doing already, and it is ridiculously fun and motivating in precisely that kind of game-like, data-driven way. It's also bound to give you further ideas for your own tracking.
posted by thegreatfleecircus at 9:03 AM on February 18, 2011

And there's a MeFi HealthMonth team! It's helped me; I have lost the tiny, ridiculous justification that nobody will know if I don't work out/take my meds/whatever, because if I don't get points for the day, MeFi will never overtake Team Crafty in the rankings....
posted by catlet at 9:21 AM on February 18, 2011

If you have an iOS device, I've heard good things about Epic Win.
posted by luvcraft at 9:43 AM on February 18, 2011

You could always use a Fitbit to add lots of data. You can even track the efficiency of your sleep.
posted by moochoo at 10:07 AM on February 18, 2011

I read a great reddit comment the other day about this by someone who added a random component to it, I think by rolling a die. So sleeping eight hours would give you a score between +1 and +3 or something. I'm not sure exactly why that would help, but it seems like it might.
posted by callmejay at 10:24 AM on February 18, 2011 [2 favorites]

Can you use a GPS to plot your fun runs? I am a totally non-serious runner but I get a big kick out of my Garmin watch. If you have a smartphone and don't want to get a GPS device, MapMyRun has apps for iOS, Android, and Blackberry.

And I recently downloaded a sleep analyzer program for my iPod that is kind of fun - it uses the accelerometer to monitor your sleep and makes fun little graphs. The one I have is called Sleep Cycle but I think there are others. You can share the results on facebook (I do not) but I don't think you can post them directly to a blog or anything.
posted by mskyle at 10:38 AM on February 18, 2011

I like the RunKeeper iphone app.
posted by bobafet at 11:14 AM on February 18, 2011

Do you train with anybody else, in meatspace or online? Any community that has training logs will usually have informal competitions between members, and they can be tremendous motivators. Games work much better with other people involved.
posted by Kandarp Von Bontee at 11:37 AM on February 18, 2011

Depending on your Excelfu, you could put together your own Excel worksheets.

Here are a bunch of screenshots of an over-the-top P90x Excel Workbook to give you an idea of what's possible.
posted by notyou at 12:40 PM on February 18, 2011

Callmejay: would that be my Habit Judo? I use it for my weight-training.

"You get RANDBETWEEN(1,10) for each habit you complete for each day. You log these on a spreadsheet that you update daily. Every at certain point levels that occur every ~3 days you get a self-determined reward. At point levels that occur every ~10 days you level up. I use a judo belt system. I'm now orange/green. I symbolize these by wearing a silicone wristband (e.g. the livestong bracelet type) of appropriate color for the relevant belt I'm at."
posted by leotrotsky at 5:40 PM on March 4, 2011