ISO the perfect workout log

February 24, 2018 3:37 PM

I've been doing strength training with a trainer for about 3 months, initially 3x/week and now 1x/week with two workouts/week on my own. With the trainer I've done a bit of work on the very controlled machines that isolate muscles (ActiveTrax calls them "selectorized") and a lot of work with dumbbells, body weight, bosu, stability balls, trx, and machines where I have to stabilize myself. At this point I'm familiar with a lot of exercises and what muscles I'm working, and I'm comfortable with form, but I have trouble remembering the names of specific exercises and I can't just put together a workout on the fly. As I continue to exercise on my own I'd like to develop my own workouts and need a good system to do this.

I'd like to focus mostly on exercises that do not use the selectorized machines. My gym uses ActiveTrax and I can let it set up a workout for me, but I have to either include or not include those machines; I can't tell it to only include some of them. I have also figured out how I can modify the pre-made workouts, but their selection of body/free weight exercises seems slim at best, and they don't have all the exercises I have learned and want to use. My trainer wrote out a program for me once, but now I'm more on my own. I'd like be able to do the following:

- Review a database of exercises by body region/muscle group, with some description or instructions for each exercise.
- Make a workout plan on my laptop (Mac). This must have a space to include notes to help me remember which exercise I mean. I don't need detailed instructions here, just enough to help me identify and remember the specific exercise.
- Add in exercises that are not in the database, if the database is associated directly with the workout plan.
- Either print out that workout or access it (including the notes) on my iPhone.
- After I complete the workout, record what I have done in some electronic format. I am fine with using pencil at the gym and then entering it on my computer at home later.

The ExRx database seems pretty extensive and they have instructions for everything. If they had a good app that would probably be ideal, but if they have one I haven't found it. Barring that, my best solution so far is to use a resource like ExRx to find the exercises and make a spreadsheet in Numbers with columns for name/description/weight/reps/sets and bring a printout of this to the gym. Does anyone have a better solution? I am willing to pay money (but probably not a subscription) for an app or two for this - but I would like it to also have access at the laptop because typing in notes on the phone would be a pain.

I would also appreciate any good resources for lists of exercises (with some description) that can be sorted by body region/muscle group and which I can use to add to or complement the lists on ExRx.

Thanks!

posted by 2 cats in the yard to Health & Fitness (6 answers total)

Best answer: JeFit has a web interface (handy for setting everything up) and Android and iOS apps. It has a very broad set of exercises you can search by general muscle group (e.g. abs) or name, and you can get instructions and a cartoon of the exercise from the screen where you enter your reps. You can also add your own, IIRC. You can save a variety of different routines to choose from. Free. I've used it for years and have been happy, there's some rest timer stuff I don't care about but it's pretty easy to ignore / set to zero.
posted by momus_window at 4:37 PM on February 24, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Seconding JeFit! It took me a few weeks to get the hang of it, but it's really helped me keep track of my workouts. And yes it's free. The paid version is like $40/yr and has more options like detailed progress graphs and things, but the basic app is more than enough. I found that it was missing machines that were in my gym (or they were named differently in the app), but it's easy enough to add machines or workouts if needed. Honestly it's made me want to workout more because I can actually see my progress.
posted by littlesq at 6:22 PM on February 24, 2018

It's more fully featured, but I am *obsessed* with Fitbod. Not free, not just for putting together your own workouts, but has totally transformed my workouts. Can't imagine going to the gym without it.
posted by femmegrrr at 8:34 PM on February 24, 2018

I use the Strong ago which is free. It has a large selection of exercises which you can sort by body type and equipment. You can then build a routine and log your workout. I spend a lot of time at the gym and it's been perfect for me.
posted by snoogles at 1:30 AM on February 25, 2018

Response by poster: JeFit looks pretty promising, thanks! I will play around with that and see how it works.
posted by 2 cats in the yard at 1:13 PM on February 25, 2018

Response by poster: Well, I could not easily figure out how to enter the weights ahead of time in Jefit. And the ads were a bit annoying, though I realize this is the price of a free app. So on the laptop I made a spreadsheet in Numbers based mostly on exercises I had already done with my trainer and/or found in ExRx, saved it in dropbox, and accessed it via my phone while at the gym. Super easy, worked fine.
posted by 2 cats in the yard at 4:11 PM on February 26, 2018