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Show HN: Minimal, self-hosted exercise tracker

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Re: Show HN: Minimal, self-hosted exercise tracker

#31
post #10
post #7

I love the idea of this type of app, but feel like local storage is too fragile to be the system of record. Any way to backup to disk or cloud storage?

This made me think - is there a simple way to sync localStorage with my Firefox profile? If not, it doesn't sound like a WebExtension too difficult to create.

In case someone is interested, I started working on it here: https://github.com/bjesus/notsolocalstorage/

Re: Show HN: Minimal, self-hosted exercise tracker

#32
post #7

I love the idea of this type of app, but feel like local storage is too fragile to be the system of record. Any way to backup to disk or cloud storage?

My application [0] I used daily for 13 years stores the data in localStorage and I had several unpleasant data loss incidents - mostly me cleaning storage of the wrong browser tab. Thankfully, a simple JSON dump/import feature enables a good enough degree of reliability. Thanks to it, I didn't lose any data in 5 years, but now I have a questionable habit where I defensively export data before every major edit or depl…

Exactly! The number of subscription saas apps that could be replaced by open source if there was a bring your own storage API would be astounding. This might be exactly why browser makers will not add it.

Re: Show HN: Minimal, self-hosted exercise tracker

#33
I like simple, but this looks almost _too_ simple. You say you got burned out on metrics, but where you see clutter and distraction, I see data for identifying patterns. I track my measurements and like to see how much weight I'm lifting and how far I'm running over time. IME, it's easy to get stuck on a plateau and not really notice it when life gets busy and "get the workout over with" starts to become the only goal.

Right now, I'm following established programs and tracking what I do in a Google spreadsheet. I certainly don't love relying on Google but I need to be able to edit and view my workouts from both my computer at home (for planning) and on my phone at the gym (for entering data).

Re: Show HN: Minimal, self-hosted exercise tracker

#34
Nice work. Any recommendations for folks looking for an app that suggests workouts and routines based on prior workout history? (E.g. identifying muscle groups not being hit by historical routines)

I’ve just been keeping a running workout log in Apple Notes for the past couple of months.

I’ve had a lot of success just copy/pasting my workout log into ChatGPT and it’s surprisingly good at making recommendations, but I’m scared that by using an app I’ll loose access to the raw data unless it’s somehow exportable.

Re: Show HN: Minimal, self-hosted exercise tracker

#35
post #34

Nice work. Any recommendations for folks looking for an app that suggests workouts and routines based on prior workout history? (E.g. identifying muscle groups not being hit by historical routines) I’ve just been keeping a running workout log in Apple Notes for the past couple of months. I’ve had a lot of success just copy/pasting my workout log into ChatGPT and it’s surprisingly good at making recommendations, but I…

Fitbod was pretty good about this. You can tell it what gym equipment you have and it will design workouts around that and the muscle groups that aren’t tired from the last session.

Re: Show HN: Minimal, self-hosted exercise tracker

#36
post #34

Nice work. Any recommendations for folks looking for an app that suggests workouts and routines based on prior workout history? (E.g. identifying muscle groups not being hit by historical routines) I’ve just been keeping a running workout log in Apple Notes for the past couple of months. I’ve had a lot of success just copy/pasting my workout log into ChatGPT and it’s surprisingly good at making recommendations, but I…

Here's what I did:

- I wrote down my goals, equipment, and past workout history.

- Then I asked ChatGPT to generate a P/P/L workouts around that, in 8 separate chat instances

- I then wrote another prompt for a fitness expert adjudicator and asked it to compare two of the workouts, determine their strengths and weaknesses (based on above goals), and develop a third workout based on the strengths of the two provided

- I ran this in "tournament style" for all 8 workouts with three brackets. This ended up converging into an optimal workout

I actually took this final workout to my personal trainer and he said it was perfect for my goals and wouldn't change anything. I've been running it for 3 months now and I am quite happy.

Re: Show HN: Minimal, self-hosted exercise tracker

#37
post #7

I love the idea of this type of app, but feel like local storage is too fragile to be the system of record. Any way to backup to disk or cloud storage?

My application [0] I used daily for 13 years stores the data in localStorage and I had several unpleasant data loss incidents - mostly me cleaning storage of the wrong browser tab. Thankfully, a simple JSON dump/import feature enables a good enough degree of reliability. Thanks to it, I didn't lose any data in 5 years, but now I have a questionable habit where I defensively export data before every major edit or depl…

It’s Chrome only but the file system access api lets you do this:

https://developer.chrome.com/docs/capabilities/web-apis/file...

Re: Show HN: Minimal, self-hosted exercise tracker

#38
post #36
post #34

Nice work. Any recommendations for folks looking for an app that suggests workouts and routines based on prior workout history? (E.g. identifying muscle groups not being hit by historical routines) I’ve just been keeping a running workout log in Apple Notes for the past couple of months. I’ve had a lot of success just copy/pasting my workout log into ChatGPT and it’s surprisingly good at making recommendations, but I…

Here's what I did: - I wrote down my goals, equipment, and past workout history. - Then I asked ChatGPT to generate a P/P/L workouts around that, in 8 separate chat instances - I then wrote another prompt for a fitness expert adjudicator and asked it to compare two of the workouts, determine their strengths and weaknesses (based on above goals), and develop a third workout based on the strengths of the two provided -…

If it’s not too privacy-invading, would you mind sharing the chatgpt transcripts for these prompts?

Re: Show HN: Minimal, self-hosted exercise tracker

#39
post #36
post #34

Nice work. Any recommendations for folks looking for an app that suggests workouts and routines based on prior workout history? (E.g. identifying muscle groups not being hit by historical routines) I’ve just been keeping a running workout log in Apple Notes for the past couple of months. I’ve had a lot of success just copy/pasting my workout log into ChatGPT and it’s surprisingly good at making recommendations, but I…

Here's what I did: - I wrote down my goals, equipment, and past workout history. - Then I asked ChatGPT to generate a P/P/L workouts around that, in 8 separate chat instances - I then wrote another prompt for a fitness expert adjudicator and asked it to compare two of the workouts, determine their strengths and weaknesses (based on above goals), and develop a third workout based on the strengths of the two provided -…

This is something I would happily pay for. And a great use of LLM.

If someone were to turn this into a business, offer the workout advice for free and then charge extra by layering in nutrition and meal plans on top. Then sell to personal trainers for use with their clients.

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