# Beeminding Fitness/Strength Goals **URL:** \ **Category:** uncategorized\ **Created:** [November 10, 2013, 3:05am UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/beeminding-fitness-strength-goals/1465 "2013-11-10T03:05:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Freckleton](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.beeminder.com/ryan_freckleton/32/667_2.png) [@Ryan\_Freckleton](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/Ryan_Freckleton)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2013, 3:05am UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/beeminding-fitness-strength-goals/1465/1 "2013-11-10T03:05:41Z")
Alright, so I’ve used Beeminder in the past to track visits to the gym (great use case, btw. Definitely lets me get my money’s worth out of my membership!) and tracking maximum weight lifted (with mixed results – I’m still working on this one and can report details if someone is interested.) But I want a better ‘fitness’ goal. I tend towards a paleo/cross-fit style workout, but I also want to have some gamification to encourage me to continue. Basically I want to show improvement over time but also want have enough flexibility and randomness for it to continue to be fun. As such I’m thinking about the following method. - Find an example workout which combines various aspects of strength, speed, power etc. - Track how close I am to it by counting differences between where I am and where I want to be - Track the number of differences over time, beeminding the number of convergences made until I have completed it - Possibly assign points depending on difficulty I guess I’m looking for a measurement model that will answer two questions: - What should I focus on for my workouts? - What should I change about my health and fitness lifestyle, if anything? # Thoughts would be appreciated. –Ryan E. Freckleton ---
**Author:** ![Jake\_Jenkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Jake\_Jenkins](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/Jake_Jenkins)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2013, 3:49pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/beeminding-fitness-strength-goals/1465/2 "2013-11-10T15:49:54Z")
Hey Ryan, Would be interested to hear what you come up with. I have similar fitness goals but haven’t figured out a good way to bee mind. I thought of creating goals for fitness tests: Fran, max pull ups, 400 m sprint, etc. And I thought you could combine that with an overall activity goal. Set a goal to do a work put every day, but you get to choose from a list of diverse activities or even they get generated randomly. Jake On Nov 9, 2013 7:05 PM, “Ryan Freckleton” [ryan.freckleton@gmail.com](mailto:ryan.freckleton@gmail.com) wrote: > Alright, so I’ve used Beeminder in the past to track visits to the gym > (great use case, btw. Definitely lets me get my money’s worth out of my > membership!) and tracking maximum weight lifted (with mixed results – I’m > still working on this one and can report details if someone is interested.) > > But I want a better ‘fitness’ goal. I tend towards a paleo/cross-fit style > workout, but I also want to have some gamification to encourage me to > continue. Basically I want to show improvement over time but also want have > enough flexibility and randomness for it to continue to be fun. > > As such I’m thinking about the following method. > > - Find an example workout which combines various aspects of strength, > speed, power etc. > - Track how close I am to it by counting differences between where I am > and where I want to be > - Track the number of differences over time, beeminding the number of > convergences made until I have completed it > - Possibly assign points depending on difficulty > > I guess I’m looking for a measurement model that will answer two questions: > > - What should I focus on for my workouts? > - What should I change about my health and fitness lifestyle, if anything? > > # Thoughts would be appreciated. > > –Ryan E. Freckleton > > – > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > “Akratics Anonymous” group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [akratics+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:akratics+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). > For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out). ---
**Author:** ![j11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3bc359/32.png) [@j11](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/j11)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2013, 7:44pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/beeminding-fitness-strength-goals/1465/3 "2013-11-10T19:44:02Z")
I don’t have a complete solution, but for the strength training side powerlifting competitions have the Wilks Coefficient [Wilks coefficient - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilks_Coefficient) for normalizing strength goals across different sex/sizes/ages. From what I’ve heard, Crossfit throws a bunch of random things together and is designed to make you tired rather than helping you track progression. A gym visits per week goal achieved what I wanted. Once I’m on a consistent gym schedule, I’m already going to push hard as my goals are strength and progression. For gamification, there’s fitocracy. The points system might not be too balanced, so it could make it hard to beemind. Perhaps you could have a meta goal to improve on one of your fitness measures X times per week. Like if you have run speed goal, run distance goal, strength weightlifting goal, endurance weightlifting goal, then make it your meta goal to get a PR on one of those measures. On Sunday, 10 November 2013 10:49:54 UTC-5, Jake Jenkins wrote: > Hey Ryan, > Would be interested to hear what you come up with. I have similar fitness > goals but haven’t figured out a good way to bee mind. > > I thought of creating goals for fitness tests: Fran, max pull ups, 400 m > sprint, etc. > > And I thought you could combine that with an overall activity goal. Set a > goal to do a work put every day, but you get to choose from a list of > diverse activities or even they get generated randomly. > > Jake > On Nov 9, 2013 7:05 PM, “Ryan Freckleton” \<[ryan.fr...@gmail.com](mailto:ryan.fr...@gmail.com)\\> > wrote: > > > Alright, so I’ve used Beeminder in the past to track visits to the gym > > (great use case, btw. Definitely lets me get my money’s worth out of my > > membership!) and tracking maximum weight lifted (with mixed results – I’m > > still working on this one and can report details if someone is interested.) > > > > But I want a better ‘fitness’ goal. I tend towards a paleo/cross-fit > > style workout, but I also want to have some gamification to encourage me to > > continue. Basically I want to show improvement over time but also want have > > enough flexibility and randomness for it to continue to be fun. > > > > As such I’m thinking about the following method. > > > > - Find an example workout which combines various aspects of strength, > > speed, power etc. > > - Track how close I am to it by counting differences between where I am > > and where I want to be > > - Track the number of differences over time, beeminding the number of > > convergences made until I have completed it > > - Possibly assign points depending on difficulty > > > > I guess I’m looking for a measurement model that will answer two > > questions: > > > > - What should I focus on for my workouts? > > - What should I change about my health and fitness lifestyle, if > > anything? > > > > # Thoughts would be appreciated. > > > > –Ryan E. Freckleton > > > > – > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > “Akratics Anonymous” group. > > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > > email to [akratics+u...@googlegroups.com](mailto:akratics+u...@googlegroups.com) \. > > For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out). ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Winkler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b38774/32.png) [@Jeff\_Winkler](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/Jeff_Winkler)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 11:10am UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/beeminding-fitness-strength-goals/1465/4 "2013-11-22T11:10:33Z")
My n=1… I’ve been doing Mark Sisson’s Paleo Blueprint workouts. Bodyweight at home, 4 major categories: pushups, pullups, squats, planks. Each has levels of increasing difficulty. Efficient and free - no travel time to the gym. Portable. Low time investment. So the categories are standardized which normalizes tracking. I’ve used a google spreadsheet with graphs. The “total” column=reps\*level. Having the spreadsheet is a strong motivator to make progress. [2013-11-22\_0546](http://screencast.com/t/ROL5wymFCQY). The data entry in one place, and having the graphs update right away is convenient. Other metrics: I track waist and body fat on a separate spreadsheet. Only use Beeminder for Weight; I find the workouts easy and look forward to them. Not the soreness the next day 🙂 Seems like your challenge is the heterogeneity; you don’t have fixed exercises. Martin Berkhan has the concept of checkins, looking at relative strength gains: [http://www.leangains.com/2010/01/how-to-look-awesome-every-day.html](http://www.leangains.com/2010/01/how-to-look-awesome-every-day.html) - “With strength, muscle follows.” - “An extra 10 lbs added to your bench isn’t impressive if you also gained 10 lbs of body weight.” … so those are less granular outputs he’s tracking. One more thought: Nick Winter has the idea of tracking inputs, not outputs. Working out is a virtuous habit that you can control and feel good about. The outcomes (strength) are harder to predict/control, should probably not be beeminded. On Saturday, November 9, 2013 10:05:41 PM UTC-5, Ryan Freckleton wrote: > Alright, so I’ve used Beeminder in the past to track visits to the gym > (great use case, btw. Definitely lets me get my money’s worth out of my > membership!) and tracking maximum weight lifted (with mixed results – I’m > still working on this one and can report details if someone is interested.) > > But I want a better ‘fitness’ goal. I tend towards a paleo/cross-fit style > workout, but I also want to have some gamification to encourage me to > continue. Basically I want to show improvement over time but also want have > enough flexibility and randomness for it to continue to be fun. > > As such I’m thinking about the following method. > > - Find an example workout which combines various aspects of strength, > speed, power etc. > - Track how close I am to it by counting differences between where I am > and where I want to be > - Track the number of differences over time, beeminding the number of > convergences made until I have completed it > - Possibly assign points depending on difficulty > > I guess I’m looking for a measurement model that will answer two questions: > > - What should I focus on for my workouts? > - What should I change about my health and fitness lifestyle, if anything? > > # Thoughts would be appreciated. > > –Ryan E. Freckleton ---
**Author:** ![nick](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.beeminder.com/nick/32/38_2.png) [@nick](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/nick)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 7:11pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/beeminding-fitness-strength-goals/1465/5 "2013-11-22T19:11:25Z")
Inputs over outputs especially when if, when you start falling behind despite regular inputs, you can’t make a greater effort to get outputs back on track. (For exercise, you’ll just be perversely incentivized to overtrain and sacrifice form.) If you only focus on inputs, though, the danger is that you keep doing a workout routine that stops being useful in terms of outputs. A little scheduled strategic review may do the trick here. On Friday, November 22, 2013 3:10:33 AM UTC-8, Jeff Winkler wrote: > My n=1… > > I’ve been doing Mark Sisson’s Paleo Blueprint workouts. Bodyweight at > home, 4 major categories: pushups, pullups, squats, planks. Each has levels > of increasing difficulty. Efficient and free - no travel time to the gym. > Portable. Low time investment. > > So the categories are standardized which normalizes tracking. I’ve used a > google spreadsheet with graphs. The “total” column=reps\*level. Having the > spreadsheet is a strong motivator to make progress. > [2013-11-22\_0546](http://screencast.com/t/ROL5wymFCQY)[http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fscreencast.com%2Ft%2FROL5wymFCQY&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEgDvNc1VfrBvbP0CoEhvhlxlbkRg](http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fscreencast.com%2Ft%2FROL5wymFCQY&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEgDvNc1VfrBvbP0CoEhvhlxlbkRg). > The data entry in one place, and having the graphs update right away is > convenient. > > Other metrics: I track waist and body fat on a separate spreadsheet. Only > use Beeminder for Weight; I find the workouts easy and look forward to > them. Not the soreness the next day 🙂 > > Seems like your challenge is the heterogeneity; you don’t have fixed > exercises. > > Martin Berkhan has the concept of checkins, looking at relative strength > gains: [http://www.leangains.com/2010/01/how-to-look-awesome-every-day.html](http://www.leangains.com/2010/01/how-to-look-awesome-every-day.html)[http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.leangains.com%2F2010%2F01%2Fhow-to-look-awesome-every-day.html&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEuxYLGDd3GKu1qTiUO5IPb61cMlQ](http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.leangains.com%2F2010%2F01%2Fhow-to-look-awesome-every-day.html&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEuxYLGDd3GKu1qTiUO5IPb61cMlQ) > > - “With strength, muscle follows.” > - “An extra 10 lbs added to your bench isn’t impressive if you also > gained 10 lbs of body weight.” > > … so those are less granular outputs he’s tracking. > > One more thought: Nick Winter has the idea of tracking inputs, not > outputs. Working out is a virtuous habit that you can control and feel good > about. The outcomes (strength) are harder to predict/control, should > probably not be beeminded. > > On Saturday, November 9, 2013 10:05:41 PM UTC-5, Ryan Freckleton wrote: > > > Alright, so I’ve used Beeminder in the past to track visits to the gym > > (great use case, btw. Definitely lets me get my money’s worth out of my > > membership!) and tracking maximum weight lifted (with mixed results – I’m > > still working on this one and can report details if someone is interested.) > > > > But I want a better ‘fitness’ goal. I tend towards a paleo/cross-fit > > style workout, but I also want to have some gamification to encourage me to > > continue. Basically I want to show improvement over time but also want have > > enough flexibility and randomness for it to continue to be fun. > > > > As such I’m thinking about the following method. > > > > - Find an example workout which combines various aspects of strength, > > speed, power etc. > > - Track how close I am to it by counting differences between where I am > > and where I want to be > > - Track the number of differences over time, beeminding the number of > > convergences made until I have completed it > > - Possibly assign points depending on difficulty > > > > I guess I’m looking for a measurement model that will answer two > > questions: > > > > - What should I focus on for my workouts? > > - What should I change about my health and fitness lifestyle, if > > anything? > > > > # Thoughts would be appreciated. > > > > –Ryan E. Freckleton ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Freckleton](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.beeminder.com/ryan_freckleton/32/667_2.png) [@Ryan\_Freckleton](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/Ryan_Freckleton)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 9:55pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/beeminding-fitness-strength-goals/1465/6 "2013-11-23T21:55:35Z")
Thanks Jeff and Nick, I really like these methods that you’ve given and am working to integrate them into my own strategy. ===== –Ryan E. Freckleton On Fri, Nov 22, 2013 at 12:11 PM, Nick Winter [livelily@gmail.com](mailto:livelily@gmail.com) wrote: > Inputs over outputs especially when if, when you start falling behind > despite regular inputs, you can’t make a greater effort to get outputs back > on track. (For exercise, you’ll just be perversely incentivized to > overtrain and sacrifice form.) > > If you only focus on inputs, though, the danger is that you keep doing a > workout routine that stops being useful in terms of outputs. A little > scheduled strategic review may do the trick here. > > On Friday, November 22, 2013 3:10:33 AM UTC-8, Jeff Winkler wrote: > > > My n=1… > > > > I’ve been doing Mark Sisson’s Paleo Blueprint workouts. Bodyweight at > > home, 4 major categories: pushups, pullups, squats, planks. Each has levels > > of increasing difficulty. Efficient and free - no travel time to the gym. > > Portable. Low time investment. > > > > So the categories are standardized which normalizes tracking. I’ve used a > > google spreadsheet with graphs. The “total” column=reps\*level. Having the > > spreadsheet is a strong motivator to make progress. > > [2013-11-22\_0546](http://screencast.com/t/ROL5wymFCQY)[http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fscreencast.com%2Ft%2FROL5wymFCQY&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEgDvNc1VfrBvbP0CoEhvhlxlbkRg](http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fscreencast.com%2Ft%2FROL5wymFCQY&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEgDvNc1VfrBvbP0CoEhvhlxlbkRg). > > The data entry in one place, and having the graphs update right away is > > convenient. > > > > Other metrics: I track waist and body fat on a separate spreadsheet. Only > > use Beeminder for Weight; I find the workouts easy and look forward to > > them. Not the soreness the next day 🙂 > > > > Seems like your challenge is the heterogeneity; you don’t have fixed > > exercises. > > > > Martin Berkhan has the concept of checkins, looking at relative strength > > gains: [http://www.leangains.com/2010/01/how-to-look-](http://www.leangains.com/2010/01/how-to-look-) > > awesome-every-day.html[http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.leangains.com%2F2010%2F01%2Fhow-to-look-awesome-every-day.html&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEuxYLGDd3GKu1qTiUO5IPb61cMlQ](http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.leangains.com%2F2010%2F01%2Fhow-to-look-awesome-every-day.html&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEuxYLGDd3GKu1qTiUO5IPb61cMlQ) > > > > - “With strength, muscle follows.” > > - “An extra 10 lbs added to your bench isn’t impressive if you also > > gained 10 lbs of body weight.” > > > > … so those are less granular outputs he’s tracking. > > > > One more thought: Nick Winter has the idea of tracking inputs, not > > outputs. Working out is a virtuous habit that you can control and feel good > > about. The outcomes (strength) are harder to predict/control, should > > probably not be beeminded. > > > > On Saturday, November 9, 2013 10:05:41 PM UTC-5, Ryan Freckleton wrote: > > > > > Alright, so I’ve used Beeminder in the past to track visits to the gym > > > (great use case, btw. Definitely lets me get my money’s worth out of my > > > membership!) and tracking maximum weight lifted (with mixed results – I’m > > > still working on this one and can report details if someone is interested.) > > > > > > But I want a better ‘fitness’ goal. I tend towards a paleo/cross-fit > > > style workout, but I also want to have some gamification to encourage me to > > > continue. Basically I want to show improvement over time but also want have > > > enough flexibility and randomness for it to continue to be fun. > > > > > > As such I’m thinking about the following method. > > > > > > - Find an example workout which combines various aspects of strength, > > > speed, power etc. > > > - Track how close I am to it by counting differences between where I am > > > and where I want to be > > > - Track the number of differences over time, beeminding the number of > > > convergences made until I have completed it > > > - Possibly assign points depending on difficulty > > > > > > I guess I’m looking for a measurement model that will answer two > > > questions: > > > > > > - What should I focus on for my workouts? > > > - What should I change about my health and fitness lifestyle, if > > > anything? > > > > > > # Thoughts would be appreciated. > > > > > > –Ryan E. Freckleton > > > > – > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > “Akratics Anonymous” group. > > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > > email to [akratics+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:akratics+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). > > For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out).