Features I'd like to see

[JeffDPT]

I'm new to fitsync, so it's possible these exist and I just haven't found them yet, but after explorig it the past few days, here's some things I think could help....

Bodymap (nice feature)

1) more narrow temporal views (i.e. within 1 month or 3 months)

2) editability of what is tracked (i'm thinking the user could lable it and choose data type and range).  I don't do girth measurements often (it's been yrs), my scale
gives me body fat, visceral fat and lean mass %'s, only one of which can currently be put in (I've just been putting them in notes so they are at least trackable in some way)

3) ability to add old entries, seems I can only add the present day.  If I forget to add until the next day I'm out of luck.  If I want to add older dates, again out of luck



Exercises and reports

1) very nice overall.  Would like to be able to assign exercises to multiple categories.  This would make it both easier to find exercises (may fit into 2 or more body parts and currently only be categorized under one) and ... (cont'd in #2)

2) allow the user to toggle between body parts within the workout setup if an exercise fits into more than one.  i.e. I may do rows for back and shoulder and I 'd want to count it towards whichever workout I'm doing at that time (would change input to the muscle group overview graph).

3) be able to toggle either within the workout, or the exercise itself, whether there is 1 or 2 sources of resistance.  What I mean by that is if I perform bench with a barbell and I bench 3x12x200lbs that would be 7200 lbs when the volume is calculated.  If I did by comparison db bench 3x12x100 I'd be using 100 in each hand and it should be 7200, but will calculate as 3600 currently unless you double the reps or the  weight and both can be misleading when looking back at your workouts.  I'm thinking putting a default togle in the exercise would be nice, but it's probably more important to have it within the workout for those who have options at their gym.  saves from having to create a while new exercise.

4) be able to toggle what the graph of exercise by muscle group overview graph chart measures.  Currently it's reps (which due to the above issue is off because I doubled my reps for db and 2 handed cable exercises).  I'd be more interested in volume by body part, others may want just the weight.

5) First I'm going to say that I think this would be best solved by adding a 'notes' box to the start and/or end of the workout and possibly after each session for within the workout... I'd like to be able to record things like rest periods, supersets, RPE, etc. could come up with complicated features for each, but I think a simple notes box would suffice for most of us

6) could be a part of #5, but since we have the strengh vs cardio graph, why not record the total time spent on your lifting workout so you can have a more meaningful time vs time spent as opposed to the existing reps vs time graph which is like comparing apples and oranges.  Not sure how best to compared the workload.... maybe lifting volume, by cardio volume (defined as something along the lines of distance traveled x bodyweight, and somehow factoring in calories burned to  take into account speed and incline which don't affect the first two variables.  There may be an existing measurement unit, but I'm not aware of anything.)

7) being able to add a note to the schedule i.e. "workout missed due to vacation, or illness" or "start of new program" or whatever else is important to the user

being able to graph data by workout and body part volume over time as opposed to just individual exercises.  easier to read than the existing chart and may provide more meaningful data for some users.



also a question.  Every now and then instead of lifting, I'll do 10-20 minute abs or something.  Any ideas for the best way to input that into the workout log that will minimize difference in volume between this type of exercise and lifting?  maybe as cardio since it's nonstop?

[Team FitSync]

JeffDPT-
Impressive.  Very detailed overview and some great suggestions plus some nice compliments.  I know this took you some time and thought, very much appreciated as we depend on feedback from our users to help make the app better.  Let me do a quick run through of your analysis and update you on what we have now and what's coming.

BodyMap - We're close to releasing a major upgrade here that will give you options of either entering your own raw data or using some tools to calc for you.  Example would be bodyfat%, lean mass, BMR, etc.  You'll be able to enter some basic info and have it calced for you or put in your own values however you derive them.  We'll also be expanding the viewing options and data entry so you can enter historic data.  Right now you can edit past entries and enter new data.

1 - Our current structure allows you to classify by major body part and muscle groups such as back, shoulders,and legs.  We're looking at more options here but have to balance that with not overwhelming folks with data.  However, splitting out a bit more so you can break out calves vs thighs and quads vs hams would give you more options. 

2 - Understood.  Some compound movements, like deadlifts, are going to hit a few areas so those will always be tricky.  The challenge is what percentage to assign to each contributing area since legs, back, arms are all involved but not equally.  The current reporting assumes 100% credit to the primary body part such as back (in the case of deadlifts).  We have some more options coming that will expand this so you can specify the muscle as well as the body part.

3 - Log double the weight for DB exercises and make a note in the exercise note as a reminder that you're logging double a single DB.  This way your volumes will be correct and when you are lifting two 100 lb DBs you are accurately pushing 200 lbs so reports will be correct.  We experimented with automatically doubling the weight when a DB modality is specified but then some folks will do DB pullovers with one DB so that didn't work!

4 - This is coming as well along with the other upgrades mentioned so in addition to percentage of time per body part (and sets) you'll see volumes.

5 - You can use the current exercise notes box for this.  That way you can specify rest periods for each exercise as well as what you might be supersetting with.  I do that regularly with rows and presses.  We had earlier versions with rest periods, timers, RPE, etc. but the feedback was that all this was way too cumbersome and most of this was never tracked; it was all used as a guide so that's the rationale behind the exercise note (in addition to an exercise video) for each exercise.

6 - Exactly and something long overdue.  You'll be interested to know that we actually time stamp all the logs so for some of our more sophisticated enterprise customers like military and govt we can actually report on how long it took to complete a workout and rest time (like yakking to your buds in the gym!).  The public version we're releasing will give you what you're looking for; a total time spent doing resistance work which would match up apples to apples with cardio.

7 - You can do this in the journal and then an icon will appear on the schedule.  So, let's say you put in a journal entry that you killed your back going super heavy on deadlifts.  The schedule will show the journal book icon to indicate you made an entry on that day.

Workout Volumes:  We have some new reports that will detail more on a per workout basis so that may give you what you're looking for.

Abs and Cardio vs Strength:  The only difference between our strength and cardio type exercises is really rep based vs time based.  Therefore, nothing wrong with setting up Abs as a cardio type where you might do 10 minutes straight of ab work.  One example would be Planks or a wall sit where you might hold a position for a while.  That way the charts will show that you progressed from holding a plank for 1 minute all the way up to 10.

Again, really appreciate your very detailed and well thought out suggestions and observations.  Since we're in the process of working on several upgrades we'll definitely keep your suggestions in mind.  If you're interested in beta testing some of our development versions, send me an email at info (at) fitsync (dot) com and we'll get you set up.

All the Best,

John Morgan
Director, FitSync Enterprise Services

[JeffDPT]

I'd definitely help test the beta.  Only thing is I can't put it on my phone because I have a bb and no data plan.  I should be getting a new phone and/or PDA in the next month or two though so then it should work.


and I must be missing something... how do I do the exercise notes thing in no.5?

also, I put in a test of the journal and 1) is there a way to erase an entry and 2) is there a way to change the entry date?

[Paul]

If you're shopping for a phone/PDA check out the Android devices, very cool.  Personally I'd avoid the Blackberrys and if possible any phone sold by a carrier since they often disable features or limit net browsing.  You can get an unlocked Android phone from Google for $200 then put in whatever SIM card you want, then with Wi-Fi you can do all your data sync (or heavy browsing) via Wi-Fi instead of burning phone time via the phone network.  I've been paying about $300 a year for T-Mobile phone cards instead of  $150 a month through Verizon.

You can enter or edit exercise notes from either the exercise list or the workout list by clicking on Edit Exercise Note.  It will show up on your handheld and in the printable workout worksheet.  I've edited down most of mine to have a quick tip like "knees behind toes" on squats, that's it.

Once you make a journal entry you can't change it, I think that's so if your trainer tells you not to do something and then you blow out your knee doing it you can't delete his entry and say he never told you.   

 

[JeffDPT]

Thanks for the input.  I'm actually considering getting a PDA instead and downgrading my phone to a cheaper plan.  I'd end up paying about nothing for the phone and would just use my existing internet connection.  In a year it saves more than the cost of a high end PDA.

Supposedly Dell will be releasing an android PDA, so I'm waiting to see that and a few of the new phones coming out in the next couple of months befor I make a decision.  Weighing windows 6 and 7 vs android.  The main plus with windows is I do a lot of stuff in excel and could use excel on the go.

And with the android, do you still have to have an internet plan? or does the wi-fi work independently?

[Paul]

That's what I've been doing for years; I get the cheapest phone plan I can find and do all my serious net stuff via Wi-Fi instead of through the carrier network.  Faster and cheaper.  Otherwise you can easily blow $1500 - $2000 a year on phone and data charges.  Past two years I've been using T-Mobile phone cards for my talking, Wi-Fi for my surfing, works fine.  Of course if you can't live without Flo TV yoiu'll need a pricey 3G phone plan.

FitSync can run 100% offline so you can also use it on an iPod Touch (that's what I use) or any device with Wi-Fi so as long as you've synced you'll have your workouts with you.

Wi-Fi on Android is independent so you don't need a big talk/data plan for $100 or more a month.  Googledocs http://www.google.com/google-d-s/intl/en/tour1.html lets you use Excel docs on your Android. 

Since MS announced the end of Win Mobile 6 (PPC as we used to call it) and the replacement 7 won't ship until September or later plus we don't know what kind of app support it will have, I'd say go with an Android.  You can get a basic one for $200 unlocked, no phone plan or spend $500 and get a slick Nexus One unlocked.  My general advice is to never get a carrier issued phone (unless its free and yoiu don't store anything in it) because features will be disabled and it won't run on other networks.