Here’s the first post that explains how to use FitLogg. In these types of posts, I’ll explain one of FitLogg’s features, how to use it, why you might want to use it, and how it fits into real life.

First Steps

If there’s one thing that personal trainers, coaches, fitness buffs, and gym rats can agree on (except for one outrageous exception), it’s that doing something is better than doing nothing. Being active is better for your health than being sedentary. To encourage this behaviour, FitLogg has a type of goal called the Workouts Goal.

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The most common feature that I’ve been asked for is a goal for people who are trying to lose weight. I think it’s safe to say that most people who embark on new exercise regimens are trying to lose weight, so this type of goal is a must! I’ll be working on it soon, I promise!

On the other hand, there are plenty of people (mostly men, I’m sure) who work out to gain weight. To some people, skinny is an insult. So FitLogg will include a weight gain goal as well.

Then there are people like me who don’t have a clear goal about their weight. My goal is to burn fat and build muscle. When I step on a scale, what do I want to see? I don’t know, and I don’t really care. Rather than measuring progress according to the number on a scale, I’d rather measure my waist size. If my weight stays the same, but my pants are looser around the waist, then I’ll be happy! So, some sort of “measurement goal” will probably be added to FitLogg too.

In practice, I don’t think that a weight loss/gain goal is critical. It might be very motivational, but by itself won’t help you to succeed. To lose or gain weight, you need an action plan. An action plan can be created with the milestone goals that FitLogg has today.

So, in the meantime, create a couple of milestone goals for yourself, and set the number of workouts you should be performing every week (a workouts goal). These goals help to define your action plan. If you can follow through on your action plan, the weight loss or gain you want will follow!

Let me know your thoughts in the comments. How would you like to see a weight loss/gain goal implemented?

(Photo: “Scale 2″, peter_w, Germany.)

Welcome to FitLogg’s companion, FitBlogg.  This will be the place to find news, tips, and how-to articles.

Who Am I?

I’m Neil, the creator and developer of FitLogg! Posting pictures of myself on the Internet isn’t how I get my kicks, so drawings will have to do. The picture on the left comes from an ad for jeans in an old comic book. Can you believe people used to buy clothes based on drawings of the clothes?  Amazing!

I’m a guy who likes making stuff, especially on computers. I got interested in programming on a Commodore 64 when I was a kid, and have been doing it as a profession and as a hobby ever since.

Why Did I Make FitLogg?

FitLogg started when I got home from the gym one day, sweaty and tired, and muttered to myself, “I have no idea what I’m doing. Am I wasting my time?”  Like most people, I was an off-and-on exerciser.  I rarely saw results from my efforts in the gym. My motivation to exercise typically lasted two or three months before I would give up.  I kept trying new things, without measuring what was working and what wasn’t.  So I threw together a simple iPhone web app for myself (and only for myself!) and started tracking my workouts.

About a year later, I had lots of data and could see that only a few things I was doing were giving noticeable results. Mostly, I was clueless.  I humbly conceded that I could not come up with workout routines for myself, so I bought a book called The New Rules of Lifting and started following that instead.  FitLogg showed me that suddenly I was seeing improvement in many areas, and has been a great tool to keep me motivated and excited about getting into shape.

Seeing how well FitLogg was helping me, I decided to put some serious time and effort into it.  I made it good enough to let other people use it, and that’s what you see today.

So, at first I built FitLogg for me, but now I’d be thrilled if other people used it. Are you using it?  What do you think so far?

I’ve got a lot more that I want to add to FitLogg, so stay tuned to this blog for news about new features.

Coming Soon on the Blog

Articles I plan to write include the following:

- What new features are planned?

- Tips on setting goals for yourself.

- Using FitLogg on the iPhone.

- and a lot more…

I might even talk about what I’ve learned about fitness so far, and comment on the latest fitness industry trends.  Come back soon and find out!