Today marks a big day for the team at MuscleWiki.
We launched the workout generator, using our huge custom dataset of exercises, videos and text, we optimized so users are able to generate millions of unique workout combinations. These aren't just dumb workouts either, anyone with a lick of python can generate millions of workouts. The hard thing to do is generate the 1 workout that you want. The team painstakingly programmed and mapped science based set recommendations and fatigue into those results based on user selection.
There are still a few bugs we are working out, but this took months of work from the whole team. Check it out, use it, share it!
Our coach Ty will be in the comments to answer any questions on how we set things up.
I would love to be able to set how much time I have available for workouts too though. Like, if I want a whole body workout but only have 10 minutes, I know I'm going to get less done, but maybe fewer reps/higher weight.
I shied away from picking "beginner" and opted for "novice" instead because beginner listed being able to do 1-3 pushups as a guideline, and I can't.
But then when it generated a "novice" workout for me, it had me doing 2 sets of 6-10 pushups. I...can't? I could do 6-10 counter-height pushups probably, but I think the novice level might need to be tweaked to keep the individual exercises easier than it currently is.
I chose a full-body workout for a 52-y/o man (me), intermediate level focusing on muscle gain. The program suggests squats for 3x3-5, bench for 2x3-5, hip thrusts for 3x3-5, chin-ups for 3x4-8 etc. Those seem more like strength building rep ranges to me. Then weirdly, I get deadlifts for 3x6-10, which is odd programming for deadlifts. In total, I have 8 exercises for a total of 24 sets, which seems like it would take me a solid couple of hours to do. It's also massively focused on glutes and hamstrings for some reason, I have squats, hip thrusts, deadlifts and nordic curls in the same workout. That just seems like an unreasonable amount of volume.
Jim Wendler really summed up fitness to me. How to do a deadlift? According to Jim, the weight is on the ground and you pick it up.
After wanting to build up my shoulders, I went to YouTube and looked for exercises. The utter madness I've been served searching for this was staggering. Overhyped bodybuilders promoting pills, fitness influencers, equipment I didn't have, but they knew the best shop for it, etc...
This is clean, straight, I love it.
Starting my workout NOW.
The bodyweight workouts, for instance, are sparse and rudimentary and the generator comes up with a pretty disjoint and insufficient program at all intensity levels.
That's not to say that you're obliged to replicate Overcoming Gravity or TRX or something, but it's unclear why bodyweight even appears as an option in the genrator at this point, let alone at levels beyond beginner.
If it's not really an expansive wiki and is instead just a collection of your own high-production-value workout descriptions (which seem well made) for contemporary weight training, it makes sense that there's only a narrow "happy path" through the generator -- maybe the presentation should be more focused on that happy path and less overbroad?
Don't get hung up on the name. The intention a long time ago was to make it a wiki, but it never happened and the name stuck.
I'm not sure what you mean, bodyweight only exercise selection looks fine to me? Want to give me a concrete example, maybe we have something bugged. We have a bunch more exercise coming to add a little more depth, but our data shows that bodyweight is generally where novice/beginner lifters want to start, so we give them the option. Also things like pull-ups, chin-ups, dips are in no way "beginner" and so if a user selects "all equipment" which is what most people do, they'll get these very important exercises if they are applicable.
its okay if you don't agree, but we have an expert on staff who curated these exercises. I trust him more than some guy on the internet. So if they are wrong, its likely a bug.
ack on bodyweight depth - working on it.
But I think this part of your reply really hits the seemingly unstated focus of your program:
> bodyweight is generally where novice/beginner lifters want to start
Your vision is a site for the lifting community and the progressions associated with that community. That's great and could be a very successful business with a very helpful site. Your exercise descriptions and their videos are excellent. I hope it all works out for you!
But that community and that progression is only one tradition in strength training, muscle development, and athleticism. It's a very popular niche, but it's a ultimately a specific niche (and you want it to be exactly that if you want your business to have brand clarity to customers and partners).
Where this distinction starts to become most apparent is when you start looking at "Intermediate" and "Advanced" exercises in a specific domain like bodyweight. For a lifter, the box dips, side plank reach throughs, etc from your Advanced Bodyweight Workout are perhaps as advanced as you'll take your bodyweight practice as part of your overall lifting practice.
But for people who are actually interested in pursuing "advanced" bodyweight practice itself, these are better characterized as novice-to-intermediate exercises. "Advanced" work in bodyweight fitness itself (even without rings/bars/straps etc) are things like L-sits, planches, handstand pushups, etc [Stephen Low's Overcoming Gravity is a definitive reference for these progressions]
I don't think there's anything wrong with your site's collection, but I do think it would benefit for being more clear about who it's meant for and what its vision is. I think the presentation is trying to be very generic and universal right now, which isn't really feasible, and it was unclear to me if that was accidental or not.
As I noted originally (however haphazardly expressed!), my Show HN feedback is that you might want to more strongly communicate your specific and reasonable focus so that you appeal more directly to people looking for exactly what you offer and cost yourself in less support-burden/confusion/judgment from people who are seeking something different.
As an example, if the site indicated more explicitly for "lifters", we wouldn't have even had this conversation in the first place and my questions over lacking breadth wouldn't have been aired out here for others to read.
[1] https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/02/why-s...
The same thing also can happen if you double-click the "info" icon on the "Fitness Level" step, or if you close the popup (via mouse) and then click any of the buttons.
One thing I don't get is that you click a muscle group and sometimes it turns red and sometimes pink. What is the difference? And then I click on the opposite muscle on the back of the body and the front disappears. A bit of twiddling to get it right. Maybe a small animated intro with how to would help here.
> anyone with a lick of python can generate millions of workouts
Are you offering an API for the workout generator?
Any plans to generate workout plans for a week/month and incorporate rest days?
We don't mind ad blockers, I suggest Brave! But if you do want to help support our team, we also offer a premium subscription that removes ads and unlocks other features like tracking.
Just my .02 - I would prefer if the dummy you click on to select which muscle groups you wanna train to be gender neutral, or have a separate selection for all genders, if that is relevant for the exercises provided.
