Gear – Lifting Apps – A Story Spanning 2 Years…

As a follow up to yesterday’s post about deciding to get going to the gym again – I’m digging this post out of the archives from January, 2018 from another online project.

The other night I was out and the conversation turned towards ‘what is your favorite app?’  Which is always fun to kick around given my love of technology, and burning in more productive time whenever/wherever possible.

You can probably imagine the rant that ensued…

I promised to send along the links to some articles on fitness, lifting, and that sort of thing earlier in the week – instead I’m porting the content over to this site of mine from the other project.

I have been using Strongur now for over a year, and it keeps it very simple for me.

I show up to the gym, and I keep my head low and grind the hell out of the lifting session as mindfully as possible.  I really believe it is possible to do some sort of meditation when you are throwing around weights.  I love this app because it takes the pressure off of having to make any decisions.  An autopilot if you will…

Here’s the original post that underpinned the rant from the other night, and I do not get compensated for any of these apps if you decide to roll with one of them…

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In May 2016, I decided to start lifting heavy again.

I had been doing cardio primarily with some free weights and classic resistance movements with some P90X thrown in the mix over the couple years prior…  I was in average shape in terms of muscle mass, a bit heavier than I should have been in terms of body fat %, and my cardio was above average.

This time, I decided to leverage an app that had a solid strength program behind it.

I wanted something simple, something proven, and something that would gauge my progress to reduce risk of injury.  I wasn’t all that concerned with my diet or hitting maxes initially.  I was very interested in starting and steadily building up from my legs to my shoulders.

I wanted to be able to lift up to 200 lbs as needed from a standing position with a focus on core power with chest and arms as a secondary priority.

I also knew that any data generated via the app needed to be exportable into other file formats as I have a tendency of wanting to switch up apps and lifting routines.

So I hit up reddit for the strongest thinking out there, effectively crowd sourcing the latest thinking on a restarting lifter such as myself.

I knew that my choice would be a commitment for a year.

After extensive research over the course of a two week timeframe, I landed on the type of program and on the app that seemingly was the best.  I skipped the bullshit men’s health magazines and lifting rags – those were the same articles and sensational articles from decades back.  The only difference was that Dorian Yates was not on the cover this go ‘round.

That guy was beast back in the day!

So I landed with a 5×3 routine that was focused on the classic moves:

• Squats
• Shoulder Press
• Bench Press
• Deadlift
• Power Cleans
• Chin-ups

Every day was leg day with squats or deads being the basis for every session.

Squats, Bench, and Power Cleans formed the basis for the first routine and Squats, Deads, Presses, and Chins as a mix for the second routine.

I did this routine religiously for the first 9 months of my return to lifting, and the app was exactly what I needed.  I had to drag my ass out of bed to hit the gym prior to 6am each day for the first 6 months, and light this app up.

Oh what was the app you ask?

It is named ‘Starting Strength’ and it was brain dead simple to follow many mornings when I was so tired that decisions were tiring.  This app pushed me hard, although it still felt a little proscribed in terms of the weights and routines.

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I reached a point about 9 months into the journey – when I was getting bored, and my body wasn’t responding the way it had in the initial six months.

So I set out to find a modified 5×3 program that was not so focused on fundamental strength, rather I was looking for a new routine that could provide me a more aesthetic form.

I saw plenty of other guys at the gym that couldn’t lift as much as I could with similar form, but they looked bigger and more developed.

This was when I realized that I needed to work smarter, get a bit better on the diet, and to begin moving beyond the core 6 exercises that I had been doing.

I landed on this program and app called Strongur.

The app has a slew of scientific algorithms that are constantly watching your weights, rep output, cadence on the workout itself, and it correlates any modifications necessary to shock your muscles and challenge you just enough to advance a little bit in the next workout.

The logic is based upon the strength coaching behind the app, and you as the end user punches in the desired outcomes that you are building towards.

The ‘build towards’ outcomes are focused on body composition and strength – with the modified 5×3 program underpinning things.  I absolutely love this app, as it responds to my most recent set of workouts much like a strength coach would.

The difference here is that this science is Olympic-worthy all imbued into this app.

Again a huge benefit to taking an app-based approach is the brain dead simple nature of things.

Decision fatigue and willpower are real, and worthy of a future post.  When it comes to lifting, there are no decisions, only rituals and routines to be followed for me now.  This further derails any excuse making.

I show up at the gym, get my tunes going on my favorite bluetooth buds, and open the Strongur app to kill it for at least 30 minutes.  Most days, I am averaging about 40 minutes.  Someday, I’ll post a rant about those that go to the gym to talk to the guy next to them for a solid ten, while I’m cranking out sets.  You can get a killer workout in 10-30 minutes if you are intense enough about it – at least when it comes to weights.

When I’m feeling especially strong, I’ll go for 45 with some light cardio walking/elliptical thrown in at the tail end.  I get the right level of variety and of exertion without the boredom that I had in the prior Starting Strength app.

I highly recommend Starting Strength as a core development program/app with Strongur moreso a graduate program and app.  All of the analytics in the Strongur app are especially helpful – never seen an app that has this multi-demensional approach when it comes to building you up over a 3 year, progressive plan.

I highly doubt that the run of the mill trainers would be able to produce this kind of intelligence to guide a progressive strength and body building program.

The app isn’t cheap, but it is a freaking steal when you consider what is fueling it with a tailored approach to your current situation and towards your ultimate goals.

This app coupled with now really knowing my body has prevented any crazy bad injuries over the last two years.  This more than any outward appearance is the reason why I endorse it.  The science and algorithms are probably worth $100-$200 a month, and likely still beat out the knowledge of the trainer your gym is trying to get you to book up.

If you have not trained in awhile – get a trainer for a couple of months, and then switch to an app.

If you have some experience lifting already, skip the trainer, get your ass in there and follow the app.

Decide + Keep It Simple