Table of Contents
I have in the past used workouts from books, however more recently the idea of creating my own workouts has appealed to me. With workouts from books I have found some exercises do not progress (load does not increase), and with other exercises I plateau too quickly. Also I lose motivation (possibly the boredom of the same exercises and the feeling of not progressing). Creating my own workouts (programming) I could (in theory at least) control these dimensions.
Quoting from Bret Contreras, Bodyweight Strength Training Anatomy (second edition),
In this book, I will teach you the best bodyweight exercises and show you the most effective way to combine them into cohesive programs consistent with your fitness goals. (p. 3)
The ensuing exercise database and workout spreadsheet are an experiment in programme planning.
The project has also enabled me to apply the Feynman Technique to workout design.
Contreras advises to work all of the major muscle groups (traps, delts, etc.) each week as well as maintaining a good balance between opposing movement patterns (i.e., types of exercise, ref. Key Terms below). To this end and to the end of using Contreras’ book to programme a workout I have created a database of bodyweight exercises featured in the book, and a workout spreadsheet.
I have also added my own notes from the book (ref. Chapter 10 Quick Reference below) putting the database and spreadsheet into the overall context of planning a program. It is advisable to read these if not familiar with the practice of programme planning.
For a quick start jump to the section titled ‘The Workout Spreadsheet’.
Major Muscle Group “traps, delts, pecs, lats, triceps, biceps, abs, glutes, hams, quads, adductors, calves” (p. 220)
Movement Pattern (p. 220, also referred to as “Type of exercise”)
Upper body vertical press Upper body vertical pull Upper body horizontal press Upper body horizontal pull Lower body hip-dominant Lower body knee-dominant Core linear (front-to-back) Core lateral (side-to-side) Core rotary (twisting)
Muscles, Exercises, and 3 more
In addition to Muscle, Exercise, Muscle Group, Major Muscle Group, and Movement Pattern views, there are views on the data from records within each of these views (e.g., a view on Exercise within the page for each record of the Muscle view showing exercises for that muscle).
Primary data consists of exercises, the muscle group of the exercise, and muscles involved in each exercise. The muscle group of a muscle has been inferred from the exercises the muscle is involved in. The movement pattern of an exercise has been inferred from the movement pattern of the muscles used by the exercise (itself ascertained using ChatGPT).
ChatGPT has been used (caveat emptor) to: