New to JeFit & Weightlifting and have some questions

[shanemitchell]

Hi,

I am new to JeFit and Weightlifting in general and I am currently using the progrms from the New Rules of Lifting book.


Should I include the barbell weight when logging e.g. for deadlift? or just the weights I am putting on the bar?
Is there any to configure JeFit for alternating sets of exercises so it advances to the next one after one set and then back to the first one again?


Thanks in advance for the assitance,
Shane

[dacox2]

Yes include the bar weight. you are still lifting it. like on a bench press you do not hear more people say they threw up 225 for X amount of reps then 200. that is the weight they lift in NFL combines 225= bar*45 and 2*45's on each side.

And for the alternating sets us open your routine then at bottom of the screen you hit Super Set and link the exercises togeather that you want

[OptikaNET]

Whether you log the bar or not is entirely up to you. What matters is being consistent. Some people use the 1RM to calculate how much weight to lift next session so for them it is useful to log the bar since that is part of the weight they will be lifting. Most of us just use the 1RM (if we use it at all) as a way of tracking progress.

For me it is important to know how much weight to load onto the bar each time and I don't want to be performing mental arithmetic each time by deducting the weight of the bar - especially if I am becoming tired by the workout - I also only log the weights on one side of the bar (unless it is a permanently-made-up bar).

What matters is consistency. If you log the bar you must always log the bar, if you don't then you must always make sure you omit it. Beyond that it's a matter of personal choice.

Kind Regards
Dave

[1dewayne]

^^^^ Agreed addition of the bar weight is up to you . Just be consistent with inputs . Personally I include bar weight ,gets confusing sometimes figuring bar weights do to different weight bars I use . But it's the way I started doing it .

[shanemitchell]

Many thanks

[GrantRobertson]

And for the alternating sets us open your routine then at bottom of the screen you hit Super Set and link the exercises togeather that you want

So, if I want a routine that includes multiple sets of the same exercise with different weights and reps per set (such as what is prescribed in the Body for Life book), then I should enter the same exercise multiple times and "link" them? What is the best way to handle things as I progress? Do I go in and edit my routines every time and change the desired weights for each different exercise? I would prefer to be able to lay out every set ahead of time so I can stay on-plan and not have to figure out what to do next while I am in the gym. (My brain apparently consumes a lot of oxygen and blood sugar. So, once I start pumping those to other areas of my body, my brain kind of just shuts down.)

[OptikaNET]

So, if I want a routine that includes multiple sets of the same exercise with different weights and reps per set (such as what is prescribed in the Body for Life book), then I should enter the same exercise multiple times and "link" them?

Ah... now you are opening a can of worms... JEFIT doesn't track routines, it tracks exercises. When you perform an exercise it tracks the reps and weight you use and how many sets you do. It uses the heaviest weight and/or largest number of reps to calculate the 1RM and tracks that. Depending on whether your have your "Preferences" set to Global or last performed it will suggest weight/reps that were preset or it will suggest weight/reps that you performed last.

Unfortunately for you it assumes you will perform that exercise for the prescribed number of sets only once in a day. If you are using that exercise multiple times in different ways (for example you perform Exercise1 at a high weight with low reps, and then later in the same day you perform Exercise1 at a low weight with high reps) it won't consider that this is a different way of working. As far as the app is concerned - it's the same exercise and it expects you to work with it in the same way. So when you are doing your high rep workout - for example - it will be suggesting you use high weights and low reps.

This isn't a problem, in one sense, because it will still successsfully log and record whatever you input into it, but in another sense it will be confusing because its "prediction" of what you will log will be totally at odds with whatever you actually do log.

You have a choice - you can either live with this particular quirk - safe in the knowledge that you understand what you are doing even though the app doesn't. Or you can create a custom exercise as a variant for the alternative way of working. For example - if you are doing "Barbell Bench Press" as a high weight/low rep option, then you might want to create "Barbell Bench Press (Endurance)" as a custom exercise for when you are working low weight/high reps. The program will then track these two exercises independantly and the suggested weights/reps will be appropriate to the way you are working, as will the 1RM, and the "Volume" graph will show consistent progress rather than zigzagging around.

I will give you an example: I'm having some shoulder problems at the moment and so I have created a "Rotator Cuff Workout" specifically to strengthen the support-muscles of the shoulder. As it happens, none of the three exercises I use are in the database, so I have created custom exercises for all three. However, on most days when I am doing exercises which historically cause shoulder problems (and my chest day is the worst for this) I perform those three exercises with a light weight (3kg) and high reps to warm-up the shoulder before I start my main workout. However, one per week (usually Shoulder Day) I use a heavier weight to try and develop the strength of these weak muscles. Therefore; instead of creating three custom exercises, I created six and I named them the same but added "(warmup)" or "(heavy)" after the names as appropriate so that I can track my heavy sets (currently 6Kg - I told you they were weak!!!) seperately from my warmup sets.

Once you have created your "variant" exercises, you can add them into your routine as appropriate and you can superset them, as described above, just like any other exercise. I don't actually know the structure of the routines in "Body for Life" so I cannot comment on them specifically.


What is the best way to handle things as I progress? Do I go in and edit my routines every time and change the desired weights for each different exercise? I would prefer to be able to lay out every set ahead of time so I can stay on-plan and not have to figure out what to do next while I am in the gym. (My brain apparently consumes a lot of oxygen and blood sugar. So, once I start pumping those to other areas of my body, my brain kind of just shuts down.)

I hear you on the brain shutting down thing!!! That's why I don't log the bar - my mental arithmatic just isn't up to it when I'm getting tired!!! One comment worth making is that you can make things a little easier for yourself, if you have things like that to remember, by adding them as a note, using the "Notes" feature.

JEFIT allows you to preset the target reps when you set up the routine. In the android version you can set different reps targets for each set by seperating them with a comma. Unfortunately, although this works for the iphone too, there is no comma available on the pop-up number pad, so this feature is currently unusable by iphone owners.

You cannot, currently, preset the weight you will use in JEFIT (although it will remember what weight you used last time and that will be the suggested value when you work). JEFIT assumes that the weight you are going to be using will change all the time and so there is no facility for planning this in advance. This works okay for most people, but some people have commented that their own style of working has them calculating the weight they use from their 1RM and they want to be able to pre-program JEFIT with the appropriate weight. Currently this is not possible.

You can also use the "Logs" feature to view what you have previously used as a guide to what you should be lifting now. Sadly, if you are using the superset feature, then there is a known bug that restricts the logs you can view while in the routine, so if you are using superset, then you'll have to exit the routine (temporarily) to view the logs properly. It is unfortunate that another known bug then means that when you re-enter the routine you will only be able to do the first exercise in any superset, and then the others in order.

So if you are on the third exercise in a four-exercise superset and you want to view the logs, you will only be able to see the log for the first exercise in the superset. To view the third exercise logs you will have to exit the routine and select "Logs" from the main menu. When you return to the routine, you will now only be able to enter the first exercise of your superset, and not the third. You will have to give a value for the first and second exercises before you can get back to the third exercise that you were on.

The only way around this is to enter "fictional" values for those exercises and then edit the log afterwards to the correct values. This is annoying, but currently the only way around the problem.

Kind Regards
Dave

[sherbs]

Concerning the bar weight thing, it seems to me it should be very easy to sort it within the app. All you need is a box for each excercise to enter bar/body weight. Leave empty and nothing gets added, enter a weight and it gets automatically added to your entered weights in the logs.

[GrantRobertson]

Ah... now you are opening a can of worms...

Thank you for your very thorough response. Unfortunately, it seems you are telling me that - despite the fancy graphics - this is ultimately an unusably simple program. It appears that you are saying that if I want to do the following "pattern"

Bench Press: 100 lbs - 12 reps - wait 60 seconds
Bench Press: 120 lbs - 8 reps - wait 60 seconds
Bench Press: 140 lbs - 6 reps - wait 60 seconds
Bench Press: 160 lbs - 4 reps - wait 60 seconds
Bench Press: 140 lbs - 8 reps - done

That I can't program that pattern in. That I have to program in only the first line and then manually enter the additional sets every darn time I do a workout, and only as I am actually doing the workout. And this is supposed to be better than paper, how, exactly?

I guess I have just wasted my money.

[tjwood]

Unfortunately, it seems you are telling me that - despite the fancy graphics - this is ultimately an unusably simple program.

It's very definitely usable - thousands of people use it very regularly and are happy with it.

Your pattern of weight and reps is somewhat unusual and Jefit is not designed to cope with such esoteric patterns. However there are several ways you can get it to log what you want. Personally I'd just set up 5 sets of, say, 8 reps and change the logs for the weight and reps as you go. It's not that difficult.

Yes, it would be nice if Jefit coped with any possible workout routine you can think of, but that's quite a lot to ask from an app that costs about the same as two cups of coffee. Also, Jefit is always improving and you'll get all the updates for free, so maybe you'll get that ability one day if there is enough demand...

[OptikaNET]

Actually that's a relatively simple pattern often called a "pyramid set" (I've also heard "pyramid" used to refer to a different kind of setup, but this is what I know of as a pyramid set) and it's quite simple to set up in Android.

You set "Sets" to "5", and you set "Reps" to "12, 8, 6, 4, 8" and "Rest Time" to "60". Now, with "Preferences" set to "Target Reps" the only think you need to change each set is the weight (which should be subject to change anyway). By default it will remember what weight you used last visit and prefill the field with that value.

Alternatively, if you have "Preferences" set to "Last Logs" then both weight and reps will default to whatever they were for that set number last time you performed it.

It is not possible to set the weight ahead of time, but it is easy to change at the time and will preload with the value from you last log.

For the Iphone, things are more problematic; JEFIT works exactly the same way, but Apple, when they designed the operating system, didn't put a comma on the numerical pop up keyboard, so you cannot program multiple values for the "Reps" field (but you can still use the "Last Logs" option as above). This is not JEFIT's fault - blame Apple!

I think your comments on the value of JEFIT were a little out of line. If you don't feel the program is for you, then don't use it. The basic program is free - so hardly a waste of money - and if you chose to go with the PRO version without trying it first then you took a risk and sorry it didn't work out for you, but it wasn't exactly an expensive risk.

On the other hand; JEFIT is clearly the best gym-app out there (in spite of a few drawbacks which are slowly being ironed out as the program develops and advances. Sadly progress is slow, but JEFIT is a very small company and can not be expected to turn things around on a day-to-day schedule - Hell, even Microsoft takes a week to update!), and has won several awards because of it.

If you choose to return to pen and paper, then that is up to you. There are a number of competitor products out there for JEFIT but none of them work as well as JEFIT does.

But it's entirely up to you.

Kind Regards
Dave