Welcome
Whether you have just created an account or are wondering if you should do so, welcome! This page provides information and tutorials on how PJL Fitness can be used to track fitness across many different domains. We’ve created subsections based on the most popular ways to exercise. Feel free to read through each one, or focus only on the one(s) that are most pertinent to you.
Adding PJL Fitness Workouts
All users will need to add some form of workout to get the most out of PJL Fitness. The following pages have information pertinent to everyone:
What Type of Athlete Are You?
- Traditional Weightlifter (e.g. reps and sets)
- Cardio (e.g. Running, Walking, Swimming, Rowing)
- CrossFitter
- Class-Based
- High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
- Olympic Lifter
- Powerlifter
- Bodybuilder
- Other
Traditional Weightlifter
Who: A traditional weightlifter is someone whose workouts generally consist of reps and sets with free weights, machines, or some other type of resistance. Traditional weightlifters may also use treadmills, exercise bikes, or something similar for conditioning.
How to Use PJL Fitness: Most workouts performed by a traditional weightlifter would fit into the ‘standard’ workout structure.
The standard workout structure models a typical weightlifter workout in the following way:
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Movement: The movement is defined by the user as part of the ‘Add Movement Form’. A user is free to distinguish between exercises and types of equipment in the movement name however they choose.
For example, the following are all possible movement names:
- Bench Press / Barbell Bench Press / DB Bench Press / Dumbbell Bench Press / Smith Machine Bench Press
- Run / Treadmill Run / Stairmaster
- Reps: Reps are a fundamental property of the Add Movement Form
- Sets: In a workout, PJL Fitness considers a movement as a set. Therefore to add sets, users can add a new movement representing each set and adjust weights accordingly, or the user can add the movement once and make note of the number of sets in the workout description if the weight doesn’t change.
Tutorials
Cardio
Who: Cardio athletes workout primarily through activities such as running, cycling, swimming, walking, and other exercises that can raise the heart rate.
How to Use PJL Fitness: Although PJL Fitness can be used to track these types of workouts, other GPS-based apps and wearables can provide more specific data with less manual input. PJL is currently working on ways to import these external data from other applications, but does not have that capability at this time.
That being said, if you are using a machine for cardio like a treadmill, rower, or exercise bike, PJL Fitness is great at keeping track of your results and benchmarks. These types of workouts would mostly fit into the ‘standard’ workout structure.
The standard workout structure models a typical cardio workout in the following way:
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Movement: The movement is defined by the user as part of the ‘Add Movement Form’. A user is free to distinguish between exercises and types of equipment in the movement name however they choose.
For example, the following are all possible movement names:
- Row / Concept 2 Rower / Run / NordicTrack Treadmill Run / Assault Bike / Air Bike / TrueForm Runner
- Volume: The volume associated with the movement Add Movement Form
- Volume Unit: The type of unit the volume describes. Sensible selections for cardio workouts could be miles, meters, calories, or time. More information on available volume units can be found here.
Tutorials
CrossFitter
Who: CrossFit athletes follow the CrossFit style of workouts, which consist of constantly varied, high-intensity, functional movements.
How to Use PJL Fitness: CrossFit athletes will feel right at home with PJL Fitness because PJL was originally designed as a workout journal capable of tracking CrossFit workouts. Many of the workout structures come directly from the most popular CrossFit workout styles. Therefore, a typical CrossFitter would make use out of each of the supported workout structures. E.g.
Each workout structure is fundamentally made up of either movements or intervals with a few other properties sprinkled in. PJL Fitness can easily capture at least 80% of CrossFit workouts. For the more complicated workout structures, we encourage users to add the movements and weights, and then manually modify the workout description to convey exactly how the workout is structured.
Tutorials
Class-Based
Who: Class-based athletes do most of their workouts in a class setting. Rather than track the exact workout done during the class, PJL recommends tracking class attendance, movements performed, and any other meta-data about the class a user feels is worth recording.
How to Use PJL Fitness: There is no native support for a ‘class’ workout structure, however the ‘standard’ workout structure can be repurposed to track and provide credit for classes.
PJL suggests that users log the type of class as the workout name and list some of the movements performed during the class and any weights used. Recording the movements will help track muscle groups being worked and weights will help you benchmark for future classes.
The workout description can be modified to note the instructor, class time, or any other information regarding the particular class.
Tutorials
High-Intensity Interval Training
Who: High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a form of interval training that mixes periods of intense exercise with periods of rest.
How to Use PJL Fitness: PJL Fitness was built with native support for interval style workouts, and has a workout structure specific to interval workouts. The interval workout structure allows users to quickly and easily model any interval-style workout they choose.
Tutorials
Olympic Lifter
Who: Athletes who specialize in the two olympic lifts: the snatch and clean and jerk.
How to Use PJL Fitness: Most olympic lifting workouts would fit naturally into the ‘standard’ workout structure.
The standard workout structure models a typical olympic lifter workout in the following way:
- Movement: The movement is defined by the user as part of the ‘Add Movement Form’. A user is free to distinguish between exercises and lifts however they choose. Olympic lifters who utilize ‘complexes’ (i.e. compound movements) can make use of the movement grouping feature.
Tutorials
Powerlifter
Who: Athletes who specialize in the three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift.
How to Use PJL Fitness: Most powerlifting workouts would fit naturally into the ‘standard’ workout structure.
The standard workout structure models a typical powerlifting workout in the following way:
- Movement: The movement is defined by the user as part of the ‘Add Movement Form’. A user is free to distinguish between exercises and lifts however they choose. Powerlifters who utilize supersets (i.e. compound movements) can make use of the movement grouping feature.
Tutorials
Bodybuilder
Who: A bodybuilder utilizes resistance workouts to enhance their body for aesthetic purposes.
How to Use PJL Fitness: Most bodybuilding workouts would fit naturally into the ‘standard’ workout structure.
The standard workout structure models a typical bodybuilding workout in the following way:
- Movement: The movement is defined by the user as part of the ‘Add Movement Form’. A user is free to distinguish between exercises and lifts however they choose. Bodybuilders who modify exercises through different timings can make note of these specifics by modifying the workout description.
Tutorials
Other
Who: The list of athletes provided here hardly covers every possibility. PJL is hopeful that it gives an idea of how many different fitness domains can be tracked using our application and how to start doing so.
How to Use PJL Fitness: The simplest way to log a workout is to create a workout with a name, date, and workout description. This is enough for you to see what and when you performed a workout. The effects of having this information stored can not be overstated.
Tutorials