Here's a summary of the key themes and opinions expressed in the Hacker News discussion about the workout.cool website, supported by direct quotes from the users:
Initial Impressions and Functionality
The initial reaction is positive, with users praising the tool's usefulness, especially the muscle selection feature.
- "wow, its great tool has muscle selection is so much more help full than 80+% apps on app store right now" - tonyhart7
However, some users experienced errors:
- "I retrieve error response when fetching exercise" - adobrawy
- "Selected a few workouts and got this error - Error loading exercises" - mandeepj
The developer, surgomat, quickly addressed these issues, attributing them to unexpected high traffic from Hacker News:
- "The traffic from HN hit hard (which I didn’t expect tbh)." - surgomat
- "The issue should be fixed RN !" - surgomat
This led to the "HN kiss of death or love" sentiment.
Feature Requests and Roadmap
A prominent theme is the desire for additional features, especially those found in existing fitness apps.
- "Is there any plan to allow users to create workouts to share (or does it already and I haven't discovered it yet?)?, or API integration with common platforms like Strava, Garmin Connect, Healthkit, Google Fit, Coros, etc?" - eitally
The developer acknowledges these requests and confirms some features are on the roadmap:
- "Yes, sharing workouts is on the roadmap. Users will be able to create routines, save them, and share them with others (even with public links)" - surgomat
- "As for API integrations (Strava, Garmin, HealthKit, etc.) definitely something I’m open to." - surgomat
- "Good news : saving + tracking routines over time is in the roadmap." - surgomat
Specific feature suggestions include:
- "Think of it similar to the Strong app, but aimed at trainers/PTs." - eitally (referring to Medbridge's capabilities)
- "The main problem with any app I've tried is that after enough experience the bells and whistles of the app don't really matter and mostly what you care about is consistent tracking for progressive overload… A way to save specific workouts as routines and track those for long periods of time" - toyetic
- "Community-made working plans would be a killer feature...Each exercise needs a categorization (compound, isolation), compliments (if an exercise is a push, then what are some pulls), companions...and a est. time to perform" - mywittyname
Mobile App (Native vs. PWA)
The need for a mobile app is debated. Some believe it's important for discoverability and user experience.
- "It could potentially help with discoverability... Unless your target audience is only the intersection of FOSS-advocates and fitness folks, you might be limiting adoption." - billyjmc
- "A mobile app ( or pwa, I've made and used my own personal workout app for a while as a PWA and its been just as good as any native app I've tried)" - toyetic
Others think the website is sufficient, especially if it's mobile-friendly:
- "With that said, the website works just fine on my phone." - billyjmc
Critique of Workout Recommendations for Beginners
A critical perspective emerges regarding the suitability of the generated workouts, particularly for beginners. The concern is that the recommendations are not well-structured and could lead to injury.
- "I'm not sure I agree that something like this is a good option for people wanting to get started in weightlifting. I'm not sure it's a good option for anyone really...this is recommending some pretty awful workouts." - LostMyLogin
- "Why are compound lifts in the middle of the workout and why am I doing three different types of chin ups? There are also no reps / sets calculated nor are there 1RM percentages for weight." - LostMyLogin
- "Beginners should be focusing on form and simple compound lifts. Throwing them into things like heavy accessory lifts with no regard for exercise choice or format is a quick way to get hurt." - LostMyLogin
- "Pretty high if you don't know what you're doing with a weight that you're not strong enough to handle." - SoftTalker
- "IMO a simple 5x5 is going to be the better option for someone just starting out. Stronglifts is one flavor with a great app that just works and tracks all the little stuff..." - RankingMember
- "I also wanted to say that for people starting out keep it super simple. I wouldn't even use an app. At most a notebook or spreadsheet. Do 'Starting Strength' (squats, bench, deadlift. 3 sets of 5)." - SoftTalker
Alternative approaches like 5x5 and Starting Strength are suggested as better options for beginners, emphasizing form and simplicity.
Open Source Considerations and Content
The discussion touches on the challenges of open-source fitness tools, especially regarding content (videos) and legal issues.
- "Are there really no open licensed workout-movement animations out there? That sounds like a fun beginner animation project honestly." - atrus
- "Producing proper 3D exercise videos is actually VERY expensive we’re talking €10–20 per animation, or thousands of euros per month if you go through a good/high quality API provider. That’s why it's such a tough space for open-source tools to compete in." - surgomat
- "I wanted to make sure everything is legally safe and not just scraped or reused without rights." - surgomat
The developer has addressed the issue of video licensing by partnering with another app. The community is invited to help create open licensed content.
Input Method
Some users had differing opinions on the input method, where the user selects muscles first or equipment first.
- "Would be cool to be able to optionally select muscle groups first, i.e. before selecting equipment. Also, seeing all available exercises for a muscle group rather than the pre-defined 3 would help tailor the experience more." - mariotacke
- "Because the purpose of exercising is usually not to use a certain machine but to train a certain muscle (group)." - kleiba
- "I only have dumbbells, so selecting the equipment first is actually ideal for me" - Zananok