e1RM bingo
complete
T
Tom Clark
I came here because I made my own spreadsheet with a nifty visualization that I haven't seen anywhere. strengthjourneys.xyz is stupid good looking and much better than anything I'd make (I'm a backend software engineer), so once I found it I think it's easier to invest in this.
Create a matrix with columns as reps, rows as weights, and the cells are the e1RM for that
(weight,rep)
pair. Then given some (date,exercist, weight, reps)
set tuples, generate the e1RM for each set.## PRs obtained
Highlight the
(weight, rep)
cells which have been achieved in dark green.## Guaranteed new PRs
Highlight the cells which can definitely be done as light green (eg: you lifted 50lbs for 10 reps but never lifted 45 lbs for 8 reps so color that light green)
## Probably new PRs
Highlight the cells that are <= to the e1RM in light yellow.
This visualization is almost like a farming/terraforming video game:
- every day try to cover more area
- Not feeling strong today? Harvest a PR that you definitely can make but just haven't yet
- drop sets give you a rep target to maybe eke out a new e1RM
- New e1RMs increase the total area so you can always visualize your current strength
- there are always multiple paths towards some far off e1RM goal
As I'm in my 40s I'm not going to actually attempt a 1RM so I'm not going to push big numbers, so I have to rely on the math for my dopamine hit.
## Google Sheets Implementation
Given a workout log titled
Sheet1
with the columns used here, the conditional formatting is listed below. NB: INDIRECT
is used because you otherwise can't reference a different sheet in a conditional format.# PRs obtained
=LTE(B$1, MAX(FILTER(INDIRECT("'Sheet1'!C:C"), INDIRECT("'Sheet1'!B:B")=$A$1, INDIRECT("'Sheet1'!D:D")=$A2)))
# Guaranteed new PRs
=NOT(ISNA(FILTER(INDIRECT("'Sheet1'!C:C"), INDIRECT("'Sheet1'!B:B")=$A$1, INDIRECT("'Sheet1'!D:D")>=$A2, INDIRECT("'Sheet1'!C:C")>=B$1)))
# Probable new PRs
=LTE(B2, MAX(FILTER(INDIRECT("'Sheet1'!J:J"), INDIRECT("'Sheet1'!B:B")=$A$1)))
I trust that you'll snazz up the visualization if you find it useful.
Activity Feed
Sort by
Wayne Schuller
complete
ok merged to the public site - still some rough edges to fix though
Wayne Schuller
I wrote a long answer but Canny deleted it. Basically I worked out that a grid would lose data, and the estimated potential is worth sharing the full detail. So I tried a bar chart with actual and potential... I hope to release this within a few hours, even though it's rusty.
I'd appreciate your feedback. It's not quite the same grid to be conquered - but it clearly shows where you can find the easiest PRs and go chasing them.
T
Tom Clark
Ahh this is an easier way of visualizing a smaller subset of data for 1-10 reps. That's smart! Some initial feedback:
- It seems to always say kg. My lift is in lbs.
- It seems to be in Bryzcki, whereas I use Epley
- I didn't immediately understand the colors as they were both solid—if potential lifts were dashed or patterened to indicate that they're not real lifts that would help immediate understanding
- when the yellow/orange color is very thinthe tooltip only pops up for the blue lift. In other places both best-effort/potential-effort lifts show up in the same tooltip.
I understand what you're trying to do here: show the user that based on their most recent e1RM PR they can improve their best 1/2/3/n-rep set by the gold bar. It's shows something that my grid can't show: I've never done a 2-rep or 8-rep set!
I'm going to use this tomorrow to get some PRs. Thanks for deploying this!
Wayne Schuller
Tom Clark:
Great feedback again as always.
- The formulae is based on whatevery you have last chosen in the calculator. However I have added a radio group on the new page so you can select the algorithm there (and the charts will dynamically adjust).
- I've tried to do some work on unittype to default to lb. Should be fixed I hope.
- Good idea about a pattern on the potential section in orange - done
- I can't reproduce the tooltip not working over the extension part - however I've made some changes which might help.
Happy lifting!
T
Tom Clark
Wayne Schuller I saw the updates; looks awesome! I love the subtle blue gradient (or my eyes are deceiving me). The pop ups and legend are great. Very fast turnaround time!
It seems that rep counts > 10 can't be listed as the benchmark lift; is this intended? Since the benchmark lift must come from one of these rep ranges, that means one of the bars will have sharp instead of rounded corners. It doesn't really bother me except the other rounded ones look great :D
Lastly it's Barbell Strength Potential but can be used for non-barbell lifts, of course. I'm not sure what a better name would be though.
Wayne Schuller
Hi Tim, quick update that I have been working on the bingo. Reflecting on the principles, I think it is a simple version of a Pareto Front in mathematics. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_front I'll let you know when I have a demo
T
Tom Clark
Now that you mention it it certainly seems like it could be a Pareto frontier. I never really thought about it like that—perhaps because e1RM isn't generalizable to more parameters outside of (weight, reps)
In any case, glad to hear you're thoroughly nerd-sniped! :D
Wayne Schuller
planned
Wayne Schuller
Dear Tom,
Wow, thank you for this feedback and idea.
I'm a lifter in aged 50 - and a hobby programmer. I'm so glad you like the site.
I don't get much feedback from users, so I'm keen to hear more from you.
Now regarding e1rm bingo or matrix - yes I LOVE this idea.
I often enjoy knocking off a PR in an odd rep scheme just for some encouragement. As you say, the math gives you a dopamine hit.
I think with the right matrix visualization, this could be a really fun feature for each lift type.
It would also be encouraging for long term lifters to get small wins.
Life is a bit busy right now but I'd like to take a crack at this soon. I'll be in touch.
Thanks,
Wayne
T
Tom Clark
Wayne Schuller glad to help out; I think you have something special here so I'll gladly champion this site for you!
I realized that I sent you a photo but read access to the spreadsheet is probably easier, so I made it publicly accessible with comment access: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1USHBNXeyq8qdZZH89hHz1-t5F4CxtIHorfucQxugYbE/edit?usp=sharing
I only recently started lifting again so I have three weeks or so of data. The primary ways I've been using the sheet are:
- identifying how many reps I need to do at a given weight to hit a new PR. If it's close to what I was planning then I'll push a few more reps to increase my e1RM by a few pounds.
- I'll take my e1RM and take 70% of that and find out how many reps I should do at the current weight. This way I can target hypertrophy, for example.
- When doing drop sets I'll choose (weight, rep) ranges that I haven't done before, just to be completionist and color in the whole sheet. Unsure if this is useful but it's fun.
So the matrix helps me build my daily workout as well as encourages me to achieve a small PR every time I do that exercise.
No rush as I have my own version to work on and I understand life has a tendency to get in the way of writing code.
Wayne Schuller
Tom Clark: Thank you for the spreadsheet - it's extremely helpful to me so I've made a copy. I've started work on this feature this weekend.