Thu

Jan 3
2008

Brady Forrest

Brady Forrest

Gyminee: Capturing My Exercise and Nutrition Habits

gyminee

Ever since I got my iPhone I've been looking for a webapp that would let me use it to track my exercise and diet. In the past I've used pen and paper, but inevitably I stop because the data I've collected is inert and I can only extract the most obvious of trends.

iphone gyminee

I found Gyminee about two weeks ago via the iPhone Applications List (Gyminee's review page) and have been using it diligently ever since. After registering and some simple configuration via the "normal" Gyminee site I was able to start using the mobile application. Via my phone I can now track what I eat, add a new food that isn't in their database, track time spent doing cardio, view exercise descriptions (including demonstration videos), and track weights lifted. On the web site I can do all of those things plus view reports. I would say that over 80% of my interaction with the site is via the iPhone app.

There is also a social networking aspect to the site that I haven't explored much. People are able to share workouts, their progress (via a news feed), and foods. I've grabbed some workout routines from other members instead of inputting my own and found some new exercises this way.

When I went to Gyminee tonight I found that it was being upgraded. They are adding a Pro (aka paid) feature set that includes an advanced meal planner and professionally designed workouts. Gyminee is also adding some new reports that display your calorie expenditure from exercise as well as the ability to export your calendar. One powerful new feature is the ability to track custom metrics (beyond the common ones like body weight and calories). Pro will cost $15 / 3 months. As I am investing so much time I am really glad to see them adding a revenue model, I don't want them to go away.

There are other things that I would like added to the site. Specifically I want to tag foods so that I can see how many calories are coming from alcohol or foods that I deem healthy/unhealthy (very similar to how Wesabe (Disclosure: Wesabe is an OATV investment) allows me to tag expenses or RescueTime, my other new favorite web application, lets me tag applications and web sites).

Gyminee at its heart is a capture and reporting site for my body's metrics. These sites have been around for a while, but until now there was never a "sensor" or capture system in place that would work -- for me at least. The iPhone that I have on me at all times (and listen to during workouts) combined with Gyminee's mobile interface has tackled that hard problem.


tags: web 2.0  | comments: 2   | Sphere It
submit:

 
Previous  |  Next

0 TrackBacks

TrackBack URL for this entry: http://blogs.oreilly.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-t.cgi/6189

Comments: 2

  Rob [01.03.08 11:44 AM]

Definitely a big fan of this site. I noticed it on the same Apple page a few days ago as a staff pick. The interface is really simple (I think they owe a royalty to 37 Signals). The functionality is well thought out. I hope they do well with the Advanced functions that are on the horizon.

  Jonathan [01.04.08 01:27 PM]

I know these guys. Really sharp dudes. This site/app has come a long way in such a short amount of time. I too hope they stick around and that the revenue model works because they are good people. This is definitely a needed app for something like the iPhone. They made a great decision by developing for it...SDK will make it even better.

Post A Comment:

 (please be patient, comments may take awhile to post)






Type the characters you see in the picture above.