Week in Review

Published April 26, 2024

Remember high school math?

Me neither.

There have been several times this week when I've had to reach for math skills I haven't used in a long time. I'm optimizing LHF's planning algorithm to allow muscles to get their proper rest.

Am I in over my head? Maybe a bit. I'll talk more about it later in the post, but I feel like I'm in the stretch zone more than the stress zone. That's a good sign for now.

Exercise Directory

I feel great about this week's progress on the exercise directory. I had plenty of notes that were converted to new exercises and modifications.

New Exercises

• One-Handed Plank
• Sled Pull
• Forearm Roll-Up - Barbell
• Forearm Twist - Dumbbell
• Zottman Curl

Three new forearm exercises! I was particularly happy about that.

Updated Exercises

• Lower barbell starting position for Rack Pull
• Specify floor-level starting position for Cable Pull Through
• Decrease the duration of the Teaser Sit-Up
• Note the hand position for the Front Squat
• Refine steps, specifically around the hinge movement, in the Kettlebell Swing

App Development

Session Planning Algorithm

LHF is a pain in the butt.

Put another way, LHF's planning algorithm:

Keeps. Scheduling. Glutes.

I noticed my workouts hitting my glutes nearly every session. LHF didn't target the glute muscle, but it did target a muscle with an exercise that included glutes. For example, three sequential sessions could contain:

1. Squats targetting Quads
2. Deadlifts targetting Hamstrings
3. Hip Thrusts targetting Glutes

The concerning thing about these three sessions is that they all work the glutes.

I've started analyzing if there's a way to give commonly targeted muscles more rest. This is where the math comes in. I'm optimizing LHF to consider several features while creating a session:

• Variety: Distribute exercises somewhat evenly. Don't schedule a barbell bench press every chest session. Go through many other chest exercises before scheduling the barbell bench press again
• Inclusion: Every exercise gets scheduled within an acceptable standard deviation. No exercise left behind.
• Rest: Muscles should receive appropriate rest between sessions. Don't work the glutes every session.

I'm running through several options in a marimo notebook. Notebooks allow me to code something quickly and measure its efficacy in a tight loop.

Hopefully, I'll have some results committed to LHF by next week.