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Show HN: Flexbug is a hands-free, voice-controlled workout logger for iOS

by p_monk on 2/6/12, 8:09 PM with 13 comments

  • by bgraves on 2/6/12, 9:16 PM

    I use paper + pencil to track my Simple Fit workouts now and have never used a voice-controlled app for fitness.

    A few questions:

    1. Have you considered adding a demo video? Although your screen shots are well done, I'd love to see the app in action.

    2. Can you do more than track reps & sets? I find that most fitness apps are not flexible enough for Simple Fit or interval type training.

    3. Can you talk about the app development process? How was the original idea formulated, validated, etc? Did you outsource the development? Any other interesting insights?

  • by ibejoeb on 2/6/12, 9:04 PM

    I've thinking about things like this since Nike+ made it sort of mainstream. I think it's pretty neat because I'm never disciplined enough to do a full log after the fact.

    As a matter of practicality, though, is it 100% voice controlled? Do I have to count out my reps? Because with any significant amount of weight, I'm not too articulate.

  • by tedmiston on 2/6/12, 9:59 PM

    I have a similar idea, because I'm unlikely to actually record all my metrics after a workout.

    My current solution is to take one picture of the machine's output display per workout, then I (hopefully) add them to a Workout album.

    What I'd like to do is have an app which scans these photos and pulls the numbers out to log them and draw graphs automagically.

  • by kd1220 on 2/6/12, 10:55 PM

    How useful is the API for speech on iOS? Do you have a link to the docs for it? I did a quick search for "speech recognition API for iOS" but I didn't see anything official from Apple on the results. (Is there an official one?)

  • by arandomJohn on 2/6/12, 10:06 PM

    I've been using the Strong Lifts 5x5 app for a few weeks and have felt that the need to fiddle with it after each set is a drawback. This looks like it solves that problem and adds charting. Very cool. I'll check it out.

  • by tylerwl on 2/7/12, 8:23 AM

    Your landing page images look great. However, instead of the slider, I think a static version with all of them on the page would be provide a better user experience.

  • by paulocal on 2/6/12, 8:15 PM

    really dig the UI! good work!