2 days of testing

On Thursday I opened up LiftTracker to a group of people who emailed me from the Outlaws forum.   For the most part,  things went very smoothly, and I got some great feedback.    I sat glued to the computer, making adjustments, tweaking code, and manning the instant messenger to work with folks.   I really appreciate the time people have given this app.

There were a few nagging issues that I was able to clear up based on initial testing:

• After entering exercises,  the Track Progress sometimes did not show any content  - fixed
• List of lifters and Log Entries were sometimes displayed in random order - fixed
• Android users could not sign in ->  this is determined to be a quirk in the android browser when the user hits return.  It is sending over blank data.   The workaround is to tap out of the form input when done entering user name and password and then hit the 'sign in' button.   I am going to continue to try and prevent the enter key from submitting a blank form.  Stay tuned for a better fix to this. 
• Initial login is often slow ->  this hopefully has been remedied by me purchasing more dedicated CPU power from Google.  

My end vision for this thing is for some hardcore analysis of lots of data.  I want to have the program figure out by everyone's hard work and entries what really works.  An uber-god-coach so-to-speak.   All those guys starting out in a commercial gym or training in their basement with no guide will be able to use this and get stronger.

This will require months of data from a lot of  people, so in the meantime, in order to keep people using it,  I will try to provide other value-adds.   One of the things I am focusing in on is the ability to hone in on some of your favorite lifters and get an idea of what they are doing.

What's coming next?

The number one requested item seems to be the ability to track non-max lifts.   For Westside,  this may be a dynamic day,  for the 5/3/1 program,  this may be your 5 sets of deadlift @ 80%.    In fact,  by extending the program to allow for this,  we really open the door for a generic training journal mechanism.   I hadn't really expected this out of the gate,  but I guess it makes sense.  Most people do NOT max out all the time.

So,  my number one priority right now will be the ability to log multiple worksets and group them together in an easy-to-enter,  easy-to-understand fashion.

Did I mention that I may have to destroy your data?   Well,  it is true.  The beginning part of any software project requires iterating over the design and perfecting it.   It is one of the reasons I have not pasted the URL all over the internet and invited everyone to start hammering away.   I don't want to piss off 100s of people when it is time to change the underlying data.   I'll settle for just pissing off you guys in the beginning :)  I hope to make it up to you by free help on the app,  maybe putting in a pet feature or two that you guys may ask for, etc,  and I will try really, really hard not to throw away too much of your data over the next few weeks.

When a product reaches BETA,  I would consider the data stable.  We are not there yet.  We are probably a few weeks to a month away.  I will try hard to preserve your hard work,  but there will be times when I need to blow it away.   Bear with me,  good friends and testers,  it should soon be at a point where the data will be safe.

-TF