9 ms·

Darebee – A database of workouts

282 points by damir 5y ago

itchyjunk 5y ago
It does look clean. Works with JS disabled for me. The bottom part says they are low on funding though. Hopefully frontage of HN doesn't take it down. For some reason, exercise is that one thing that I think I would prefer to watch a video to learn over posters. Not sure why myself.
- Jamie9912 5y ago
  Side note, how much can it possibly cost to host something like this? Chuck it behind Cloudflare Pages, or Github pages. As far as I can tell it's a static site
  - nicoburns 5y ago
    Hiring someone who knows how to use Cloudflare pages or Github pages is expensive.
- stronglikedan 5y ago
  > Not sure why myself. Form and transitions. Those are hard to illustrate in pictures. Case in point: it's pretty much impossible to illustrate correct rowing machine technique with pictures alone. I also recommend a mirror for yoga, or other "pose" exercises.
- GreenWatermelon 5y ago
  They have videos showing how to do almost all exercises.
tgps26 5y ago
There is a cool app called AGIT that gives you feedback on you progress and form regarding fitness. They use the smartphone camera (and some AI I guess) to track fitness - kinda like strava for fitness. I've been doing some of their challenges and that competition is motivating me for now!
ratsimihah 5y ago
Very cool! The keyboard warrior routine looks a lot like my yoga handstand warmup routine, will be interesting to apply to keyboard as well.
throwmefar32 5y ago
FYI, not affiliated with website, but they take donations.. help a brother/sister out.
- wysguy 5y ago
  I rarely donate but this is such a great resource I have contributed multiple times.
- ericmay 5y ago
  New account, first and only post is “not affiliated but please donate”???
  - GreenWatermelon 5y ago
    Most likely a lurkee who never had an account, and made one to ask people to support a great resource. Everything about Darebee is free. There is no harm in donating to keep thw site going.
  - throwmefar32 5y ago
    I get the cynicism, but not affiliated other than I donated myself.
chronogram 5y ago
https://musclewiki.com/ https://musclewiki.com/ is a far better website than this Darebee. It contains video loops on how to do exercises properly with an associated experience recommendation (beginner, intermediate, advanced) in addition to text instructions, and you can sort based on what equipment you have available. Darebee, on the other hand, seems to be social media shareables. I am not related to either website.
- Semaphor 5y ago
  It seems better, but requires knowledge. I looked at it before, if you are clueless about muscle groups, musclewiki doesn’t help you at all. This has workout regimes you can follow, which is very important. A combination of both would be best ;)
- picardo 5y ago
  MuscleWiki is cool, but it's not very helpful during a workout. I like that Darebee builds a set of routines and includes a timer into each routine to keep you on track.
- Blackthorn 5y ago
  Gah, I wish sites wouldn't call themselves "wiki" if they aren't a wiki!
user3939382 5y ago
If you like this, also check out exrx.net. The site design isn't fancy but it's an amazing volume of quality content.
matbatt38 5y ago
My opinion on this as a parkour and fitness coach is that those routines are quite bad. Without explanations on how to do the moves well, it's much likely that the moves will be done wrong and lead to injuries, and even without that concern in mind, they're barely acceptable. Number of repetitions is generally too high (ideal set is 3x5 rep to 3x8 rep with 3 minute rest), exercises aren't grouped in any logical way (some pages feature both legs and arms, some don't, etc.). Practice this kind of workout regularly would most likely lead to muscle balance issues, pain or even injuries. If you are interested in bodyweight fitness, /r/bodyweightfitness wiki is a great start to find recommendation and routines.
- smt88 5y ago
  Where did you get your info though? Like how do you know your way is correct? There are multiple studies[1] showing that lifting to exhaustion yields the same results regardless of the weight and number of reps, so it already seems like you're repeating conventional wisdom rather than verifiable science. There seems to be so little science in the fitness world, I have trouble trusting anything. My friend is a physical therapist and shocked me by saying almost nothing they do has been verified by double-blind trials. I had always thought they were evidence-based practitioners, but they don't seem to be that much better than chiropractors. 1. https://www.cnet.com/health/lifting-heavy-weights-vs-light-weights-is-one-better-than-the-other/ https://www.cnet.com/health/lifting-heavy-weights-vs-light-w...
  - NikolaNovak 5y ago
    Aye. There are SO many confident coaches, practitioners, athletes, nerds; but they'll just as confidently tell you to never skip breakfast to kick-start your metabolism, use cup-suction to massage your muscles, and all sorta of firm advice on exercises grouping intervals posture etc; and yet, it all just seems to trickle down to "common wisdom" and "accepted truths", or most of all "This is what I've personally observed works" for some given value of "observed" and "works". I think it's an area that IS hard to scientifically study - the bodies, goals, and progress are all so frequently and radically different, and confounding variables are everywhere - but for a lot of coaches it's not even a goal; there's a complete lack of humility in any coach, fitness trainer, or even phys ed teacher I've ever seen. There's a LOT of anecdotal certainty ("I've seen this work well"), and little solid demonstrable repeatable evidence.
bruce343434 5y ago
For sure exhaled at this one: https://darebee.com/workouts/keyboard-warrior-workout.html https://darebee.com/workouts/keyboard-warrior-workout.html
- bogwog 5y ago
  I like this one: https://darebee.com/challenges/hug-challenge.html https://darebee.com/challenges/hug-challenge.html
  - lapetitejort 5y ago
    Darebee could use some group exercises.
moneywoes 5y ago
What is the HN answer to build muscle quickly without being enhanced? 6 days a week PPL?
- doctorhandshake 5y ago
  If you have a squat rack, a bench, and a bar, I recommend the 5x5 program. There’s an app called StrongLifts that does a solid job of helping guide form and track your progress. You start out with the empty bar and work up in 5lb increments on 5 different core barbell lifts (10lb increments on deadlift), 3 times per week, alternating A and B programs, always with the squat in the mix. Within about 8 weeks you will notice a big difference. If you can afford it, I’d recommend hiring a trainer for at least 3 lessons spaced out over your first few weeks so you can tune your form on the exercises, learn to build core control, and build good habits to avoid injury.
  - cdcarter 5y ago
    This program is based on the program described in the book Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe, which has gotten a lot of attention over the years. The book does an alright job of explaining the core movements and your likely failure conditions, but it is a bit exhausting to read through. That said, this is definitely one of the best/simplest ways to build physical strength, get comfortable with the bar, and get ready for more advanced training. After 8 weeks, I was squatting 3x what I was when I started. Eventually, I switched to a plan put together by a trainer in my neighborhood, where we do a little more rotation just to keep things interesting. Keeping things interesting is NOT important when you're first learning though. If you're like me, just being able to throw another 10 lb on the bar when coming back after the weekend off was interesting!
- pseudoramble 5y ago
  I'm an amateur myself, so obviously take what I say with a grain of salt. Also I'm interpreting what you're saying is general weight/strength training but not body building (think Arnold Schwarzenegger). Plainly put, there is isn't a super fast way. My understanding and experience is that muscle is developed over time with progressively more difficult weight. Critically, the recovery period for your muscles is required as that's when new muscle is being formed. I believe that rushing that process is what is most likely to lead to an injury, which funny enough will slow you down in the quest for strength. In other words, a heavy 6 day/week workout won't make you strong, but simply constantly exhausted. I would advocate for the long slow road. There's no rush, and I believe you'll be stronger in the long run if you take your time. It's easier to handle mentally too in my opinion. You don't have to stress about going fast to be strong quickly. Enjoy it! If you think weight lifting sounds cool, take up a program like Starting Strength or Strong Lifts 5x5. 3 days a week, often doing squats and throwing in bench press, dead lifts, and barbell rows. Take your time here! Look up videos on techniques and realize that people will be absolutists about form. Try and match the form, and be aware of different body types and how that will change the forms. Do this for a few cycles which would last 2-4 months. Assess your progress. It will be easy to tell because you'll be writing down your progress and adding weight each time you successfully complete a day. As it gets too difficult to maintain, look into new programs and go from there. If you're not into weight training, I think a site like this is great. You'll want to scale back on how many reps/sets a bit, and study some techniques. You'll feel some changes over time, and in the beginning mostly a bit of confusing soreness. Anyway, that's my recommendation! I genuinely hope you find what works for you and stick with it!
ibdf 5y ago
I used Darebee when I got started, it gave me good ideas of bodyweight exercises. As mentioned before MuscleWiki is also a great resource. I've been looking for a good source of bodyweight exercises with progression, anyone? The only one I've found so far that has plenty of instructions is this one -> startbodyweight.com - but I was hoping for something more direct to the point and less blog like.
- dceddia 5y ago
  I’ve been using Mark Lauren’s material for a few years. He has a few books with exercises and progressions - You Are Your Own Gym, Strong and Lean, Body by You. There’s also a subscription video service which I’ve gotten a ton of value out of, Mark Lauren on Demand, which has a bunch of exercise programs from beginner to advanced. I think it’s $9/month. All bodyweight stuff, and most exercises don’t require any equipment (a few need stuff like a pull-up bar, or a bench/table). They’ve been releasing new material regularly, most recently a program based on short 10-20min workouts. I like the balance of strength and mobility/flexibility work. https://marklauren.com https://marklauren.com
  - ibdf 5y ago
    Thank you, I will take a look.
- tacon 5y ago
  Drew Baye has a book on bodyweight HIT (High Intensity strength Training), which he calls Project Kratos[0]. It uses changes in leverage and your natural strength curves to achieve a classic HIT workout (intense to momentary muscular failure, brief - 60-90 seconds time under load, and infrequent - once or twice a week) using only body weight. [0] https://drewbaye.myshopify.com/products/project-kratos-ebook https://drewbaye.myshopify.com/products/project-kratos-ebook
- stonemetal12 5y ago
  reddit /r/bodyweightfitness has a recommended routine in the sidebar. They say it is for beginners but their progressions go to some very advanced moves. The sub is one of the ones that is sort of eternal noobish but there are some pretty knowledgeable people there if you are looking for more progressions than they have on the wiki.
eljimmy 5y ago
This is an great reference for getting a visual on how to perform some of the most popular exercises: https://exrx.net/Lists/Directory https://exrx.net/Lists/Directory
cline6 5y ago
When I was first starting any kind of fitness in my life, I went through several of the programs on darebee and read many of their guides. I found the content to be exactly right for me at the time. Digestible, detailed, 30 day plans for beginners. They also warm my heart with their hard stance on keeping the content free, having zero ads, and being accessible to anyone with internet access of any speed. I hesitate to speak for them, but I don't think their mission is to provide content for people who already know what they want out of exercise, have been exercising for years, and understand what is and isn't good for their body. If you're experienced in fitness, the site likely isn't for you. And that's fine, isn't it? Some folks have called out perhaps not understanding the funding issues with hosting a site so minimal. You're right, that part is cheap. It's the content creators, who are fitness professionals spending their time not working for money that need to be supported by the funding. They also do various outreach programs that of course require money to make happen.
- mikepurvis 5y ago
  Not a Darebee user myself, but I'm very sympathetic to this perspective— I'm mid-thirties, and a few months ago got interested in losing 10-20 pounds and building up a bit of mass, but without significant time or money commitment. It couldn't be a "crash" thing that would require many hours per week in the gym; it had to be stuff that would integrate naturally into a long-term daily routine. I ended up settling on lane swimming combined with a ~20min routine cobbled together from YouTube videos and other sources, mostly arm workouts built around a pair of 10lb dumbbells and then ab stuff like the dead bug exercise. I try to do the routine most days, sometimes twice a day. Something like Darebee would have been valuable when I was just getting off the ground.
- matbatt38 5y ago
  > And that's fine, isn't it? Misleading begginers with bad routines that are possibly injury-prone wrapped in social media branding so it gets reposted everywhere isn't exactly fine IMHO
  - cline6 5y ago
    Misleading, bad, injury prone... not sure where your confidence for these claims comes from, but glad you're so certain, I guess. I can't understand what's wrong about trying to find users in the largest corners of the internet either. Darebee was good for me. I've said why it was. It is strange to me that you might consider my experience to be wrong? invalid? and that nobody else might find this resource useful?
santa_boy 5y ago
Such a pleasure to see Darebee mentioned here. I honestly didn't even remember its name till now. But, I started my weights with Darebee charts (the full body workout ones ... kinda sound good). Simply following that chart easily takes 45 mins and does a great job for physical and mental health. With pretty limited free time, I found the exercises to be very useful and as effective on average as going to the gym. I don't quite understand the value add of a fitness trainer for the average fitness Joe (like me) I am by no measure a fitness expert ... please feel free to critique them in terms of utility to physical and mental health.
- biohax2015 5y ago
  > I don't quite understand the value add of a fitness trainer Learning proper technique. I am pretty injury-prone so having some live feedback for my form is important.
  - emdowling 5y ago
    This. Especially for compound lifts (eg: back squat, bench press, deadlift, cleans, etc). Building good technique and form is essential to avoiding serious injury and making sustainable progress. Having a trainer, even 1-2 times a month, is a good investment if lifting is a part of your routine.
    - DwnVoteHoneyPot 5y ago
      Darebee uses body weight, much less risk than lifting heavy. Sure it's much better to have a trainer, but not essential like the lifts you mentioned.
  - ckosidows 5y ago
    Also probably has something to do with using the sunk cost fallacy to inspire some people to exercise. If you've paid for a trainer you won't find it as easy to just stop.
gadders 5y ago
I mean if you want to do some exercise instead of p90x or watching aerobics on the TV I guess these are OK, but it is only exercise rather than training, and despite them having "strength programs" you won't get properly strong doing them.
- throwaway984393 5y ago
  Properly strong for what? I never understood the obsession with arbitrary strength. Oh look, that guy can lift a car over his head, that's cool. He can barely jump over a paint can, but if one day somebody's trapped under a car, and he's nearby, it'll all have been worth it.
  - gadders 5y ago
    I wish I could lift a car over my head! Like anything in life, if you push something too far, you get diminishing returns and I wouldn't advise the super-heavyweight powerlifter life. However, I would say most people don't even realise how strong they could possibly get with a few years training without PEDs or becoming fat. Not "I can carry all my shopping in one trip" but "I could carry my own bodyweight in each hand". I think being that level of strong is just what, say, our great-grandfathers (or even great grandmothers) who grew up on a farm would think is normal.
    - irrational 5y ago
      I'm already strong enough to do everything I want to do - and that is without exercise. I'm more interested in things that promote general health than some arbitrary strength goal.
racuna 5y ago
They had a very popular workout called "Batman", but DC send a copyright infringement claim. That's why I started to follow them. There is no such thing as bad publicity. LMAO
sdze 5y ago
To be honest. This all looks intimidating. I just try to move weights and feel if muscles ache at some point. I am kind of incapable of replicating routines.
- throwaway984393 5y ago
  You can find free YouTube videos where trainers do many of the same sets shown in Darebee, so you can follow them and not think about it.
gabythenerd 5y ago
I loved Darebee a few years ago when I was a teenager and didn't have any equipment to exercise. Their programs are quite easy to follow and the most important thing is that they instill a habit of exercising everyday. Feedback on form/routines/diet was also quite good in the forums. For those asking about why they need funding, if I remember correctly they test all their programs before release, as well as film the exercises with the correct form, so it's not only hosting that they need to pay for. The videos are high quality, for example: https://darebee.com/exercises/push-ups.html https://darebee.com/exercises/push-ups.html
geoduck14 5y ago
HN is a tech forum, with tech needs. The word "database" conjures up a specific image in our minds. And THIS is NOT what I had in mind when I read "database". Mind you, this is a perfectly valid use of the word "database", and I appreciate having my mind expanded.
- dorfsmay 5y ago
  Database vs database server?
DwnVoteHoneyPot 5y ago
How do they draw all the figures in the routines? How long would it take a graphic designer to do one? Is there an automate way? I'm just wondering because the figures look so consistent.
joelrunyon 5y ago
If you're looking for more of a strict database of "movements" and tutorials - check out https://impossiblefitness.com/movements https://impossiblefitness.com/movements - free videos and tutorial descriptions of how to do many of these movements (we're launching more and more new videos and updates here soon).
- treszkai 5y ago
  I like the initiative, but I wouldn't recommend these tutorials to my friends. A couple points I'd change in the back squat tutorial (which was the first one I checked): - "Position your feet with an outwards 45-degree angle": the angle depends on the hip anatomy, and 45 degrees is very extreme. Rather, make sure that your hip, knee and foot is in the same plane at all times. - "Pause for a moment at the bottom" is okay but unnecessary. - No mention of proper tension in the upper body (and especially avoiding rounding in the lower back). This can become extremely dangerous, and preventing injury should be the number 1 priority. (FYI, an amazing guide to bracing [1].) - Also for safety: instead of "until your thighs just break parallel with the ground", one shall not go deeper than their mobility allows (which might be above parallel). - It's hard to follow the movement with the camera moving up-and-down and zoomed in so much. A fixed camera that shows the entire body (and is possibly circling around the person) would be much better. The knees and ankles are very important, yet we get a single glance at her feet. - The video shows the squatter in the opposite direction than in the description. This way she needs to walk backwards to put the weight back, which undesirable. [1]: https://www.reddit.com/r/weightroom/comments/h7yncz/brace_yourselves_or_life_is_too_short_to_be_loose/ https://www.reddit.com/r/weightroom/comments/h7yncz/brace_yo...
xcambar 5y ago
> DAREBEE is a non-profit free, ad-free and product placement free global fitness resource. This is great. This gives me confidence In the program.
remuskaos 5y ago
Darebee is absolutely fantastic, and has been for years. They used to publish these one-sheet-workouts under the name of their founder Neila Rey and they have always been concise, ad free and low barrier of entry. They have been free the entire time, so I only recommend donating to them. They also published two Android apps which are absolutely worth checking out: "Workouts by Darebee", which presents you a random workout sheet (multiple workouts with repetitions and a timer) and "FitTap by Darebee", on which you are shown a random single workout. Tap anywhere on the screen for the next random workout. I really cannot recommend them enough, they set the barrier of entry so incredibly low it's fantastic. I used to tediously plan my workouts, order, number of sets, read up on them in the web etc to exhaustion that I almost forgot to actually start the workout. That of course also has it's merits, but for a very quick 15 minute workout in your lunch break, these apps are so much better.

282 points by damir 5y ago

It does look clean. Works with JS disabled for me. The bottom part says they are low on funding though. Hopefully frontage of HN doesn't take it down. For some reason, exercise is that one thing that I think I would prefer to watch a video to learn over posters. Not sure why myself.

Jamie9912 5y ago
Side note, how much can it possibly cost to host something like this? Chuck it behind Cloudflare Pages, or Github pages. As far as I can tell it's a static site
- nicoburns 5y ago
  Hiring someone who knows how to use Cloudflare pages or Github pages is expensive.
stronglikedan 5y ago
> Not sure why myself. Form and transitions. Those are hard to illustrate in pictures. Case in point: it's pretty much impossible to illustrate correct rowing machine technique with pictures alone. I also recommend a mirror for yoga, or other "pose" exercises.
GreenWatermelon 5y ago
They have videos showing how to do almost all exercises.

tgps26 5y ago

There is a cool app called AGIT that gives you feedback on you progress and form regarding fitness. They use the smartphone camera (and some AI I guess) to track fitness - kinda like strava for fitness. I've been doing some of their challenges and that competition is motivating me for now!

ratsimihah 5y ago

Very cool! The keyboard warrior routine looks a lot like my yoga handstand warmup routine, will be interesting to apply to keyboard as well.

throwmefar32 5y ago

FYI, not affiliated with website, but they take donations.. help a brother/sister out.

wysguy 5y ago
I rarely donate but this is such a great resource I have contributed multiple times.
ericmay 5y ago
New account, first and only post is “not affiliated but please donate”???
- GreenWatermelon 5y ago
  Most likely a lurkee who never had an account, and made one to ask people to support a great resource. Everything about Darebee is free. There is no harm in donating to keep thw site going.
- throwmefar32 5y ago
  I get the cynicism, but not affiliated other than I donated myself.

chronogram 5y ago

https://musclewiki.com/ https://musclewiki.com/ is a far better website than this Darebee. It contains video loops on how to do exercises properly with an associated experience recommendation (beginner, intermediate, advanced) in addition to text instructions, and you can sort based on what equipment you have available. Darebee, on the other hand, seems to be social media shareables. I am not related to either website.

Semaphor 5y ago
It seems better, but requires knowledge. I looked at it before, if you are clueless about muscle groups, musclewiki doesn’t help you at all. This has workout regimes you can follow, which is very important. A combination of both would be best ;)
picardo 5y ago
MuscleWiki is cool, but it's not very helpful during a workout. I like that Darebee builds a set of routines and includes a timer into each routine to keep you on track.
Blackthorn 5y ago
Gah, I wish sites wouldn't call themselves "wiki" if they aren't a wiki!

user3939382 5y ago

If you like this, also check out exrx.net. The site design isn't fancy but it's an amazing volume of quality content.

matbatt38 5y ago

My opinion on this as a parkour and fitness coach is that those routines are quite bad. Without explanations on how to do the moves well, it's much likely that the moves will be done wrong and lead to injuries, and even without that concern in mind, they're barely acceptable. Number of repetitions is generally too high (ideal set is 3x5 rep to 3x8 rep with 3 minute rest), exercises aren't grouped in any logical way (some pages feature both legs and arms, some don't, etc.). Practice this kind of workout regularly would most likely lead to muscle balance issues, pain or even injuries. If you are interested in bodyweight fitness, /r/bodyweightfitness wiki is a great start to find recommendation and routines.

smt88 5y ago
Where did you get your info though? Like how do you know your way is correct? There are multiple studies[1] showing that lifting to exhaustion yields the same results regardless of the weight and number of reps, so it already seems like you're repeating conventional wisdom rather than verifiable science. There seems to be so little science in the fitness world, I have trouble trusting anything. My friend is a physical therapist and shocked me by saying almost nothing they do has been verified by double-blind trials. I had always thought they were evidence-based practitioners, but they don't seem to be that much better than chiropractors. 1. https://www.cnet.com/health/lifting-heavy-weights-vs-light-weights-is-one-better-than-the-other/ https://www.cnet.com/health/lifting-heavy-weights-vs-light-w...
- NikolaNovak 5y ago
  Aye. There are SO many confident coaches, practitioners, athletes, nerds; but they'll just as confidently tell you to never skip breakfast to kick-start your metabolism, use cup-suction to massage your muscles, and all sorta of firm advice on exercises grouping intervals posture etc; and yet, it all just seems to trickle down to "common wisdom" and "accepted truths", or most of all "This is what I've personally observed works" for some given value of "observed" and "works". I think it's an area that IS hard to scientifically study - the bodies, goals, and progress are all so frequently and radically different, and confounding variables are everywhere - but for a lot of coaches it's not even a goal; there's a complete lack of humility in any coach, fitness trainer, or even phys ed teacher I've ever seen. There's a LOT of anecdotal certainty ("I've seen this work well"), and little solid demonstrable repeatable evidence.

bruce343434 5y ago

For sure exhaled at this one: https://darebee.com/workouts/keyboard-warrior-workout.html https://darebee.com/workouts/keyboard-warrior-workout.html

bogwog 5y ago
I like this one: https://darebee.com/challenges/hug-challenge.html https://darebee.com/challenges/hug-challenge.html
- lapetitejort 5y ago
  Darebee could use some group exercises.

moneywoes 5y ago

What is the HN answer to build muscle quickly without being enhanced? 6 days a week PPL?

doctorhandshake 5y ago
If you have a squat rack, a bench, and a bar, I recommend the 5x5 program. There’s an app called StrongLifts that does a solid job of helping guide form and track your progress. You start out with the empty bar and work up in 5lb increments on 5 different core barbell lifts (10lb increments on deadlift), 3 times per week, alternating A and B programs, always with the squat in the mix. Within about 8 weeks you will notice a big difference. If you can afford it, I’d recommend hiring a trainer for at least 3 lessons spaced out over your first few weeks so you can tune your form on the exercises, learn to build core control, and build good habits to avoid injury.
- cdcarter 5y ago
  This program is based on the program described in the book Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe, which has gotten a lot of attention over the years. The book does an alright job of explaining the core movements and your likely failure conditions, but it is a bit exhausting to read through. That said, this is definitely one of the best/simplest ways to build physical strength, get comfortable with the bar, and get ready for more advanced training. After 8 weeks, I was squatting 3x what I was when I started. Eventually, I switched to a plan put together by a trainer in my neighborhood, where we do a little more rotation just to keep things interesting. Keeping things interesting is NOT important when you're first learning though. If you're like me, just being able to throw another 10 lb on the bar when coming back after the weekend off was interesting!
pseudoramble 5y ago
I'm an amateur myself, so obviously take what I say with a grain of salt. Also I'm interpreting what you're saying is general weight/strength training but not body building (think Arnold Schwarzenegger). Plainly put, there is isn't a super fast way. My understanding and experience is that muscle is developed over time with progressively more difficult weight. Critically, the recovery period for your muscles is required as that's when new muscle is being formed. I believe that rushing that process is what is most likely to lead to an injury, which funny enough will slow you down in the quest for strength. In other words, a heavy 6 day/week workout won't make you strong, but simply constantly exhausted. I would advocate for the long slow road. There's no rush, and I believe you'll be stronger in the long run if you take your time. It's easier to handle mentally too in my opinion. You don't have to stress about going fast to be strong quickly. Enjoy it! If you think weight lifting sounds cool, take up a program like Starting Strength or Strong Lifts 5x5. 3 days a week, often doing squats and throwing in bench press, dead lifts, and barbell rows. Take your time here! Look up videos on techniques and realize that people will be absolutists about form. Try and match the form, and be aware of different body types and how that will change the forms. Do this for a few cycles which would last 2-4 months. Assess your progress. It will be easy to tell because you'll be writing down your progress and adding weight each time you successfully complete a day. As it gets too difficult to maintain, look into new programs and go from there. If you're not into weight training, I think a site like this is great. You'll want to scale back on how many reps/sets a bit, and study some techniques. You'll feel some changes over time, and in the beginning mostly a bit of confusing soreness. Anyway, that's my recommendation! I genuinely hope you find what works for you and stick with it!

ibdf 5y ago

I used Darebee when I got started, it gave me good ideas of bodyweight exercises. As mentioned before MuscleWiki is also a great resource. I've been looking for a good source of bodyweight exercises with progression, anyone? The only one I've found so far that has plenty of instructions is this one -> startbodyweight.com - but I was hoping for something more direct to the point and less blog like.

dceddia 5y ago
I’ve been using Mark Lauren’s material for a few years. He has a few books with exercises and progressions - You Are Your Own Gym, Strong and Lean, Body by You. There’s also a subscription video service which I’ve gotten a ton of value out of, Mark Lauren on Demand, which has a bunch of exercise programs from beginner to advanced. I think it’s $9/month. All bodyweight stuff, and most exercises don’t require any equipment (a few need stuff like a pull-up bar, or a bench/table). They’ve been releasing new material regularly, most recently a program based on short 10-20min workouts. I like the balance of strength and mobility/flexibility work. https://marklauren.com https://marklauren.com
- ibdf 5y ago
  Thank you, I will take a look.
tacon 5y ago
Drew Baye has a book on bodyweight HIT (High Intensity strength Training), which he calls Project Kratos[0]. It uses changes in leverage and your natural strength curves to achieve a classic HIT workout (intense to momentary muscular failure, brief - 60-90 seconds time under load, and infrequent - once or twice a week) using only body weight. [0] https://drewbaye.myshopify.com/products/project-kratos-ebook https://drewbaye.myshopify.com/products/project-kratos-ebook
stonemetal12 5y ago
reddit /r/bodyweightfitness has a recommended routine in the sidebar. They say it is for beginners but their progressions go to some very advanced moves. The sub is one of the ones that is sort of eternal noobish but there are some pretty knowledgeable people there if you are looking for more progressions than they have on the wiki.

eljimmy 5y ago

This is an great reference for getting a visual on how to perform some of the most popular exercises: https://exrx.net/Lists/Directory https://exrx.net/Lists/Directory

cline6 5y ago

When I was first starting any kind of fitness in my life, I went through several of the programs on darebee and read many of their guides. I found the content to be exactly right for me at the time. Digestible, detailed, 30 day plans for beginners. They also warm my heart with their hard stance on keeping the content free, having zero ads, and being accessible to anyone with internet access of any speed. I hesitate to speak for them, but I don't think their mission is to provide content for people who already know what they want out of exercise, have been exercising for years, and understand what is and isn't good for their body. If you're experienced in fitness, the site likely isn't for you. And that's fine, isn't it? Some folks have called out perhaps not understanding the funding issues with hosting a site so minimal. You're right, that part is cheap. It's the content creators, who are fitness professionals spending their time not working for money that need to be supported by the funding. They also do various outreach programs that of course require money to make happen.

mikepurvis 5y ago
Not a Darebee user myself, but I'm very sympathetic to this perspective— I'm mid-thirties, and a few months ago got interested in losing 10-20 pounds and building up a bit of mass, but without significant time or money commitment. It couldn't be a "crash" thing that would require many hours per week in the gym; it had to be stuff that would integrate naturally into a long-term daily routine. I ended up settling on lane swimming combined with a ~20min routine cobbled together from YouTube videos and other sources, mostly arm workouts built around a pair of 10lb dumbbells and then ab stuff like the dead bug exercise. I try to do the routine most days, sometimes twice a day. Something like Darebee would have been valuable when I was just getting off the ground.
matbatt38 5y ago
> And that's fine, isn't it? Misleading begginers with bad routines that are possibly injury-prone wrapped in social media branding so it gets reposted everywhere isn't exactly fine IMHO
- cline6 5y ago
  Misleading, bad, injury prone... not sure where your confidence for these claims comes from, but glad you're so certain, I guess. I can't understand what's wrong about trying to find users in the largest corners of the internet either. Darebee was good for me. I've said why it was. It is strange to me that you might consider my experience to be wrong? invalid? and that nobody else might find this resource useful?

santa_boy 5y ago

Such a pleasure to see Darebee mentioned here. I honestly didn't even remember its name till now. But, I started my weights with Darebee charts (the full body workout ones ... kinda sound good). Simply following that chart easily takes 45 mins and does a great job for physical and mental health. With pretty limited free time, I found the exercises to be very useful and as effective on average as going to the gym. I don't quite understand the value add of a fitness trainer for the average fitness Joe (like me) I am by no measure a fitness expert ... please feel free to critique them in terms of utility to physical and mental health.

biohax2015 5y ago
> I don't quite understand the value add of a fitness trainer Learning proper technique. I am pretty injury-prone so having some live feedback for my form is important.
- emdowling 5y ago
  This. Especially for compound lifts (eg: back squat, bench press, deadlift, cleans, etc). Building good technique and form is essential to avoiding serious injury and making sustainable progress. Having a trainer, even 1-2 times a month, is a good investment if lifting is a part of your routine.
  - DwnVoteHoneyPot 5y ago
    Darebee uses body weight, much less risk than lifting heavy. Sure it's much better to have a trainer, but not essential like the lifts you mentioned.
- ckosidows 5y ago
  Also probably has something to do with using the sunk cost fallacy to inspire some people to exercise. If you've paid for a trainer you won't find it as easy to just stop.

gadders 5y ago

I mean if you want to do some exercise instead of p90x or watching aerobics on the TV I guess these are OK, but it is only exercise rather than training, and despite them having "strength programs" you won't get properly strong doing them.

throwaway984393 5y ago
Properly strong for what? I never understood the obsession with arbitrary strength. Oh look, that guy can lift a car over his head, that's cool. He can barely jump over a paint can, but if one day somebody's trapped under a car, and he's nearby, it'll all have been worth it.
- gadders 5y ago
  I wish I could lift a car over my head! Like anything in life, if you push something too far, you get diminishing returns and I wouldn't advise the super-heavyweight powerlifter life. However, I would say most people don't even realise how strong they could possibly get with a few years training without PEDs or becoming fat. Not "I can carry all my shopping in one trip" but "I could carry my own bodyweight in each hand". I think being that level of strong is just what, say, our great-grandfathers (or even great grandmothers) who grew up on a farm would think is normal.
  - irrational 5y ago
    I'm already strong enough to do everything I want to do - and that is without exercise. I'm more interested in things that promote general health than some arbitrary strength goal.

racuna 5y ago

They had a very popular workout called "Batman", but DC send a copyright infringement claim. That's why I started to follow them. There is no such thing as bad publicity. LMAO

sdze 5y ago

To be honest. This all looks intimidating. I just try to move weights and feel if muscles ache at some point. I am kind of incapable of replicating routines.

throwaway984393 5y ago
You can find free YouTube videos where trainers do many of the same sets shown in Darebee, so you can follow them and not think about it.

gabythenerd 5y ago

I loved Darebee a few years ago when I was a teenager and didn't have any equipment to exercise. Their programs are quite easy to follow and the most important thing is that they instill a habit of exercising everyday. Feedback on form/routines/diet was also quite good in the forums. For those asking about why they need funding, if I remember correctly they test all their programs before release, as well as film the exercises with the correct form, so it's not only hosting that they need to pay for. The videos are high quality, for example: https://darebee.com/exercises/push-ups.html https://darebee.com/exercises/push-ups.html

geoduck14 5y ago

HN is a tech forum, with tech needs. The word "database" conjures up a specific image in our minds. And THIS is NOT what I had in mind when I read "database". Mind you, this is a perfectly valid use of the word "database", and I appreciate having my mind expanded.

dorfsmay 5y ago
Database vs database server?

DwnVoteHoneyPot 5y ago

How do they draw all the figures in the routines? How long would it take a graphic designer to do one? Is there an automate way? I'm just wondering because the figures look so consistent.

joelrunyon 5y ago

If you're looking for more of a strict database of "movements" and tutorials - check out https://impossiblefitness.com/movements https://impossiblefitness.com/movements - free videos and tutorial descriptions of how to do many of these movements (we're launching more and more new videos and updates here soon).

treszkai 5y ago
I like the initiative, but I wouldn't recommend these tutorials to my friends. A couple points I'd change in the back squat tutorial (which was the first one I checked): - "Position your feet with an outwards 45-degree angle": the angle depends on the hip anatomy, and 45 degrees is very extreme. Rather, make sure that your hip, knee and foot is in the same plane at all times. - "Pause for a moment at the bottom" is okay but unnecessary. - No mention of proper tension in the upper body (and especially avoiding rounding in the lower back). This can become extremely dangerous, and preventing injury should be the number 1 priority. (FYI, an amazing guide to bracing [1].) - Also for safety: instead of "until your thighs just break parallel with the ground", one shall not go deeper than their mobility allows (which might be above parallel). - It's hard to follow the movement with the camera moving up-and-down and zoomed in so much. A fixed camera that shows the entire body (and is possibly circling around the person) would be much better. The knees and ankles are very important, yet we get a single glance at her feet. - The video shows the squatter in the opposite direction than in the description. This way she needs to walk backwards to put the weight back, which undesirable. [1]: https://www.reddit.com/r/weightroom/comments/h7yncz/brace_yourselves_or_life_is_too_short_to_be_loose/ https://www.reddit.com/r/weightroom/comments/h7yncz/brace_yo...

xcambar 5y ago

> DAREBEE is a non-profit free, ad-free and product placement free global fitness resource. This is great. This gives me confidence In the program.

remuskaos 5y ago

Darebee is absolutely fantastic, and has been for years. They used to publish these one-sheet-workouts under the name of their founder Neila Rey and they have always been concise, ad free and low barrier of entry. They have been free the entire time, so I only recommend donating to them. They also published two Android apps which are absolutely worth checking out: "Workouts by Darebee", which presents you a random workout sheet (multiple workouts with repetitions and a timer) and "FitTap by Darebee", on which you are shown a random single workout. Tap anywhere on the screen for the next random workout. I really cannot recommend them enough, they set the barrier of entry so incredibly low it's fantastic. I used to tediously plan my workouts, order, number of sets, read up on them in the web etc to exhaustion that I almost forgot to actually start the workout. That of course also has it's merits, but for a very quick 15 minute workout in your lunch break, these apps are so much better.