Fitness-related websites you use regularly?

[Zima]

What are the fitness-related websites you use?

I say use because I'm referring to sites you use rather than just read. Examples are Fitocracy, Myfitnesspal, etc.

Why do you use the sites you use? What are the pros and cons?

I'll start.

Fitday.com - this is the site I use to monitor all my food intake. It has a decent database of foods, plus allows me to create my own, and gives me the total calories/macros for the day. There are other features but this is all I need.

Cons: no data on glycemic load of foods as far as I know

nutritiondata.self.com - this food database has glycemic load and a lot of other neat info on a wide variety of foods.

Fitocracy.com - I used this for tracking workouts for a bit, and it was cool to gain levels and achievements.

Cons: it takes time to enter everything you did that day(unless all your workouts are the same), but there's little actual point in doing so, for me at least. Earning levels is cool, but having my strength go up or looking better in the mirror takes care of that already.

bodybuilding.com - I buy vitamins and protein here(one of the few places that sells the protein I use). They often included random gifts in their shipments, like a water bottle, shaving razors(good ones!), etc.

Cons: The site has quite a bit of misleading information, and the forum is troll heaven.

[Mad Rocker]

myprotein.com/uk is where I buy whey protein. Always been very pleased with it, can't think of anything bad to say really. Tesco.com is where I buy vitamins and such (as part of grocery shopping), and they're the same as any other supermarket, just have the nicest website and best delivery service where I live.

I used fitocracy for a while when it seemed new and exciting, but I got bored of it. As you said, there seemed to be very little point in bothering. It's not like a diet-based site where it can tell you what nutrients you're lacking etc. Now I track my workouts in an excel spreadsheet, I like to be able to see improvements and keep myself accountable, without having to sign in to a website and make sure I enter everything correctly (pushup or pressup, body-weight squat or squat, for example). Plus I can customise it to my liking and track whatever I want there. If you aren't looking for someone to give props or comment on your activity I'd honestly recommend that over fitocracy, and if you do want those things, posting on here seems easier/better in my opinion.

On the dietary front, when I wanted to get a general picture of what I was eating I tracked my food for a week or so on cronometer.com and it seemed decent. I don't know if it's any better or worse than the other similar sites out there though.

[Horsedog]

I'm gonna have to include apps in my list, cause they are so integral to my tracking, but I'll also inclube website that I use (as in, I use them for pointers on lifting technique, diet...not sure if this is actually what you're after, but they're hugely helpful for me, so maybe others can find value in them as well...

Workout tracking app - Gym Buddy. Pros: Incredibly simple and easy to use. Customizable workouts. Customizable exercises. History shows what you have done/lifted in the past for a given exercise or workout. Built-in recovery timers. No pictures of exercises taking up valuable space Cons: Only allows customizable workouts - no pre-loaded templates/routines. Limited pre-loaded exercises. No music functionality (although you can multi-task with iTunes or whatever...). No pictures of exercises to show you proper form/technique.

Calorie/weight tracking app - MyNetDiary Pro. Pros: Huge food database. Customizable weight loss/gain/maintenance goals. Customizable macro tracking and reporting. Weight/body fat tracking and reporting functionality. Relatively simply interface, making calorie tracking less onerous than other apps I've tried. Cons: Food database is full of user-uploaded foods, so you gotta be careful the calories and macros are correct. Portion tracking options are sometimes limited (i.e., some foods can only be tracked in weight, not volume).

Training and dietary tips/techniques website - Bodyrecomposition.com. Pros: Author is definitely a smarty-pants...knows what he's talking about and is generally excellent at explaining tough-to-explain concepts, especially when it comes to nutrition and programming. Very high-level information, suitable for researchers, professional atheletes/coaches, and nerd-types Cons: Website navigation isn't fantastic - servicable, but not always easy to find what you're looking for. Very high-level information, not always suitable for beginners (although the author does have some beginners information, a lot of the stuff will be over the heads of the casual reader - I've had to reread numerous posts numerous times to get my head around some of the stuff on here).

Metabolic calculators and anatomy/physiology website - ExRx.net. Pros: Lots of easy to use calculators (BMR, BMI, Body Fat, etc.). Excellent selection of human physiology/anatomy data (i.e., specifies what exercises/lifts/stretches target what muscles). Cons: Not even sure how else to say this, but this website is FUGLY - truly, epically bad and in desperate need of an overhaul in the aesthetics department (it's completely functional and easy to navigate, though)

[Waldo]

Lets see...

Myfitnesspal - Calorie tracker. Pretty much the best one out there.

Bodyrecomposition - I believe I've read every article. A low bullshit zone. Lyle knows what he's talking about, I'm not sure there is a better single source for diet and exercise information. Warning though, he despises the cult of Paleo, Crossfit, and the HIIT fad.

Beastskills - Jim's how to guides for learning various skills are the best. They are loaded with useful coaching points. He also avoids the right way/wrong way thing that many coaches fall in to.

Gymnasticbodies - Loaded with good info and tips. Most of my routines are built from here. Major plus is that you don't get bad advice, between Sommer and his mods they keep dumb crap off the forums. Downside is what you don't see above, constant bashing of all other ideas, if you aren't doing it their way strictly, you're doing it wrong, don't get me wrong, some of it is warranted, but some isn't. It isn't really for beginners though, you need a pretty good base of strength to find info there useful.

Runningmap - Awesome for mapping outdoor running courses

Youtube - Lots of good info to be found on youtube.

[Zima]

Oh my god, I just discovered bodyrecomposition for the first time thanks to you guys. Even though a lot of it is stuff I've already read in Alan Aragon's book, this will keep me occupied for ages!

I'll definitely check out the other ones, too. Runningmap sounds like a very useful one. Also the website name ExRx reminds me of the industrial band x-rx...Anyway, that one seems very cool too. Keep em coming