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Re:Show HN: My seven minute workout timer evening project by danso on Thursday May 16, 2013 @05:41PM (#5721357)
This is awesome. Just yesterday I was doing a 7-minute workout in my room, just because I was waiting for dinner to finish heating up.

The main problem is that the standard timer app on iOS only acts as a stopwatch...so the final ten seconds of each interval, I'm watching the clock so that I can hit "Lap" and move on...this is awkward when I'm also wearing headphones to listen to music.

What would be ideal for me is to have a simple timer that would alert me when the interval was done and automatically move on to the next one....like a repeating event on a calendar. I'm sure there's an app for that but I just didn't feel like downloading a bunch and doing trial and error.

One more twist: I can't do all the exercises in the 7-min workout (as made famous in the NYT)...jumping jacks would annoy the shit out of the people below me. So I make up my own. A timer that would allow me to set up my own sequence would be fabulous.

Anyway, this is just a longwinded way of saying that there's a need for a niche app here, and it would definitely be a fun coding project...I'm glad someone else thought of it first :)

Re:Show HN: My seven minute workout timer evening project by kinleyd on Friday May 17, 2013 @12:29AM (#5722692)
I've read a bit about high intensity training (tabata, hiit, crossfit, etc.) and there seems to be quite a good bit of evidence supporting their utility. The 7-minute workout may well fit in that same category.

However, as an old fogie, I recall a craze back in the 70s and 80s called 5BX, which stood for 5 basic exercises, created by Swedish aircrew iirc. The reason I recalled it is the mention of rapid-style jumping jacks and push ups in the 7-minute workout. 5BX had increasingly quickened routines for jumping jacks (from a crouching position), sit-ups and push-ups (with claps thrown in as you completed each push-up).

All of this worked very well in terms of actually toning your body, getting a good daily cardio workout, and a sense of fitness... until it did irreparable back and other damage to quite a few people. So just be careful, especially if the high intensity and the 7 minute time limit drives you to a regimen that gets anywhere close to a 5BX style work out in terms of quick, jerky movements.

Personally, I've reverted to playing basketball like I did in my college days, with high intensity worked into it with repeated lay up, jump shot routines, etc. It's working great for cardio and overall body toning. I would like to do weights as well, as there is a body of evidence pointing to its value, but basketball is plenty far for me at this stage.

Re:Show HN: My seven minute workout timer evening project by jamesaguilar on Saturday May 18, 2013 @01:50AM (#5728031)
According to the Wikipedia entry, the harm from 5BX was caused by the situp. Replace with crunches and you're good.
Re:Show HN: My seven minute workout timer evening project by kinleyd on Monday May 20, 2013 @09:30AM (#5737585)
Yes, that's a good catch. I think it was only late into the '80s that full sit-ups began to be deprecated. I did notice the 7-minute work out emphasizes abdominal crouches which is good. However, 5BX did also cause knee and elbow problems (thanks to the crouching jumping jacks and clap happy push-ups). I'd say watch out for routines involving jerky movements.
Re:Show HN: My seven minute workout timer evening project by jamie_ca on Thursday May 16, 2013 @05:56PM (#5721445)
If you have a doorway adjacent to a hall, stand in the middle of the doorway and angle yourself slightly off parallel to the hall and do your jumps there. You make a lot of noise hopping in the middle of a room but (assuming a similar floor plan below you) stacked doorways lead to short beams for support that don't flex or echo near as much.
Re:Show HN: My seven minute workout timer evening project by pagliara on Thursday May 16, 2013 @06:12PM (#5721525)
There are a bunch of interval training apps on the app store.

This is a good free one I use myself:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/interval-timer-seconds-by/id...

Re:Show HN: My seven minute workout timer evening project by gramsey on Sunday May 19, 2013 @12:38AM (#5731814)
I know exactly what you mean- I use this free app called 30/30 on my iPhone (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/30-30/id505863977?mt=8), and it works great for a productivity cycle, e.g. rotating between focusing and doing something relaxing. I imagine it would be pretty good for workouts as well.
Re:Show HN: My seven minute workout timer evening project by chriogenix on Saturday May 18, 2013 @06:25PM (#5730683)
check this out, tons of HIIT timers out there. i grew up wrestling and used to use a physical device called a gymboss which was awesome at the time. they have now made Android and iOS apps

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gymboss-2-interval-timer/id5...

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.halcyoni.g...