Lift Ledger: A Simple Fitness Tracking Format

Lift Ledger is a plain text format for tracking fitness workouts and progress over time. It's designed to be easy to edit manually while also being parser-friendly and extensible.

It's inspired by beancount. Co-designed with Claude 3.5 Sonnet.

Key Features

Simple, human-readable plain text format
Easy to edit manually or with basic text editors
Structured for easy parsing by programs
Flexible organization (by day, week, month, or year)
Supports exercise definitions, workout templates, and logging
Accommodates incomplete sets and workout notes

Basic Format

; Lift Ledger Format Example

@exercises
    [Squat]
    id:          SQ001
    description: Barbell squat targeting quads, glutes, and core
    tutorial:    https://example.com/squat-tutorial
    image:       squat.jpg

    [Deadlift]
    id:          DL001
    description: Compound exercise for posterior chain
    tutorial:    https://example.com/deadlift-tutorial
    image:       deadlift.jpg
@end-exercises

@template Leg Day
    Squat:      100kg 5x3 @RPE8
    Deadlift:   120kg 5x3 @RPE7
    Leg Press:  150kg 10x3
    Calf Raises: 50kg 15x4
@end-template

2023-03-01 * Leg Day
    Squat:      100kg 5/5/4 @RPE8 "Felt tired on last set"
    Deadlift:   120kg 5/5/3 @RPE7 "Lower back tight, stopped early"
    Leg Press:  150kg 10/10/8 "Fatigue on last set"
    Calf Raises: 50kg 15x4

2023-03-05 # Measurements
    Weight:   75kg
    Body Fat: 15%
    Chest:    100cm
    Waist:    80cm

2023-03-07 ^ PR
    Squat:    1RM 140kg
    Deadlift: 1RM 160kg

Format Explanation

Lines starting with ';' are comments
'@exercises' section defines exercises with details
'@template' defines workout templates
Date lines start workouts, measurements, or personal records
'*' indicates a workout, '#' measurements, '^' personal records
Exercise logs: Name: Weight Reps @RPE "Optional notes"
Reps can be noted as 5x3 for consistent sets or 5/5/4 for varying reps
Use "BW" for bodyweight exercises

Extensibility

The format is designed to be extended by third-party tools. Special comments (e.g., '; @tool-specific-instruction') can be used for custom features but are ignored by the core parser.

Getting Started

Create a new text file with a .lfl extension
Start by defining your exercises and workout templates
Log your workouts, measurements, and personal records
Use comments to add any additional information