Getting started

This tutorial was written using a Jupyter Notebook.

Minimal working example

This example shows to to use the Program, StaticExercise and Day classes to create a simple static strength training program. The example may not look impressive, but it shows how to create a working strength training program. The Program.render() method is very important, because it populates all the days and weeks in the program with calculations.

In [1]:

from streprogen import StaticExercise, Day, Program

# Create a  3 week training program
program = Program('Minimal program', duration = 3)

# Create a static exercise to a day
squats = StaticExercise('Squats', '5 x 5 @ 80kg')
day = Day(exercises = [squats])

# Add the day to the program and render it
program.add_days(day)
program.render()
print(program)

----------------------------------------------------------------
Program: Minimal program

Program parameters
  duration: 3
  reps_per_exercise: 25
  avg_intensity: 75
  reps_scalers: 1, 0.8, 0.8
  intensity_scalers: 1, 1, 0.9
  units: kg
----------------------------------------------------------------
Exercise information 6
  Day 1
   Squats   5 x 5 @ 80kg
----------------------------------------------------------------
Program
 Week 1
  Day 1
   Squats   5 x 5 @ 80kg

 Week 2
  Day 1
   Squats   5 x 5 @ 80kg

 Week 3
  Day 1
   Squats   5 x 5 @ 80kg

----------------------------------------------------------------

Using dynamic exercises

This example introduces the DynamicExercise class, and also shows how to save a program as a .html file. Three output methods are supported:

In [2]:

from streprogen import StaticExercise, DynamicExercise, Day, Program

# Create a 8 week training program
program = Program('Program with dynamic exercise', duration = 8)

# Create a dynamic exercise, with start weight 100, end weight 110
# and repetitions between 4 and 8 (inclusive)
squats = DynamicExercise('Squats', 100, 110, min_reps = 4, max_reps = 8)
biceps = StaticExercise('Biceps', '3 x 12')
day = Day(exercises = [squats, biceps])

# Add the day to the program and render it
program.add_days(day)
program.render()

# Save the program as a HTML file
with open('program_with_dynamic_ex.html', 'w', encoding = 'utf-8') as file:
    # The table width can be controlled by passing the 'table_width' argument
    file.write(program.to_html(table_width = 8))

The output file generated by the code above is:

Several days

This example introduces several new features:

  • Controlling repetitions per exercise using reps_per_exercise.
  • Controlling the average intensity (% of maximum weight) using avg_intensity.
  • Controlling the rounding globally with round_to.
In [3]:


from streprogen import StaticExercise, DynamicExercise, Day, Program
# Create a 6 week training program with 20 reps per exercise
program = Program('Program with dynamic exercise', duration = 8, reps_per_exercise = 20, intensity = 70, round_to = 5)


# Create the first day
squats = DynamicExercise('Squats', 100, 120, min_reps = 4, max_reps = 8)
bench = DynamicExercise('Bench press', 80, 95, min_reps = 4, max_reps = 8)
dayA = Day('Day A', exercises = [squats, bench])

# Create the second day
squats = DynamicExercise('Squats', 100, 110, min_reps = 4, max_reps = 8)
deadlifts = DynamicExercise('Deadlifts', 120, 135, min_reps = 4, max_reps = 8)
dayB = Day('Day B', exercises = [squats, bench])

# Add the day to the program and render it
program.add_days(dayA, dayB)
program.render()

# Save a .html file
with open('program__with_several_days.html', 'w', encoding = 'utf-8') as file:
    # The table width can be controlled by passing the 'table_width' argument
    file.write(program.to_html(table_width = 8))

The output file generated by the code above is:

A realistic program

Here is a realistic program that was used in real life. It’s a three-week, full body program. A function (named f in the code below) was used to set the end_weight parameter. The StaticExercise class can also take a function (of one parameter, the current week) as input.

In [4]:

from streprogen import StaticExercise, DynamicExercise, Day, Program
import subprocess # Used to run pdflatex

# Create a function to map from start weights to end weights
def f(initial):
    # Function to return final weight,
    # increasing the weights by 2% per day
    return int(initial*1.02**duration)

# Create a function for the static exercise
def dips_scheme(week):
    if week <= 4:
        return '4 x 10 @ bodyweight'
    else:
        return '4 x 12 @ bodyweight + 10kg'

# Create the program
duration = 8
program = Program('A realistic program', units='', round_to=2.5)

# The first day
day1 = Day('Monday')
squats = DynamicExercise('Squats',        95,  f(95))
chins  = DynamicExercise('Chins (light)', 100, f(100))
press  = DynamicExercise('Military press',50,  f(50))
day1.add_exercises(squats, chins, press)

# The second day
day2 = Day('Wednesday')
deadlifts    = DynamicExercise('Deadlifts', 120, f(120))
bench_press  = DynamicExercise('Bench',     70,  f(70))
chin_ups     = DynamicExercise('Chin ups',  100, f(100))
dips = StaticExercise('Dips', dips_scheme) # Notice that a function is used here
day2.add_exercises(deadlifts, bench_press, chin_ups, dips)

# The third day
day3 = Day('Friday')
squats = DynamicExercise('Squats',        85, f(85))
bench  = DynamicExercise('Bench (light)', 85, f(85))
rows   = DynamicExercise('Rows',          65, f(85))
day3.add_exercises(squats, chins, press)

# Add the days and render the program
program.add_days(day1, day2, day3)
program.render()

# Save a .html file
with open('realistic_program.html', 'w', encoding = 'utf-8') as file:
    file.write(program.to_html(table_width = 6))

# Save a .tex file
with open('realistic_program.tex', 'w', encoding = 'utf-8') as file:
    file.write(program.to_tex(table_width = 8))

# Use pdflatex to create a .pdf from the .tex file
ret = subprocess.call(['pdflatex', 'realistic_program.tex'], shell=False)

The output file generated by the code above is: