1	Sit Ups	1	156	Incline	25	20sec	30sec
2	Sit Ups	1	156	Incline	25	20sec	30sec
3	Bench Press	2	124	125lb	12	40sec	20sec
4	Bench Press	2	124	135lb	10	40sec	20sec
5	Bench Press	2	124	135lb	8	40sec	20sec
6	Left Curl	3	167	20lb	12	5sec	25sec
7	Right Curl	3	168	20lb	12	20sec	25sec
8	Left Curl	3	167	25lb	10	5sec	25sec
9	Right Curl	3	168	25lb	10	20sec	25sec
10	Left Curl	3	167	30lb	8	5sec	25 sec
11	Right Curl	3	168	30lb	8	20sec	25 sec
. . .	. . .
N	Cool Down	N	9999	null	null	null	300 sec

This exemplary exercise regimen includes a sequential listing of required exercise activity sets of the user. Each exercise activity set includes a sequence index which indicates the sequential order in which the exercise activity set is to be performed; an exercise type indicates the type of exercise activity to be performed; a code is used as an index value for a particular exercise type; an exercise qualifier indicates the weight value, equipment setting or other exercise parameter for an associated current exercise activity; a repetition quantity indicates the number of repetitions the user is to perform; an allotted rest time indicates how much time the user may rest after completing the exercise activity set; and an allotted time indicates how much time the user may spend actually performing the exercise activity once begun.

In addition, each exercise activity set may be associated with a target rep time (not shown) that indicates a desired time for performing each rep, and/or may be associated with a minimum and maximum threshold level for rep times (not shown), indicating threshold boundaries within which the rep time for the exercise activity set is intended to be performed. By storing a plurality of exercise activity sets in a tabular format, each exercise activity set with a sequential index and other exercise parameters, a full exercise regimen may be clearly specified for a user.

In an exemplary embodiment, the exercise regimen may also include a grouping identifier that is associated with a variety of exercise activity sets in the exercise regimen. The grouping identifier may be used to vary the order of the exercise activity sets in an exercise regimen such that the order of the exercise groupings may be varied, but the order of exercise activity sets within a grouping remain unchanged or at least remain grouped to ensure that a targeted muscle group is exercised in a proper order as is described below.

The exercise regimen reordering may automatically randomize or otherwise scramble the order of the scripted exercise regimen as it is presented to the user during an exercise session. The purpose of exercise regimen reordering is to provide the user with variety in exercise routine, while still instructing the user to perform a prescribed set of exercises (i.e. exercise types, weight or levels, and counts), just in an order that is varied.

In an exemplary embodiment, the exercise order is not entirely randomized, but randomized in groups such that the consecutive sets of the same exercise activity in the regimen are maintained in their prescribed order. Therefore, if an exercise regimen consisted of three activity sets of bench press, each of different weight value and rep counts, three sets of shoulder press, each of different weight value and rep counts, and three sets of sit ups, each of different rep counts, regimen reordering will maintain the prescribed order of the three sets of bench press, the prescribed order of the three sets of shoulder press, and the prescribed order of the three sets of sit ups, only varying the relative order of the three different exercises (bench press, shoulder press, and sit ups.)

In another exemplary embodiment, the exercise regimen may are also associated with a muscle group they intend to work, for example abdomen muscles (i.e. abs), pectoral muscles (i.e., “pecs,”) etc. Regimen reordering routines may be operative to maintain the grouping of exercises that target a common muscle sets, thereby keeping all the exercises, for example, that are relationally associated with the regimen with abdomen muscles, grouped together in the randomized regimen. In this way, a user may randomize or otherwise vary the order of a preplanned exercise regimen, but still maintain groupings of exercises in consecutive order by virtue of each exercise in the groupings being relationally associated with the same piece of exercise equipment and/or by virtue of each exercise in the grouping being relationally associated with the same muscle type.

A completed exercise regimen is stored in the

datastore

10,30 and may be used for performance comparisons and improvements over time. An example of tabular data stored for an exercise regimen performed by a user, including performance rating values for each exercise activity as well as completion times for each exercise activity set, is provided in Table 2 below.

TABLE 2

Exemplary Stored Exercise Data

Se-					User
quence	Exercise		Exercise	Repetition	Perfor-	Time
Index	Type	Code	Qualifier	Quantity	mance	Used

1	Sit Ups	156	Incline	25	8	24sec
2	Sit Ups	156	Incline	25	7	28sec
3	Bench Press	124	125lb	12	6	15sec
4	Bench Press	124	135lb	10	7	19sec
5	Bench Press	124	135lb	8	5	18sec
6	Left Curl	167	20lb	12	7	19sec
7	Right Curl	168	20lb	12	7	19sec
8	Left Curl	167	25lb	10	5	20sec
9	Right Curl	168	25lb	10	5	20sec
10	Left Curl	167	30lb	8	4	25 sec
11	Right Curl	168	30lb	8	2	28 sec
. . .	. . .
N	. . .

In general, when a user completes an exercise activity set, the user takes his or her magneticwireless sensor unit200P to the next piece of exercise equipment, as prompted by theportable computing device100C. In this way, theportable computing device100C, acts as a personal trainer, instructing the user which exercises activity sets to perform, in which order, and with what counts and weight levels.

Theportable computing device100C may also be configured to store historical data about the user's activities and/or display performance statistics such as the total number of activity sets and/or reps performed and/or the elapsed time required of different exercises. A user performance value (on a scale of 1 to 10) is recorded and stored for each exercise activity set in the exercise regimen. Also, a time used value is stored for each exercise activity in the exercise regimen. With respect to computing a performance assessment for a given exercise activity set, for example on a scale of 1 to 10, there are a variety of ways in which a value can be computed that quantifies the ease at which an exercise activity set was performed by a user. In general, when a user performs a set with ease, the rep-times for each rep of the set is performed with minimal slowing (i.e. low deceleration) across the set.

Conversely, when a user performs a set with considerable difficulty, the rep-times for each rep of the activity set is performed with considerable slowing (i.e. high deceleration) across the set. Thus, the deceleration in rep completion times (i.e. rep-times) across an exercise activity set may be used to quantify the ease or difficulty at which the set was performed. In general, a typical user is aiming to perform sets that are not too easy or too hard, thus a mid-range assessment on the ease-to-difficulty scale may be preferable. Therefore, a mid-range deceleration in rep-times is considered the result of a well-targeted exercise regimen for an average user.

In various exemplary embodiments, a deceleration metric may be determined that indicates the amount by which the user slows down through the course of an exercise activity set. This deceleration metric is then used to determine a relative performance assessment for the exercise activity set. There are numerous ways in which the deceleration metric may be determined. For example, the deceleration metric may be determined by comparing the rep completion time for the first rep of an exercise activity set with the rep completion time for the last rep of the set. By evaluating the change in rep completion times from the first rep to the last rep, a first-to-last deceleration value may be determined. If that deceleration metric is small (i.e. there is little deceleration), the current set may be too easy for the user and a high performance value assigned. Conversely, if the deceleration metric value is large (i.e. there is a very large amount of deceleration), the current set may be too difficult for the user and a low performance value assigned. The

datastore

10,30 may be used to store data relating to numerous historical exercise sessions. For example, a user might perform a particular exercise regimen once per day, every day, for three weeks.

As such, 24 sets of data, one for each day the exercise regiment was performed, may be stored inmemory30, each set of data indicating user performance on that instance of performing the exercise regimen. The historical data may be used to generate time-varying user performance data that indicates how a user is progressing over time as he or she performs the same or similar exercise regimens over days, weeks, months, or years.

Theportable computing device100C accesses an exercise regimen from a

datastore

10,30 tracks a user's progress through each required exercise activity set by counting time-dependent repetition events and prompts the user to consecutively perform each required exercise activity. Theportable computing device100C may also be programmed to monitor the time required for the user to perform each repetitive event for a given exercise activity, rest intervals taken and/or exercise activity intervals during a particular exercise activity and alert a user when a predefined time period to perform an exercise activity has been reached and/or exceeded.

Since theportable computing device100C is programmed to determine repetition events in a time dependent manner, a user may assess his or her performance for an exercise activity set based upon the time interval between repetitive motions (i.e. the repetition interval time). For example, if a user is performing a weight lifting exercise activity and the time interval between repetitive lifting events of the weights slows substantially over the required count of repetitive events, theportable computing device100C may determine that the user is struggling with that particular exercise activity set in the required exercise regimen and may heuristically adjust the exertion level or weight setting downward for the user for the next exercise activity using the same targeted muscle group.

Conversely, if the user is performing a weight lifting exercise activity and the time interval between repetitive lifting events of the weights remains relatively constant or accelerates over the required count of repetitive events, theportable computing device100C may determine that the user is unchallenged with that particular exercise activity in the required exercise regimen and may heuristically adjust the exertion level or weight setting upward for the user for the next exercise activity set using the same targeted muscle group.

To help the user conceptualize how his or her exercise rep times vary across an exercise activity set (i.e. how much the rep completion times slow over a given set), theportable computing device100C includes a Repetition Versus Time Graphing Feature as shown inFIGS. 5,6 and7 in which each completed repetition of an exercise activity is graphed visually versus time upon ascreen25 of theportable computing device100C. In this way, a user may quickly review his or her performance in a full set of an exercise regimen by viewing his or her progress through the exercise activity set in terms of repetitions versus time.

This graphical format is useful because the changing slope of the curve indicates the ease or difficulty at which the user performed the task. For example, a linear curve indicates that the user performed each repetition in the exercise activity set with similar time interval spacing. This indicates the set was performed with ease.

A non-linear curve, for example, in which the time spacing between repetitions increases over the exercise activity set, indicates that the user did not perform the set with ease. The set was sufficiently difficult that the user struggled more and more with each passing repetition. In this way, a visual graph of repetitions versus time provides the user with a fast and easy to understand measure of performance in a repetitive exercise activity set such as weight lifting or calisthenics. Such graphing may allow the user to manually adjust the required weight levels (or setting levels) and/or rep counts in future exercise activity sets based upon how hard or easy previous sets were to complete. In addition, the graphing functions may enable multiple graphed sets to be displayed at once, allowing a user to compare performance in one exercise activity set against another exercise activity set as is shown inFIGS. 7A,7B.

Another graphical function includes a Power-Per-Rep Graphing Feature as is shown inFIG. 8 graphically displays the relative power output of the user for each repetition across a set of repetitions for a given exercise activity set. The power may be computed as a normalized value, relative value, or percentage of a target value that reflects the power output of one repetition as compared to other repetitions. By graphing the power output versus repetitions, a user may quickly review how his or her power output varied across an exercise activity set, repetition by repetition. Since power is a function of both acceleration and repetition times, this performance metric provides additional insight into exercise performance, particularly for weight lifting exercise activities. For example, weight lifters generally desire to perform a set of repetitions with minimal power reduction across sets. In this way, the power graph is a valuable indication of performance.

Theportable computing device100C may also be programmed to provide an exercise rep-time prompting feature in which the user is notified when his or her rep completion times are falling outside of a desired tolerance range. More specifically, the exercise rep-time prompting feature may inform the user during a set if his or her most recent rep completion time was faster than a set maximum rep-time threshold tolerance level or slower than a set minimum rep-time threshold tolerance level.

This programmatic feature is particularly useful for certain types of weight training regimens in which the user attempts to perform weight lifting repetitions within certain desired repetition times. For example, there are some forms of weight training where the users attempts to raise and lower the weights very slowly. To support such an exercise activity, a low maximum rep-time threshold tolerance level may be set by the user and monitored by theportable computing device100C.

If the user completes a rep that is faster than the set maximum rep-time threshold tolerance level, the user is alerted by theportable computing device100C that he or she has performed a rep too quickly. The prompt may be an intuitive verbal message such as “slow down” or “too fast,” thereby informing the user that he or she should slow down his or her weight lifting reps to stay within the desired rep-time limits.

In some exemplary embodiments, theportable computing device100C may also be programmed to monitor the total time duration required to complete a current exercise activity (i.e. the exercise interval time) and/or monitor the elapsed period of rest between required exercise activities (i.e. the rest interval time.) The exercise interval time and/or the rest interval time may also be used to assess a user performance in a given exercise regimen. As a user proceeds through a current exercise activity, theportable computing device100C may be configured to audibly and/or visually output the current cumulative count after each completed repetition. In this way, the user of thepersonal computing device100C is informed as to the number of repetitions thus far performed in the current exercise activity.

In addition, theportable computing device100C may be programmed to inform the user as to the nature of the next required exercise activity set using an audible output. For example, a synthesized voice may issue a prompt such as “Next up, bench press—50 pounds, 12 reps.” In this way, a user is fully informed as to the next required exercise activity set of the regimen without needing to look at a screen. The prompt may also be visually displayed upon thescreen25 as a textual message.

Upon completion of an exercise activity set, theportable computing device100C may also be programmed to output a verbal phrase of encouragement such as “good job” or “good set.”

Lastly, in various exemplary embodiments, one or more exercise activity sets listed within a predefined exercise regimen may be associated with one or more musical media files. As such, when a particular exercise activity set is performed, an associated musical media file may be played to the user. In this way, a user may define a listing of musical media files that play, at least in part, based upon which exercise activity set within a pre-planned series of exercise activity sets, the user is currently engaged in. Thus, a user may select particular musical media files that he or she enjoys listening to for example during sit ups and associate these musical media files with sit up exercise activity sets.

The foregoing described of exemplary embodiments is provided as illustrations and descriptions. They are not intended to limit any one exemplary embodiment to the precise forms described. In particular, it is contemplated that functional implementation of an exemplary embodiment described herein may be implemented equivalently in hardware, software, firmware, and/or other available functional components or building blocks. No specific limitation is intended to a particular device or programmatic sequence. Other variations and embodiments are possible in light of above teachings, and it is not intended that this Detailed Description limit the scope of invention.