Almost three years ago I talked my friend Andrew into helping me set up a small app. The goal would be that it could let me share the workouts we do at Ascension Fitness with those who were interested in doing them. We had a loose idea of something that could provide a useful logbook with a way for people to read the type of programming that I wrote, programming that didn’t work well in a spreadsheet. He said it would be easy. I figured it would be as well.
Fast forward 3 years and thousands of hours of work, and though it has been far from easy or quick to create, we have something that I am extremely proud of. The Ascension Training Platform is my attempt to put my last three decades of coaching and training experience into one place. As of this writing and the public launch the app/toolbox includes:
-
A library of close to a thousand exercises. Each one of these has a demonstration video, a description, and optional subs to either make the movement easier, harder, or to do something similar with different tools.
-
Close to 500 different workouts and programs for everything from home workouts, to mountain sport specific training and rehab.
-
A logbook which lets you record your work easily, and plan your workouts in advance.
-
A host of skill progressions for stupid human tricks like one arm pull-ups, human flags, and handstands.
-
A number of (p)rehab progressions for addressing common injuries and pain patterns that people run into.
-
An information library of long form videos where I rant and ramble on any topic from exercise specific information to my thoughts on motivation and habit building.
We have tried to include things in this launch that will be useful to as wide and diverse a range of people and athletes as I have been coaching at Ascension over the past decade. However, where we are now is not the end goal. While I personally think that our logbook, the platform, not to mention the content, far outpace anything else available, I know they can be better. I would like to be able to have the time to put more and more energy into useful information videos, long form explanations of more complex movements, and programming and rehab info for whatever people feel they need. From the technical end we would like to make the tracking of data and progress something that is better integrated into the app. We want to be able to make this app something that makes your training smarter and easier, but also helps you determine your own weaknesses and what can be better. In the end I hope that it will integrate information from a bunch of sources to ensure that everyone has the best possible tools and information to train smarter, stay engaged, and solve pain problems on their own.
If you don’t want to read the rest of the email, this link will let you try out the app for free for two weeks:
This launch to the public is our attempt to find out if this is useful to people and something they are interested in supporting. I believe in this platform, but at a certain point need to be putting energy into something that people want. In the end there is only one way to do determine if this platform is the appropriate place to be directing that energy, and that is to get people into the content and using what we have made. My ask is pretty simple. If you have found that Ascension has impacted your life in a positive way, have found it useful, and are curious how to support it, this is that way. If you want programming for yourself or your community, or want inspiration to keep your training interesting, this is that platform. If you want a resource of information on how to become injury resistant, get out of pain, change your habits, or just become as strong as possible, I want to put that information here.
In terms of specifics, this link: https://buy.ascensionapp.com/checkout/toolbox-friends-and-family-special will get you to the free trial page. Anyone signing up will get the first two weeks 100% free to look around the app and see if this is a project that they want to be a part of shaping. In the end, if this isn’t something that you think is useful now, or could be with your input, we don’t want to trap you in a subscription to it. We do take some payment info, but you won’t be charged until the end of the two weeks. The price listed is discounted from the ‘public’ price that you will see in the app or on the website in the near future. It is a special promotion for those who have been involved in the space, or with the app over the past few years. If you think you have a friend who would like to get involved, feel free to share this link https://www.ascensionapp.com/launch with them.
For everyone that has helped shape what we have so far, thank you so much. For those of you who choose to support us and the dream of what this could be, thank-you.
Ian Holmes