Why I built Pinnacles.
Who I Am
I am not a professional bodybuilder, a world- sought after strength or fitness coach, an influencer, and I haven’t set any crazy fitness records.
From a qualifications point of view, I have a Cert III and Cert IV in Fitness, a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science, and a Master’s degree in Physiotherapy.
I have spent the majority of my professional life helping people train better, return to their activities, and maximise their quality of life.
But honestly? I’m just a gym rat. I like to train hard, do tough workouts, and work up a sweat to get some gains or work towards my goals.
THE PROBLEM
Like most people, I used to rely on pen and paper to write out my programs and workouts. But after repeatedly writing similar programs, searching through old notes to check whether my strength was improving or declining, it became a chore and I lost consistency in writing and tracking. Not to mention the occasional shaker bottle spill in my gym bag setting back my progress.
After that, I tried several different fitness apps, but I struggled with how inflexible they were. I couldn’t deviate from their preset programs, swap or substitute exercises easily, customise layouts, or log certain variations like drop sets, clusters, or anything outside their templates.
I personally like variety, so with different programs I often use different exercises. The problem was that every time I switched, I had to search for my last logged numbers, or they couldn’t be found at all, buried somewhere in the matrix instead of being recent, accurate, and ready to go. The frustration came from knowing the information was previously logged… just not accessible.
THE DECISION
Welcome Pinnacles. Built on the rationale of “How hard could it be?”- which turned out to be very - Pinnacles was created.
I wanted a system with the flexibility of writing in a notebook, but with the intelligence to reference my stats and hold me accountable to what I can lift. And if I needed to swap an exercise, I wanted guidance on what reps or weights I should be able to hit without doing the mental gymnastics myself. The gyms I train at have multiple machines from different brands, and as most gym goers know, 50 kg on one machine is not 50 kg on another. If I’m logging a workout, I don’t want to guess whether to record what I did on Brand B or what I would have done on Brand A just to keep my data consistent. It’s simple, I don’t want ambiguity. The same applies to exercises with endless variations. For example cable bicep curls with a straight bar, rope, EZ bar, V bar, etc. I want clarity, and I want the right weight listed and recorded the first time.
The final part was simple but important: Pinnacles should make life easier and help you spend more time training. It should give you the freedom to train the way you train and be customisable, without endless screen tapping through menus. Streamlined and refined.
WHAT PINNACLES IS NOW AND FUTURE PLANS
It is with great excitment Pinnacles is entering its closed Beta testing for users to get feedback, identify bugs and ensure it is ready for the next stage of user testing.
Once beta testing is closed it will be all action for the full release. If you are interested, please reach out using the Contact Us form request a trial code
Pinnacles has future growth and scope in sight so keep eyes posted for updates!
Josh Collins
Registered Physiotherapist (AHPRA)
Experienced Personal Trainer
Australia