The short version: An Obsidian workout log does not need a subscription, an account or a plugin. FitVault is an 18-file plain-Markdown training vault: 17 Markdown files plus a LICENSE.txt, with session logs, exercise cards, a 4-week 5/3/1-style block, PR records, cardio and bodyweight tracking, and two dashboards. No code, no scripts, no plugins required. The current intro price is $1.00 USD on Gumroad, and it is on a price ladder, so check the page before you buy rather than trusting this article.
In August 2026 a Hacker News thread asked, "Why is a local workout log a $5–16/month subscription?" It collected 3 points and a shrug, not an answer. The honest answer is boring: a training log is a handful of plain text files, and the money in most trackers pays for sync, accounts and an app wrapped around what a text editor already does.
Why a workout tracker should not be a subscription
A training log has a small job. Record what you lifted, how hard it felt, and what to do next time. None of that needs a server.
A subscription ties years of training history to an account and rents you features you cannot take with you. A squat PR from three years ago is still useful today, and the file that holds it should outlast any vendor.
The test we like is simple: if Obsidian disappeared tomorrow, every note would still open in any text editor. Session logs and exercise cards are Markdown, with nothing locked in a database.
Obsidian training log vs Notion vs a free spreadsheet
Here is how the realistic options line up for a barbell trainee.
| Option | Cost | Ownership | System depth | Plugins / accounts | Export |
|---|
| Subscription workout apps | Roughly $5–16 a month | Held in the vendor's account | Varies; lives inside the app | Account required | Depends on the vendor |
| Free PDF or Sheets logs | Free | Yours | A grid, no rules | None or a Google account | Already a file |
| Notion fitness templates | Template price plus a Notion account | Held in Notion's cloud | Varies by template | Account required | Check Notion's export options |
| FitVault | $1.00 intro (check the page) | Local Markdown files | Progression rule, RPE vocabulary, PR arithmetic written out | None; no plugins required | Nothing to export: the files are the data |
The Notion side, as a search observation
We looked at the neighbouring market. A search for "fitness notion template" returned 795 results, with a top-rated incumbent called PRO COACH at $78.69. A search for "obsidian training log" returned zero results. That is a search observation, not a market study, and it does not prove nobody has built one. The autocomplete tail (obsidian workout tracker, template, log, planner, journal) looked unanswered when we checked.
If you already live in Notion and like it, stay there.
Why free templates stop working
Free PDF and Sheets logs give you a grid. They do not give you a system. There is no progression rule, no shared RPE vocabulary and no PR arithmetic. You fill in two rows, wonder what the next week's weights should be, and stop.
What FitVault actually is
FitVault is the Obsidian training log and program vault we made. It is not a coaching program, not a subscription app and not a plugin pack.
The verified inventory, and nothing beyond it:
- Exactly 18 files: 17 Markdown files and one LICENSE.txt
- No code, no scripts, no CSV or XLSX files, and zero placeholder tokens
- 27 wikilinks, and all of them resolve
- Zero URLs, zero accounts, zero network steps and zero executable files inside the vault
- All tables render in stock Obsidian
Product box: FitVault, the Obsidian Training Log and Program Vault
What it is: 18 plain-Markdown files for logging barbell, cardio and bodyweight training in Obsidian, with a 4-week 5/3/1-style block, PR records and two dashboards.
Price: $1.00 USD intro. At 10 confirmed sales it steps to $1.50, then steps again as sales accrue, so check the page for the live price.
Get it: FitVault on Gumroad
Disclosure: we made this product, so this is our own link and we earn the sale if you buy. It is not an independent review.
The session log: one table, a closed vocabulary
Every training day is one file. The front matter carries the date, block, week and day. The body is a table with six columns: | Slot | Exercise | Sets x reps | Load | RPE | Note |.
The slot column uses a closed vocabulary: warm-up, main, assistance and notes. A closed vocabulary keeps entries scannable. The file ends with notes-for-next-time checkboxes and a next-session preview, so the plan for your next visit is written down while you still remember how the last one felt.
One load rule
Loads are written in kg, in multiples of 2.5, or as the word bodyweight. One rule, applied everywhere.
Exercise cards and the 5/3/1-style block
Each lift gets a card. It records the equipment, your personal set-up cues, a table of | Lift | 1RM (kg) | TM (kg) |, your personal best, linked session history and an empty slot for a form video. The training max (TM) is 90% of 1RM, rounded to the nearest 2.5 kg.
The training-block contract
The block file states the goal, the four main lifts (squat, bench, press, deadlift) and a Day A to Day D layout with weekdays. The progression rule is written out, and assistance work is your own choice:
| Week | Working sets, % of TM | Note |
|---|
| 1 | 65 / 75 / 85 | |
| 2 | 70 / 80 / 90 | |
| 3 | 75 / 85 / 95 | Rep-out at 95% |
| 4 | 40 / 50 / 60 | Deload |
Ties round up. The program-week tables list set, percent of TM, load in kg, target reps and an RPE cap, with the week-1 loads frozen: squat 77.5 / 87.5 / 100, bench 55 / 65 / 72.5, press 35 / 42.5 / 47.5 and deadlift 95 / 110 / 122.5. The arithmetic is printed, including the exact-tie press case, where 41.25 becomes 42.5.
PR records and the Epley formula
The PR record uses the Epley estimate: 1RM = weight × (1 + reps ÷ 30), rounded to the nearest 2.5 kg. Three worked cases ship in the kit:
- 100 × 5 gives 116.67, which rounds to 117.5
- 130 × 3 gives 143, which rounds to 142.5
- 62.5 × 2 gives 66.67, which rounds to 67.5
One consistent rule means a PR from March and one from October are measured the same way.
Cardio, bodyweight and deloads
The cardio template's vocabulary is run, row, ride and circuit. Pace is duration ÷ distance, written as M:SS per km. It also holds an RPE or HR zone and a legs-feel interference column. The worked case: 5.0 km in 25:30 is 5:06 per km at RPE 7.
Body metrics are bodyweight tracking only. The template sets morning weigh-in conditions and a rolling four-week average with the arithmetic shown: (82.5 + 82.3 + 82.6 + 82.4) ÷ 4 = 82.45. Optional measurements and a 1 to 5 sleep and stress score are included. There are no macros, no diet plans and no calorie counting.
The deload week has keep or skip checkboxes and the 40 / 50 / 60% loads. It also carries the next-block TM rule: add 2.5 kg when the week-3 top set met the RPE cap with 5 clean reps. A frozen Block 8 result is printed so you can see the rule applied.
Two dashboards, each with an example and a blank
The block overview shows week N of 4, your next session with its top-set load, lifts that are due and an RPE summary. The all-time PR board lists lift, best load, reps, date and Epley estimate. Each ships as a filled fictional example and a blank shell. They are plain Markdown and hand-maintained.
The method guide
One guide with seven sections: logging discipline, the RPE scale (10, 9, 8, 7 and 6, with reps-in-reserve meanings), plate math, the Epley formula, 5/3/1 percentages with the TM rule, body and cardio arithmetic, and the block lifecycle. The plate math covers both units: a 20 kg bar gives 60, 100 and 140, and a 45 lb bar gives 135, 225 and 315. The press edge case is frozen at 55.
Vanilla Obsidian, honestly
The kit states, verbatim, "No plugins required." It also says, verbatim, "Bases and Dataview are optional upgrades; this vault works without them."
Three worked examples follow one fictional lifter, Alex Rivera, through Block 7, with every figure reconciled file to file. The kit says it plainly: "All names of people and figures in the worked example are fictional."
Where to get it
Disclosure: this post links to a product we made. If you buy through it, we earn the sale.
Product page: FitVault, the Obsidian Training Log and Program Vault on Gumroad.
The live price is $1.00 USD intro, two-signal verified on 2026-10-28 at 02:45 (+03): the page's structured-data price and its price meta tag both read 1.0 USD. This product is on a dynamic price ladder. At 10 confirmed sales it steps to $1.50, and it then steps again as sales accrue. Please treat $1.00 as today's price, not a promise, and check the page.
An honest verdict
FitVault is for a trainee who already knows what a training max is and wants a place to keep everything that does not need an app. It will not make you stronger; it makes logging boring and consistent.
Some limits you should know about. It is manual by design: you write the numbers and nothing computes them for you. It is a structure, so it only works if you open it on training days. The README is explicit about its scope: "This kit logs training; it does not give medical, nutrition, or rehabilitation advice." And FitVault launched on 2026-10-28, so it has zero reviews or ratings. We have no buyer feedback to quote, and we will not invent any.
Licensing
The license is PERSONAL USE - NO RESALE: one trainee, or one coach logging their own clients. The full text is in LICENSE.txt. Do not repackage or resell it.
Who it is NOT for
- Notion users who are not looking to move. This is a plain-Markdown vault for Obsidian, and we make no Notion claim.
- People who want a coaching program written for them. FitVault is a log and a progression frame. The assistance work and the choices are yours.
- Generic second-brain or PKM shoppers. It is a training log, not a general knowledge system.
- Macro and diet trackers. Bodyweight tracking is all it does: no macros, no diet plans, no calorie counting.
- Anyone who wants software that computes their training. The arithmetic is printed, not automated.
- Anyone whose spreadsheet already works. If a plain spreadsheet you actually fill in is doing the job, you do not need this.
Wrapping up
If you want an Obsidian workout log with a progression rule, a PR formula and a deload written down, and you would rather pay once than monthly, FitVault is our answer at the current intro price of $1.00. The product page is right here. It is our own product, and the price on the page is the one that counts.
Corrections welcome: nandminc2020@gmail.com
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