About PlainExercise

Our Mission

PlainExercise exists because most exercise information on the web is buried in autoplay videos, SEO filler, and influencer marketing. A home exerciser who wants to know "which muscle does a single-arm row actually train, and what do I do if I don't own a dumbbell?" should be able to answer that question in seconds, without a paywall, without a signup, and without watching a 12-minute hype reel.

We believe exercise knowledge is a public good. The core taxonomy of human movement, push, pull, hinge, squat, carry, rotate, has been documented for a century. Our job is not to reinvent it. Our job is to organize it, cross-link it, and frame it plainly so that any adult can use it to plan their training.

What We Do

PlainExercise is a structured reference with five primary entity types:

• Exercises - 873 records covering every major strength, conditioning, stretching, and rehabilitation movement. Each has a primary muscle, optional secondary muscles, an equipment profile, difficulty level, force type (push/pull/static), and step-by-step instructions.
• Muscle hubs - 20 pages, one per major muscle group, listing every exercise that targets it. Useful when you know what you want to train but not which movement to pick.
• Equipment pages - 16 pages grouping exercises by what you need to perform them, from bodyweight-only to resistance bands to full gym equipment.
• Variations - 883 equipment swaps of parent exercises. When the prescribed movement calls for a barbell you don't have, the variation pages show the dumbbell, band, or bodyweight equivalent.
• Workouts - 186 pre-built routines for common goals (strength, hypertrophy, endurance), levels, durations, and equipment profiles.

Who Built This

PlainExercise is an independent publisher, a small data publisher that builds free, public-interest reference portals. The studio's focus is on taking public datasets that are hard to navigate in their raw form and presenting them in a way that general readers can actually use.

. The same data-framing and presentation standards are applied across all PlainExercise reference sites.

How It Is Built, Our Data Sources and Methodology

PlainExercise is built from two open-licensed public datasets:

• Free Exercise DB - a public-domain (CC0) dataset of exercise records with instructions, muscle targets, equipment, force type, mechanic (compound/isolation), level, and category. This is the primary spine of our database.
• wger.de - an AGPL-licensed workout and nutrition platform whose exercise data we use for cross-reference and to seed a small number of equipment and variation mappings.

We do not reproduce these sources verbatim. We merge the two corpora, deduplicate on normalized exercise name, slugify, generate a consistent muscle/equipment taxonomy, compute variations by mapping each parent exercise to plausible equipment swaps, and then wrap every record with original editorial framing (common mistakes, safety notes, progression paths, who-it-is-for guidance). Our approach is documented in detail on the methodology page.

No exercise instructions are fabricated. Where the upstream source is ambiguous or incomplete, the record is either annotated or omitted, it is never invented.

Data Currency and Updates

Exercise taxonomy is a slow-moving field, a barbell squat from 2000 is the same barbell squat today. However, we periodically refresh our database when upstream sources release corrections or add records. Editorial content (guides, mistake lists, safety notes) is reviewed at least annually. Each exercise detail page shows a "last updated" date at the footer.

If you spot an error, a muscle tagged incorrectly, a step that is unsafe, a variation that is physically impossible, please contact us. Corrections are typically published within 48 hours.

Known Limitations

PlainExercise is a reference, not a coach. Specifically:

• No video. Video production is expensive and narrows our focus. If you need to see a movement demonstrated, a coached YouTube tutorial will serve you better than our step-by-step text. Our aim is clarity of taxonomy, not visual demonstration.
• No personal programming. We publish pre-built workouts at common goal/level/duration combinations. We do not generate individualized training programs, and we cannot account for your unique goals, injury history, lifestyle, recovery capacity, or nutritional context.
• Not medical or physical-therapy advice. Some of our safety notes flag common injury patterns, but they are general information. If you have a pre-existing condition, recent surgery, cardiovascular concerns, joint injuries, or are pregnant, consult a physician or licensed physical therapist before training.
• English-only. The site is published only in English. We do not translate exercise data into other languages.
• No e-commerce. We do not sell equipment, supplements, or programs, and we do not carry affiliate links on exercise detail pages. Editorial independence matters to us.

Editorial Independence & How Content Is Produced

Content on PlainExercise is built from open-licensed source data. Raw records from open exercise datasets (Free Exercise DB, wger.de), with reference terminology aligned to NIH/NLM MeSH, are normalized and transformed into structured reference pages using fixed templates. Narrative framing, common mistakes, safety notes, progression paths, and who-it-is-for guidance, is generated from the structured record and the source instructions, never invented: where the upstream source is ambiguous, the field is annotated or left out rather than guessed. Synthetic equipment variations are algorithmically generated and clearly marked as such. Every figure on the site is rendered live from the database and is traceable back to its source row.

We do not accept payment, sponsorship, or promoted placement from equipment manufacturers, training platforms, coaches, supplement brands, or any covered entity. Our only revenue source is contextual display advertising served by Google AdSense, advertisers do not influence which exercises we cover or how we present data, and they do not receive preferential placement.

Not medical or training advice. PlainExercise is an educational reference. It is not a substitute for medical, physical-therapy, or personal-training advice. See the disclaimer below and our methodology page for the full editorial workflow.

Important Disclaimer

General information only. PlainExercise publishes educational material, not medical or personal training advice. Exercise carries inherent injury risk. Consult a physician or certified trainer before starting any new exercise program, especially if you have pre-existing medical conditions, recent surgery, cardiovascular concerns, joint injuries, or are pregnant. Discontinue any exercise that causes sharp or persistent pain.

Contact and Feedback

Questions, corrections, or suggestions? Email hello@plainexercise.com or use the contact form. We especially welcome reports of tagging errors, unsafe cues, and suggestions for exercises that are missing from our database.

Business, partnership, and licensing inquiries should go to hello@plainexercise.com.