exercises-dataset

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 18:20:53 +0800

hasaneyldrm/exercises-dataset

💪 Exercises Dataset

A developer setup wizard + structured, multilingual exercise dataset — scaffold your own exercise app backend (DB schema, API code, LLM prompt) over 1,324 exercises with category, body-part, equipment, target and muscle-group data and step-by-step instructions in 6 languages (English, Spanish, Italian, Turkish, Russian, Chinese). Exercise media is not included.

⚠️ Notice — exercise media is not included

This repository is a developer setup wizard and structured exercise dataset. The exercise media (thumbnail images and animation GIFs) is not included here.

There are multiple, conflicting ownership claims over this media, so it is not redistributed in this repository. Each record keeps a media_id (the original ExerciseDB media reference); the dataset itself ships exercise metadata and multilingual instruction translations (EN, ES, IT, TR, RU, ZH).

If you are the rights holder of this media, please open an issue or contact the maintainer.

📦 Data Source & Attribution

The base exercise data in this repository originates from ExerciseDB v1 by AscendAPI (API docs), obtained via a Kaggle re-host by omarxadel.

The associated media (images & animation GIFs) is not included in this repository — see the notice above. Each record’s media_id is the original ExerciseDB v1 media id (e.g. 2gPfomN); the official CDN serves the corresponding asset at static.exercisedb.dev/media/{media_id}.gif for anyone entitled to use it.

Added in this repository on top of the base data:

🇪🇸 Spanish, 🇮🇹 Italian, 🇹🇷 Turkish, 🇷🇺 Russian, and 🇨🇳 Chinese translations of the instructions
the interactive browser (index.html) and developer setup guide (setup.html)
formatting and cleanup

Original-source attribution was added following issue #5 (thanks to @shinkaidev for the report). If you are a rights holder and want anything removed or clarified, please open an issue.

📋 Table of Contents

🔍 Overview

This dataset is a curated collection of 1,324 fitness exercises for educational and research purposes. It covers a wide range of muscle groups, equipment types, and exercise categories — making it ideal for:

Building fitness or workout planning applications
Machine learning projects involving exercise recognition or recommendation
Health and wellness research
Educational demonstrations and prototypes

Each exercise entry contains:

Field	Description
Unique ID	Numeric identifier (e.g. `"0001"`)
Name	Full descriptive exercise name
Category	Primary muscle group targeted
Target	Specific target muscle
Muscle Group	Supporting / synergist muscles
Equipment	Equipment required (or `body weight` for bodyweight)
Instructions	Step-by-step instructions for each exercise
Available Languages	🇬🇧 English · 🇪🇸 Spanish · 🇮🇹 Italian · 🇹🇷 Turkish · 🇷🇺 Russian · 🇨🇳 Chinese
Media ID	Reference id of the original ExerciseDB media (the media itself is not bundled — see notice)

🖥️ Interactive Browser & Developer Setup

This repository includes two ready-to-use HTML tools — no server required, just open in a browser.

Note: since the media is not bundled, the browser displays exercise metadata and instructions only; thumbnail and GIF slots are empty.

`index.html` — Exercise Browser

A fully client-side exercise explorer with:

Live search across all 1,324 exercises
Filter by category, equipment, and target muscle
Infinite scroll grid
Click any card to see full details and instructions in English, Spanish, Italian, Turkish, Russian, or Chinese

`setup.html` — Developer Setup Guide

A step-by-step guide for integrating the dataset into your own application:

Database Setup — CREATE TABLE SQL for SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and SQLite. Generate a ready-to-run .sql file with all 1,324 INSERT statements, built entirely in your browser.
API Integration — Copy-paste client code in JavaScript, Python, C#, Java, PHP, Go, and cURL showing how to call your backend API. Enter your base URL and all examples update live.
Ask Your LLM — A structured prompt (choose your framework + database) that you can paste into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini to generate a complete, production-ready REST API in one shot. Supports Express.js, FastAPI, ASP.NET Core, Spring Boot, Laravel, and Gin.

📂 File Structure

exercises-dataset/
├── data/
│   └── exercises.json       # Full dataset — 1,324 exercise records (JSON array)
├── index.html               # Interactive exercise browser (client-side, no server needed)
├── setup.html               # Developer setup guide (DB import + API integration)
└── README.md

Key Files

data/exercises.json — The primary data file. A JSON array of 1,324 exercise objects with all metadata. The image and gif_url fields are null; media_id holds the original ExerciseDB media reference.
index.html — Standalone exercise browser. Open directly in any modern browser.
setup.html — Developer guide for DB setup, API integration, and LLM-assisted backend generation.

Media (images/, videos/) is intentionally not part of this repository — see the notice.

📊 Statistics

Metric	Count
Total Exercises	1,324
Instruction Languages	6

Exercises by Body Part

Body Part	Exercise Count
Upper Arms	292
Upper Legs	227
Back	203
Waist	169
Chest	163
Shoulders	143
Lower Legs	59
Lower Arms	37
Cardio	29
Neck	2

Exercises by Equipment

Equipment	Exercise Count
Body Weight	325
Dumbbell	294
Cable	157
Barbell	154
Leverage Machine	81
Band	54
Smith Machine	48
Kettlebell	41
Weighted	36
Stability Ball	28
EZ Barbell	23
Other	83

Note: ~25% of exercises require no equipment at all — great for at-home workout applications.

🗂️ Data Schema

Each record in data/exercises.json follows this structure:

Field	Type	Description
`id`	`string`	Unique numeric identifier (e.g. `"0001"`)
`name`	`string`	Full exercise name (e.g. `"3/4 Sit-up"`)
`category`	`string`	Body part category (e.g. `"upper arms"`, `"chest"`, `"back"`)
`body_part`	`string`	Same as `category` — body part targeted
`equipment`	`string`	Required equipment (e.g. `"dumbbell"`, `"body weight"`)
`instructions.en`	`string`	Full step-by-step instructions in English
`instructions.es`	`string`	Full step-by-step instructions in Spanish
`instructions.it`	`string`	Full step-by-step instructions in Italian
`instructions.tr`	`string`	Full step-by-step instructions in Turkish
`instructions.ru`	`string`	Full step-by-step instructions in Russian
`instructions.zh`	`string`	Full step-by-step instructions in Chinese
`muscle_group`	`string`	Primary synergist muscle group
`secondary_muscles`	`array[string]`	Additional muscles involved
`target`	`string`	Primary target muscle (e.g. `"biceps"`, `"pectoralis major"`)
`media_id`	`string`	Original ExerciseDB media reference id (e.g. `"2gPfomN"`) — media not bundled
`image`	`null`	Reserved for a thumbnail path; `null` (media not included)
`gif_url`	`null`	Reserved for an animation path; `null` (media not included)
`created_at`	`string`	ISO 8601 timestamp of record creation

Sample Record

{
  "id": "0001",
  "name": "3/4 sit-up",
  "category": "waist",
  "body_part": "waist",
  "equipment": "body weight",
  "instructions": {
    "en": "Lie flat on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground. Place your hands behind your head with your elbows pointing outwards. Engaging your abs, slowly lift your upper body off the ground, curling forward until your torso is at a 45-degree angle. Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower your upper body back down to the starting position. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.",
    "es": "Túmbate sobre tu espalda con las rodillas flexionadas y los pies apoyados en el suelo. ...",
    "it": "Sdraiati sulla schiena con le ginocchia piegate e i piedi appoggiati a terra. ...",
    "tr": "Sırt üstü yatın, dizlerinizi bükün ve ayaklarınızı yere düz koyun. ...",
    "ru": "Лягте на спину, согните колени и поставьте ступни на землю. ...",
    "zh": "平躺，膝盖弯曲，双脚平放在地上。..."
  },
  "muscle_group": "hip flexors",
  "secondary_muscles": ["hip flexors", "lower back"],
  "target": "abs",
  "media_id": "2gPfomN",
  "image": null,
  "gif_url": null,
  "created_at": "2026-03-18T12:31:32.854798+00:00"
}

🎬 Sample Exercises

Media is not bundled (see notice); the media_id of each example is shown for reference.

1 — Barbell Bench Press · Chest

Equipment: Barbell · Target: Pectorals · Secondary: Triceps, Shoulders · Media ID: EIeI8Vf

The Barbell Bench Press is the cornerstone of chest training and one of the “Big Three” powerlifting movements. Lying flat on a bench, you lower a loaded barbell to your chest and press it back up explosively. It simultaneously recruits the pectorals, triceps, and anterior deltoids, making it the single most effective exercise for upper body pushing strength and chest mass development.

Key cues: Retract and depress your scapulae before unracking. Keep your feet flat on the floor, arch your lower back naturally, and maintain a shoulder-width grip. Lower the bar under control to mid-chest and drive up through the heels.

2 — Barbell Deadlift · Upper Legs / Back

Equipment: Barbell · Target: Glutes · Secondary: Hamstrings, Lower Back · Media ID: ila4NZS

The Barbell Deadlift is widely regarded as the ultimate full-body strength exercise. It engages virtually every major muscle in the posterior chain — glutes, hamstrings, and lower back — while also demanding significant contribution from the upper back, traps, and grip. Proper spinal alignment and bracing technique are critical for both performance and safety.

Key cues: Set up with the bar over your mid-foot. Hinge at the hips, grip just outside your legs, brace your core hard, and keep the bar in contact with your shins throughout the lift. Drive the floor away, lock out at the top by squeezing glutes and extending hips fully.

3 — Barbell Full Squat · Upper Legs

Equipment: Barbell · Target: Glutes · Secondary: Quadriceps, Hamstrings, Calves, Core · Media ID: qXTaZnJ

Often called “the king of all exercises,” the Barbell Full Squat demands coordinated strength across the entire lower body and core. Breaking parallel maximizes glute and hamstring activation compared to partial squats. It is the foundation of nearly every strength and hypertrophy program.

Key cues: Bar on upper traps (high bar) or rear deltoids (low bar). Brace your core before descent, push knees out in line with toes, sit into your hips, and descend until your thighs pass parallel to the floor. Drive through the whole foot to stand.

4 — Dumbbell Biceps Curl · Upper Arms

Equipment: Dumbbell · Target: Biceps · Secondary: Forearms · Media ID: NbVPDMW

The Dumbbell Biceps Curl is the most recognized isolation exercise for the arms. Training each side independently helps identify and correct strength imbalances between limbs. The supinated (palms-up) grip maximizes biceps contraction at the top of the movement.

Key cues: Stand tall with elbows pinned to your sides. Supinate your wrists as you curl up, squeeze at the top, and lower under control without swinging. Avoid using momentum from the shoulders or lower back.

5 — Pull-up · Back

Equipment: Body Weight · Target: Lats · Secondary: Biceps, Forearms · Media ID: lBDjFxJ

The Pull-up is the gold standard bodyweight exercise for upper body pulling strength. It primarily develops the latissimus dorsi — creating the coveted V-taper — while heavily involving the biceps, rear deltoids, and core stabilizers. It scales from beginner (band-assisted) to advanced (weighted).

Key cues: Dead hang from an overhand grip, shoulder-width or slightly wider. Initiate with your lats by depressing your shoulder blades, then pull your chest toward the bar. Lower fully between reps to maintain range of motion.

6 — Dumbbell Lateral Raise · Shoulders

Equipment: Dumbbell · Target: Delts · Secondary: Traps · Media ID: DsgkuIt

The Dumbbell Lateral Raise is the go-to isolation exercise for building shoulder width. It directly targets the lateral (middle) head of the deltoid, which is responsible for the broad-shouldered look. Controlled tempo and strict form matter far more than load.

Key cues: Stand with a slight bend in your elbows throughout. Raise the dumbbells out to the sides until your arms are parallel to the floor — no higher. Lead with your elbows, not your wrists. Lower slowly under control to maximize time under tension.

🚀 Usage Examples

Python — Load and Filter

import json

with open("data/exercises.json", "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
    exercises = json.load(f)

print(f"Total exercises loaded: {len(exercises)}")

# Filter by category
chest_exercises = [ex for ex in exercises if ex["category"] == "chest"]
print(f"Chest exercises: {len(chest_exercises)}")
# -> Chest exercises: 163

# Filter by equipment
bodyweight = [ex for ex in exercises if ex["equipment"] == "body weight"]
print(f"Bodyweight exercises: {len(bodyweight)}")
# -> Bodyweight exercises: 325

# Get all unique categories
categories = sorted({ex["category"] for ex in exercises})
print("Categories:", categories)

# Access multilingual instructions
ex = exercises[0]
print(ex["instructions"]["en"])  # English
print(ex["instructions"]["es"])  # Spanish
print(ex["instructions"]["it"])  # Italian
print(ex["instructions"]["tr"])  # Turkish
print(ex["instructions"]["ru"])  # Russian
print(ex["instructions"]["zh"])  # Chinese

Python — Load with Pandas

import json
import pandas as pd

with open("data/exercises.json", "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
    data = json.load(f)

df = pd.DataFrame(data)

# Top categories by exercise count
print(df["category"].value_counts().head(10))

# All barbell exercises targeting upper legs
barbell_quads = df[(df["equipment"] == "barbell") & (df["category"] == "upper legs")]
print(barbell_quads[["name", "target", "equipment"]])

JavaScript / Node.js

const exercises = require("./data/exercises.json");

console.log(`Total exercises: ${exercises.length}`);

// Bodyweight exercises only
const bodyweight = exercises.filter(ex => ex.equipment === "body weight");
console.log(`Bodyweight exercises: ${bodyweight.length}`);
// -> Bodyweight exercises: 325

// Group exercises by category
const byCategory = exercises.reduce((acc, ex) => {
  acc[ex.category] = (acc[ex.category] || []);
  acc[ex.category].push(ex);
  return acc;
}, {});

// Access multilingual instructions
const ex = exercises[0];
console.log(ex.instructions.en); // English
console.log(ex.instructions.es); // Spanish
console.log(ex.instructions.it); // Italian
console.log(ex.instructions.tr); // Turkish
console.log(ex.instructions.ru); // Russian
console.log(ex.instructions.zh); // Chinese

TypeScript — Type-safe Usage

interface Exercise {
  id: string;
  name: string;
  category: string;
  body_part: string;
  equipment: string;
  instructions: {
    en: string;
    es: string;
    it: string;
    tr: string;
    ru: string;
    zh: string;
  };
  muscle_group: string;
  secondary_muscles: string[];
  target: string;
  media_id: string | null;
  image: string | null;
  gif_url: string | null;
  created_at: string;
}

import exercises from "./data/exercises.json";
const data = exercises as Exercise[];

const randomWorkout: Exercise[] = data.slice(0, 6);
console.log("First 6 exercises:", randomWorkout.map(e => e.name));

📄 License & Use

This repository is a developer setup wizard and structured exercise dataset — exercise metadata and multilingual instruction translations. Exercise media is not included.

The base exercise data originates from ExerciseDB v1 (see Data Source & Attribution); review ExerciseDB’s terms before any reuse.
Exercise media (images & GIFs) is not included in this repository — see the notice.
This repository does not claim ownership of the underlying exercise content.
If you are a rights holder and wish to have anything removed or clarified, please open an issue or contact the maintainer.

Multilingual Instructions on Producthunt daily