Sit back like you're about to sit down, tap the chair, then stand up tall.
Camera watches: your hips dropping below where you started.
A macOS menu bar app · p. 01
Your back called.
It wants a word.
mybackhurts sits in your menu bar and taps you on the shoulder every 45 minutes. Then it walks you through two or three small exercises. If you let it, your webcam counts the reps, right on your Mac.
mybackhurts · now
Time to move
Chair Squat, Arm Circles, Neck Side Stretch.
p. 02 · How it works
The whole routine,
in four panels.
-
1
Every 45 minutes
A reminder goes off, only during the hours and days you say you're working.
-
2
A polite nudge
Start, Snooze 10 min, or Skip, right in the notification.
-
3
Two or three moves
A short set, rotated every session so you're not doing squats forever.
-
4
Walked away? Counts.
No keyboard or mouse for 5 minutes and it counts as a break. The timer starts over.
p. 03 · The moves
Five moves you can do next to your desk.
You can do all of them in office clothes, even with your headphones on.
Hold the desk if you like. Rise onto your toes, pause, come down slowly.
Camera watches: a small rise of your head and shoulders.
Arms out to the sides. Draw small circles and let them grow a little.
Camera watches: your wrist going all the way around.
Shoulders up to your ears, hold a beat, then let them drop all the way.
Camera watches: the gap between your nose and shoulders.
Ear toward shoulder, breathe, hold 15 seconds. Then the other side.
Camera watches: the tilt of the line between your ears.
p. 04 · Two ways to do it
Count your own reps, or let the camera count.
Simple · the default
You count. It keeps time.
Step-by-step instructions, a timer, and a +1 rep button (or just hit Space). In this mode the camera never turns on, and the app never even asks for permission.
Webcam · opt in
It counts. You just move.
Apple Vision finds your joints, and the app counts reps and holds from them. It gives form hints and tells you when you're out of frame. Or leave Simple mode on and use Try with camera for a single session.
p. 05 · Privacy, loudly
What the camera sees
stays on your Mac.
- Frames are analyzed in memory on your Mac, then thrown away.
- The app makes no network requests at all.
- Simple mode never touches the camera.
- Your stats stay in the app's sandbox, unless you export a CSV yourself.
p. 06 · Receipts
A record of every time you stood up.
5 day streak
- Current streak
- Minutes moved today
- A 7-day chart
- Total reps for every exercise
Stats → Export CSV…
date,session_id,exercise,mode,reps,
hold_seconds,duration_seconds,goal_reached
Apple Health isn't on macOS, so you get a CSV and a spreadsheet.
p. 07 · The small print
Things people
usually ask.
Do I have to use the camera?
No. Simple mode is the default and never uses it. You count your own reps with a button or the Space bar.
Is any video recorded or uploaded?
No. Frames are analyzed in memory with Apple's Vision framework and discarded right away. There's an optional debug recorder for tuning, and it saves joint coordinates only, never images.
Will it bother me at 11pm on a Sunday?
Only if you tell it you work then. You pick your active hours and days, the interval, which exercises to include, and how many per session.
How good is the rep counting?
Decent, not magic. Lighting and where your camera sits make a difference. Calf raises are a small movement for a laptop camera, so that one often switches to a timer.
Which Macs does it run on?
Any Mac with macOS 14 Sonoma or later. It lives in the menu bar and can launch at login.
Is this medical advice?
No. Move gently, and stop if anything hurts. If your back really hurts, see a professional.
p. 08 · Last page
Stand up.
Seriously, now.
Then come back and get the app, so this doesn't depend on a web page.
Coming soon to the Mac App StoremacOS 14 Sonoma or later · Apple silicon & Intel