How to keep a climbing log without losing your data
Keep a copy of your log somewhere other than your phone. Before you trust an app with a year of sessions, check three things: that it backs up to an account, that your last session shows up on a second device or in a browser, and that you can export your log as a file you can open without the app. Check again after every app update and every new phone, before you wipe the old one. A log that only lives on one phone is gone when the phone is.
Blok Sessions keeps your training on your phone, and when you switch on backup it syncs to a new phone and to the browser planner with the same free account.
Start with the free six-week strength plan: a file for the app and seven short emails on how to run it.
Or start planning in your browser with a free account.
How climbing logs get lost
It’s rarely one big failure. It’s usually one of these:
- The phone is the only copy. It breaks, gets stolen or gets reset, and the log goes with it.
- A new phone that didn’t bring the app’s data across. The app is there, the sessions aren’t, and the old phone has already been wiped.
- Sync that stopped. It worked in March. Nobody checked after that.
- A crash in the middle of a session, before the session was saved.
- Deleting and reinstalling the app to fix a bug. On most apps that deletes everything that wasn’t backed up.
- The app shuts down or stops being updated, and there’s no way to get the data out.
Check that your log is actually backed up
Don’t trust a setting that says backup is on. Check the result:
- Log a short session, or edit an old one.
- Open the app on a second device, or the app’s website if it has one, with the same account.
- Find that session. If it’s there, your log is backed up. If it isn’t, find out why before you log another month.
Do it once a month and after every app update. Before you switch phones, do it on the new phone and only then wipe the old one.
Keep an export
A backup protects you from losing the phone. An export protects you from losing the app.
- Look for an export option in the app’s settings or logbook. A spreadsheet file (CSV) opens anywhere, in any year.
- Save it somewhere that isn’t the phone: your email, a computer, a drive.
- If an app has no way to get your data out, that tells you something about how long you should put data in.
Your phone’s own backup
A full phone backup usually includes app data, but not always, and you only get it back by restoring the whole phone. It’s a good safety net. It’s a bad plan for moving one app’s log to a new phone.
During a session
- Finish and save the session before you close the app.
- Don’t force-quit an app in the middle of logging. Whatever wasn’t saved yet goes.
- On a long session, log as you go instead of all at the end, so a crash costs you a few boulders instead of the whole day. See how to log boulders during a session.
How Blok Sessions handles it
Your training stays on your phone until you switch on backup for a profile. With backup on, it syncs to your account, so it comes with you to a new phone and shows up in the browser planner at bloksessions.com/app. That’s also the easiest way to check it’s working: log in there and look for your last session.
The logbook also exports every session as a CSV or JSON file, so you can keep a copy that opens without the app. The account is free and required, and backup and export are free. There are no ads and no trackers.
Questions
What happens to my Blok Sessions log when I get a new phone?
If backup is on for your profile, sign in with the same account on the new phone and your training comes with it. If backup is off, your training is only on the old phone, so switch it on and let it sync before you reset that phone.
Is backup a paid feature?
No. Pro is only guided sessions and the plan generator, at €2.99 a month, €14.99 a year or €24.99 once. Backup, the logbook, trends and tests are free with the free account.
Can I see my log without the app?
Yes, in the browser planner at bloksessions.com/app, with the same account. It shows the same plans and logbook as the app, once backup is on.
How do I know sync hasn't quietly stopped?
Log a session, then look for it on another device or in a browser. If it's there, it's backed up. Do it once a month and after every app update, because that's when sync tends to break without telling you.
How often should I export my log?
Once a month is enough for most people, and always before you change phones or delete an app. Save the file somewhere that isn't the phone.