Fitbod's FAQ

We know you have many questions, so we've put together some answers to the ones we frequently receive to help you along your fitness journey while using Fitbod. 

1. How can I use Fitbod as a beginner?

Make sure you complete the onboarding process which starts the first time you open Fitbod. This process asks you a few questions about yourself and your goals. If you skipped through the onboarding process, you can set your Fitness Experience level to beginner in Your Gym Profile (top center of the Workout Screen). This setting will reduce workout difficulty, recommend more commonly known exercises, and adjust the total workout duration.

Next, the Sets, Reps, and Weight schemes will be adjusted to fit your level. If you can't perform the given number of Sets and Reps, feel free to lower these until you're unable to perform effectively and with proper form.

Tapping "Instructions" will open a list of step-by-step instructions, a video demonstration, and an image of targeted muscle groups.

If you'd like some additional guidance, we urge our beginner fitness users to join our Facebook Community, as it is a great place to ask questions and share ideas! For more personal or direct questions, please feel free to email us at [e-mail]. 

2. Should I be training to failure when performing exercises through my workout?

It depends on your experience. 

If you're a beginner, focus on proper form, not muscle fatigue. Get your form down first so your body will be able to tolerate more exercises with better control later on. 

Your body might not be ready for that type of strain. You also don't want to overwork yourself early in this game. it might hurt your chances of developing long-term training habits.

More experienced lifters can perform exercises to failure. they will often add them as a final set, particularly on Max Effort Fays, to maximize growth and fatigue. 

Instead of pushing until failure, our trainers recommend these steps for beginners: 

• Add an exercise that targets a muscle group twice
• Add a set an exercise already in your workout 
• Increase the reps for an exercise already in your workout 
• Increase the amount of weight you lift per set

Remember that exercises should be challenging, not impossible. Listen to your body, train for the long run, and nail your form. The weight will come!

3. If I can't finish the recommended set, re, and wight combo, should I adjust the weight or the reps?

Either. 

The app converts all sets, reps, and weight schemes into an Estimated Strength number. So doing fewer reps or less weight will lower this number regardless of which one you reduce. The app will see you did less than recommended and will recommend slightly less next time. The opposite is true if you do more than recommended. If you are unable to complete the recommended sets, the app will see this and next time lower the prediction by a little bit.

Related Resources: Estimated Strength

4. Do I have to follow Fitbod's recommended workouts?

No, you do not have to strictly follow Fitbod's recommended workouts. Fitbod is designed to offer customization according to your preferences and goals. If you prefer to create your own workout from scratch, you can do that too by using our exercise list, which includes over 1,500 exercises. Simply log your exercises, monitor your muscle recovery state, view your exercise history, and enjoy the peace of mind that your exercise history is safely stored. 

Below are some customizable workout features you can do while using Fitbod: 

• Create your own workouts from scratch with Fitbod's extensive exercise library
• Modify sets, reps, and weights for any exercise 
• Delete or replace an exercise with a different one for the same muscle group 
• Edit target muscle groups 
• Save workouts 
• Turn two to more exercises into a superset or circuit 

Related Resources: Editing Workout

5. If my first set is too easy (with little to no effort), do I increase weight or do more reps?

For safety and effectiveness, its generally recommended to complete the entire suggested set before adding extra reps, as long as you can maintain proper form. Remember, the goal isn't to "max out" or completely exhaust yourself after the first set, since you'll likely have, more sets to complete - overdoing it early can catch up with you quickly. the app will adjust your future recommendations based on any additional sites, reps, or weights you add. If the exercise still feels too easy even after adding extra reps, consider increasing the weight - this is especially helpful when you're focusing on building strength. Alternatively, if your second-to-last set feels too easy, you can slightly increase the weight and finish the exercise at the adjusted weight. Any changes you make to set/reps/weight, the app will account for this in your recommendations for the next time you perform the exercise. 

***Important Note:  

Please keep in mind that this is a general response and if you have a specific goal of lifting heavier weight for competitive purposes this advice might not pertain to you. For additional information or questions, feel free to reach out to Ask a Trainer program by sending an email to [e-mail].