Most workout plans are fixed, meaning you must perform the prescribed method, even if your body or workout schedule changes. Also with fixed plans, you cannot change an individual exercise and easily understand how the broader workout is affected. 

Fitbod, however, designs a unique workout plan - in real time - based on a variety of personalized inputs. With dynamic plan construction, you can change individual exercises or a variety of other workout preferences and Fitbod will re-optimize the workout to appropriately incorporate any changes. 

When you open Fitbod, the app will examine the entire workout database & your exercise history to select the top exercise that best satisfies the following constraints:

• Targets a primary & recuperated muscle group that will be a point of focus for the workout.
• Chooses an exercise best aligned to your fitness goal (for example, Bodybuilding vs. Muscle Tone).
• Satisfies a variety of personal preferences from strength-training style, gender, and experience with strength-training, available equipment, and more. 

Next, Fitbod will select an exercise which represents the second-best option to satisfy the criteria above. Often this exercise may target the same muscle group, though may target a different muscle group, representing a secondary point of focus for the workout.

To round out the rest of the workout (and if the workout duration allows), Fitbod performs a similar exercise selection process to pick more exercises that both target fresh muscles and support the broader fitness goal (for example, Bodybuilding vs. Muscle Tone).

Lastly, strength-training best practices call for a number of core-body exercises that target the Abdominal and Lower Back muscle groups. These muscle groups act as muscular foundation, allowing you to perform proper technique and push the volume and intensity of exercises targeting larger muscle groups.

When an exercise is selected, Fitbod will suggest a number of sets and repetitions (reps) to perform based on the specific exercise and your fitness goal. In addition, if you performed the exercise in the past, Fitbod will incorporate prior sets and rep counts and recommend a weight based on your previous input. 

Recommended volume and intensity of an exercise - measured in the number of sets and reps - is calculated using a modified Prilepin’s formula, which our Personal Training Advisors use to design strength-training programs. Our approach first computes a theoretical One-Repetition Maximum using a modified Brzycki formula and incorporates all exercise sets done for the exercise. It then applies the Prilepin formula to find the optimal sets, reps and weight scheme.

Sets, reps and weight recommendations are also based on the non-linear periodization resistance technique, which alters the intensity/volume relationship in every workout. With this technique, you may not hit your limit or max effort in every workout, but the method will ensure that intensity and volume are varied and periodically increased over time. This ensures maximum effectiveness for both hypertrophy (muscle gain) or burning calories for weight loss.

Are you a beginner to weight lifting?

Not sure how much weight you should start with?

No worries! Let Fitbod do that work for you! With close to 8 million workouts and 52 million sets logged, Fitbod uses data science to recommend a starting weight for any exercise tailored to your fitness goal, fitness level and body profile (age and gender). Using this data, the app is able to determine a theoretical 1RM (1 rep max) for a given exercise. To reduce the risk of injury, especially for those who are new to strength training, Fitbod makes slight adjustments so that predicted values are more on the conservative side. The app then creates a set and rep scheme following 85-100% of the predicted value as your starting weight.

It is important to keep in mind that these are conservative recommendations so if you feel like the set, rep, and weight scheme provided to you is too easy, feel free to adjust the weight slightly. It is best to perform the set and rep recommendation to completion while feeling challenged during the workout. This will allow the app to create a better workout for you going forward.

*Important Note: Don't like the recommendations? Let us know by emailing support@fitbod.me. 

When you log an exercise, Fitbod measures the impact of the particular exercise, sets, reps and weight on a muscle group. After completing a full workout, Fitbod provides a composite heat-map visualizing how the set of exercises performed has collectively impacted the muscular system.

For an individual muscle group, Fitbod examines the sum of all exercises targeting that muscle group and assigns a muscle recovery percentage between 0% and 100%. Muscles fully recover over a 7 day period in Fitbod.

If you have granted Apple Health sync permissions, or input your Body Stats (Height, Weight, Age, Gender, etc), Fitbod will adjust your muscle recovery percentage appropriately. 

For cardio exercises, Fitbod will also take into account how often and frequent you log a given cardio exercise when computing muscle recovery state.

Fitbod attempts to design a full workout considering the relative freshness of all muscle groups. However, it’s not necessary to avoid a muscle until 100% recovery. You can continue to work semi-recuperated muscle groups as long as you provide ample recovery time. Fitbod will never recommend an exercise that targets a 0% recovered muscle group, unless under specific conditions.

Table of Contents

Introduction

iOS

Android

Introduction

Fitbod calculates calories burned based on the volume of weight lifted during a workout and the duration of the workout. Additionally, Fitbod uses your Weight, Height, Gender, and Age to further refine and improve the calories burned estimation. For iOS users, if you're using an Apple Watch as well, Fitbod will read in heart rate to factor into the calorie calculation.

Weight is a required entry for Calories Burned to be estimated. Input your weight by either connecting Apple Health (for iOS) within the Fitbod app (this will use your height and weight data from Apple Health) or input your weight manually (for Android). Instructions for both can be found below.

iOS

Connect to Apple Health

1. Open the Fitbod app
2. Log tab
3. Settings (top right corner)
4. Connected Apps
5. Apple Health
6. Select the option to Sync

Important note:

***You must have Fitbod Read permissions turned ON in Apple Health. To view this setting, please use the following steps:

1. Open Apple Health
2. Select your profile (top right)
3. Apps (under the Privacy section)
4. Fitbod
5. Date of Birth, Height, Sex, and Weight under the Read Data section should be toggled ON

Manually Enter your Body Profile Stats

1. Open the Fitbod app
2. Log tab
3. Settings (top right)
4. Body Profile (under the ABOUT YOU section)
5. Manually enter your body profile stats

Important note:

***If you have Apple Health synced with Height and Weight permissions turned ON, this data will automatically be filled in for you.

Android

Manually Enter your Body Profile Stats

1. Open the Fitbod app
2. Log tab
3. Settings (top right)
4. Body Profile (under the ABOUT YOU section)
5. Manually enter your body profile stats

Introduction

With Fitbod's superset and circuit feature, complete your exercises in rounds to take your workout intensity to the next level. To make your time at the gym easier, you have the option to normalize the weight for exercises within your superset/circuit to reduce the amount of equipment you need.

For supersets, Fitbod will normalize the weight of the second exercise to match the first if the equipment used is the same between both exercises (like the example shown below). The algorithm will match the weight but alter the set and rep scheme based on your exercise history (projected 1RM).

For circuits, Fitbod will normalize the weight of subsequent exercise based on the preceding exercise of the circuit. If exercise equipment differs or no exercise equipment is used in the preceding exercise, the algorithm will not normalize weight for subsequent exercises.

Please see the superset example below:

Before Normalization of Weight

After Normalization of Weight

For instructions on how to normalize weight in a superset/circuit, please visit Editing Workout: Normalize Weight in Superset/Circuit.