September 20, 2022
Structuring an effective workout plan is key to progress. Dial in your workout settings so the Fitbod algorithm can generate goal-hitting workouts you want to do. You can even create multiple Gym Profiles for different gym locations or situations!
Below are a few of the most-used Gym Profile settings. Explore the 10+ Gym Profile settings before your next workout and feel free to change them—or create a new profile—any time you want to tweak your routine.
1. Workout Duration
Select any workout duration: On our app, you’re covered from 1 minute to 4 hours!
We start you off at an hour, but you’re in control. Maybe you do an hour at the gym but you’ve only got twenty minutes at home. No problem: Each Gym Profile can have its own defined duration.
Pro tip: If you happen to have more or less time available for a single workout, use the Quick Edits menu (available on iOS and coming soon to Android devices) to have Fitbod generate a new workout for you that is 15, 30, 45, 60, or 90 minutes. It won’t affect your Gym Profile.
2. Training Splits
A “training split” divides your workouts by body region. They allow you to exercise regularly without overworking a particular muscle group. We offer a variety of them. Each considers your muscles’ fatigue and ranks exercises according to your fitness goals.
Keep using your routine, or start a new one with one of these splits:
Fresh Muscle Groups
Best for training 1 to 7 times a week:
- Build your workout based on the two freshest primary muscle groups, plus core (either abs or lower back)
- Exercises are prioritized based on exercise science’s best practices and your muscle recovery levels
Full Body
Best for training 3 or fewer times a week:
- Train your full body in a single workout
- Exercises are prioritized based on exercise science’s best practices and your muscle recovery levels
Upper/Lower Split
Best for: training 4-6 times a week
Best for training 4-6 times a week:
- Alternate between targeting your upper body and lower body
- Upper body: shoulders, biceps, triceps, upper back, neck, traps
- Lower body: glutes, hamstrings, quads, hip flexors, calves
- Core muscles (lower back and abs) can appear in either: Work them when they’re recovered
Push/Pull/Lower Split
Best for training 3-6 times a week:
- Alternate between Push, Pull, and Lower body workouts
- Push: Chest, triceps, shoulders
- Pull: Upper back, lower back, biceps
- Lower: Hamstrings, quads, glutes
3. Available Equipment
People usually base their Gym Profiles on available equipment: For example, one profile for home, one for the gym, and one for traveling.
Updating your profiles with the equipment you’ve got available will help Fitbod create the most personalized experience possible.
- Started going to a gym and now have access to a barbell? Add it for more variety!
- Only working with dumbbells? Tell us so you don’t have to keep replacing exercises.
- Feeling more confident with kettlebells? Swing them in!
PS: Find some of our favorite home gym equipment in the Fitbod Store.
4. Warmups & Cooldowns
Warmups and cooldowns are critical to your workouts. They reduce the risk of injury, improve performance, and boost recovery: All of which help your total progress.
Turning on warmups and cooldowns in your Gym Profile will give you a few minutes of moves that will complement your specific workout.
Learn more about warmups and cooldowns here.
5. Cardio Recommendations
Add cardio to your workouts! You can pick when: Either start training with a cardio session or finish your workout with one.
Use light cardio as a good warmup, cooldown, or both. Longer cardio sessions are different: When you do them will change their effects. If you’re trying to build endurance, do cardio first. If you’re building strength, do cardio last. We suggest this so you’ll be able to give your best effort to the most important part of your workout.
Change Up a Single Workout with Training Session Mods
In December 2022, we rolled out an easy way for you to tweak an individual workout, without needing to change your long-term Gym Profile settings: Training Session Mods, located at the top of the Workout screen. Play around with these settings to see real-time how your workout changes based on your selections.
Available Mods
- Duration: Able to fit in a longer-than-usual session? Bump up your duration for extra gains. Or running short on time? Shorten your workout to fit your schedule.
- Muscle Split: Just not feeling like Leg Day? Or want to test drive another split before committing? Select from fresh muscles, full body, upper body, lower body, push muscles or pull muscles and see how your recommendations change.
- Equipment: Waiting list for the squat rack? Borrowing a friend’s TRX for a few days? Adjust the equipment you do–or don’t–want to use, just for your next workout.
- Goal: C’mon, we know you’re curious: What would your workouts look like if you selected a different goal? The good news is you can change your goal anytime, so feel free to try them all: get stronger, build muscle mass, get lean and defined, build general fitness, or even practice powerlifting or olympic lifting. We recommend using Training Session Mods to get a couple sample workouts for the goal you are considering, and once you’re sold, make the switch in your Gym Profile and stick with it for several weeks to see results. Read more about selecting a goal.
- Difficulty: “How do I know when I’m ready to go from Beginner to Intermediate–or Intermediate to Advanced?” In short, it’s when you have the skills, movement patterns and motor control to do more complex exercises–not just brute strength. Think you’re ready to level up? Try out a more difficult workout before committing. And always feel free to reduce difficulty to get simpler moves.
- Exercise Type: Squeezing in a one-off workout at home or while traveling? Easily switch from All Exercises (which could use any equipment available in your Gym Profile) to Bodyweight Only.
Note that these changes will not be saved to your Gym Profile, so if you want Fitbod to automatically take these changes into consideration for all your workouts moving forward, you’ll need to make the change in your Gym Profile.
Have fun switching up your workouts, and stay tuned for more Mods to come!
