Routines & programs

Your program.
Not ours.

Most lifting apps — including the algorithmic ones — want to write your training. flexRep doesn’t. The routine system is a light template layer for the program you already trust, with per-exercise targets, mesocycle structure, and substitutions on tap.

We don’t pick your routine. We make the one you picked easier to follow.

The stance

A routine is a template, not a curriculum.

Most lifting apps treat the routine as the product. flexRep treats it as scaffolding for the work — visible when you reach for it, transparent the rest of the time. The work is the work. The template is just a place to put a target weight.

What flexRep does

Provides a light template layer for the program you already trust. Stores per-exercise targets. Supports mesocycle structure. Suggests substitutions when equipment is unavailable. Gets out of the way.

What flexRep doesn't do

Pick your program for you. Tell you which routine is "right" for your goals. Bundle a paywalled marketplace of branded programs. Optimize you with a recovery score we made up.

Program as a graph

Six layers. One real graph.

Most apps store your block as a string in a notes field. flexRep models it as a real graph — entities all the way down. Every analytic that touches a program reads from the structure, not from your handwriting.

PROGRAM 9 weeks

5/3/1 — Heavy Block

accumulation → intensification → peak → deload

MESOCYCLE Weeks 1 – 4

Volume accumulation

RPE cap 7 · ascending volume · no missed reps

MICROCYCLE Week 2 · 4 sessions

Mon · Wed · Fri · Sat

lower push · upper pull · lower pull · upper push

ROUTINE Wednesday · upper pull

Pull Day · A

4 exercises · ~45 minutes · 90-second default rest

EXERCISE TARGET prescription stamped per set

Barbell Row

  • S15 × 185 lb · RPE 6.5 · rest 2:00
  • S25 × 205 lb · RPE 7.0 · rest 2:00
  • S35 × 225 lb · RPE 7.5 · rest 2:00
SET — LOGGED target met +5
230 × 5 RPE 7.0 · 2:14 rest

stamped with the prescription it satisfied. Adherence updates automatically.

Four layers, lightly held

The routine system, fully exposed.

Every layer is optional. You can use flexRep with no routine at all — just log sets. Or you can structure your block all the way down to per-exercise RPE targets. The system meets you where you train.

LAYER 01

Mesocycle

4–12 weeks

The block you're currently in. Hypertrophy, strength, peaking, deload, recovery, your own label. Tagged so analytics know which phase a session belongs to.

LAYER 02

Routine

1 session

A reusable template — "Push Day," "Squat Day," "5/3/1 Wednesday." Ordered exercises with target sets, reps, RPE, and rest. Names are yours; structure is yours.

LAYER 03

Exercise targets

per lift

Per-exercise target weight, reps, RPE, and rest interval. Optional. Pre-fills the log surface but never enforces. Miss your target by two reps; flexRep notes it and moves on.

LAYER 04

Substitutions

in the moment

Squat rack taken? Tap "find a substitute" — flexRep suggests exercises sharing the movement pattern, weighted by what you've actually done before. Your call to accept.

One block · 9 weeks · 4 acts · 30 sessions

A program, written down.

One mesocycle, fully exposed — four acts, every week, every day. The kind of structure flexRep stores natively, without flattening it into a notes field or hiding it behind a marketplace.

  1. I
    WEEKS 1 – 4

    Accumulation

    Build the work capacity. RPE caps at 7. Volume climbs.

    1. WK 01
      • MON · Push
      • WED · Pull
      • FRI · Legs
      • SAT · Upper accessory
    2. WK 02
      • MON · Push
      • WED · Pull
      • FRI · Legs
      • SAT · Upper accessory
    3. WK 03
      • MON · Push
      • WED · Pull
      • FRI · Legs
      • SAT · Upper accessory
    4. WK 04
      • MON · Push
      • WED · Pull
      • FRI · Legs
      • SAT · Upper accessory
  2. II
    WEEKS 5 – 7

    Intensification

    Sets get heavier. Reps fall. RPE creeps to 8.5.

    1. WK 05
      • MON · Bench
      • WED · Squat
      • FRI · Deadlift
      • SAT · Optional pull
    2. WK 06
      • MON · Bench
      • WED · Squat
      • FRI · Deadlift
      • SAT · Optional pull
    3. WK 07
      • MON · Bench
      • WED · Squat
      • FRI · Deadlift
      • SAT · Optional pull
  3. III
    WEEK 8

    Realization

    A single heavy day per lift. Belt on. RPE 9 to true 1RM.

    1. WK 08
      • MON · Bench top single
      • WED · Squat top single
      • FRI · Deadlift top single
  4. IV
    WEEK 9

    Deload + reset

    60% of working weight, halved volume. Stall detection weighs this week differently.

    1. WK 09
      • MON · Light push
      • WED · Light pull
      • FRI · Light legs
  5. FIN
    WEEK 10

    Open block. Decide the next.

    Block comparison opens automatically. Top e1RM per lift, weekly volume delta, average RPE delta, fractional muscle distribution. Two taps from Insights.

— graph-stored · prescriptions stamped per set · deload tagged · adherence tracked —

Programs flexRep supports

Bring your own. We've handled them all.

A non-exhaustive list of programs the routine layer accommodates without modification. We don't bundle them. We don't sell them. We don't paywall them. We just don't get in their way.

Program
Style
Frequency
Anchor
5/3/1 (Wendler)
Strength · powerlifting
4×/wk
percentage-based
nSuns 5-Day
Strength · powerlifting
5×/wk
percentage-based
PPL (Push/Pull/Legs)
Hypertrophy · general
3-6×/wk
rep-range
PHUL
Power-hypertrophy hybrid
4×/wk
rep-range
Renaissance · MEV/MAV
Hypertrophy · evidence-based
variable
volume-based
Texas Method
Strength · intermediate
3×/wk
volume + intensity
GZCLP
Strength · linear-progression
4×/wk
tier-based
Upper / Lower split
General · balanced
4×/wk
rep-range

Don’t see yours? It’s almost certainly fine — the layers above accommodate roughly any periodized strength or hypertrophy structure. Custom programs are a fifteen-minute setup once, then forever.

What the layer can do

Six behaviors. All opt-in.

Each can be on or off per routine. Defaults are conservative. Toggles are obvious. Nothing nags you about a routine. Nothing surprises you mid-set.

Auto-progress

Optional. Bump suggested weight when the previous session hit target with RPE under 8. Off by default — you can leave it off forever.

Deload weeks

Tag a week as a deload; analytics weight it differently in stall detection and volume rollups.

Exercise swap

Substitute any exercise per session without modifying the routine. Original routine intact; this session's record reflects what you actually did.

Pin per gym

A routine can be tagged to a primary gym so plate calculator uses the right inventory.

Live editing

Modify a routine mid-session; the change saves to the template only if you confirm.

Routine history

See how a routine actually played out across the block — average target hit rate, missed sessions, total volume.

The anti-pattern

What we won’t ever build into the routine layer.

A coach you didn’t ask for, telling you what to do next. AI-generated programs that change every week based on a recovery score we made up. A subscription model where the “real” program lives behind a paywall. A marketplace where coaches sell you their plan.

The routine system stays a template layer. Forever. If you want an AI coach, there are six apps that do that. flexRep is the one that doesn’t.

See the full refusals list Or how the app talks →

Run your program. Log the work.

The routine layer is here when you want it. The log surface works fine without it.

Request beta access See the logging surface →