Exercise Library
HyperIron includes a built-in library of 290+ exercises covering all major muscle groups and equipment types.
Browsing the library
Open the exercise library from the main menu or when adding exercises to a program. You can:
- Search by name — Type to filter (e.g., "bench", "curl", "squat")
- Filter by muscle group — Show only exercises that target a specific muscle (chest, back, quads, etc.)
- Filter by equipment — Show exercises for barbell, dumbbell, cable, machine, bodyweight, etc.
Sorting by muscle group
When browsing the By Muscle Group view, tap the sort button to change the order:
- Alphabetical — A–Z by exercise name
- Contribution % — Highest muscle activation percentage first (then alphabetical)
What's in the library
Each exercise includes:
- Name — Standard exercise name
- Primary muscles — The main muscle groups targeted with activation percentages
- Secondary muscles — Supporting muscles involved, also with percentages
- Equipment — What equipment is needed
- Default resistance type — Weight, bodyweight, cable, machine, etc.
- Bodyweight factor — For movements that lift part of your body mass, the fraction counted per rep (pull-up ×1, push-up ×0.65, squat pattern ×0.85). Movements that don't lift body mass carry an explicit ×0 — cable crunches (the stack supplies the resistance), Russian twists (rotation, not lifting), and isometric holds like planks — so they never add bodyweight to your load numbers. Shown on the exercise card when greater than zero, and on the detail view whenever set; it feeds Total-lens volume and e1RM.
Example: Barbell Bench Press
| Muscle | Activation |
|---|---|
| Chest | 100% |
| Triceps | 60% |
| Front Delts | 40% |
This means one set of bench press counts as 1.0 effective chest sets, 0.6 triceps sets, and 0.4 front delt sets for volume tracking.
Using library exercises
When you add a library exercise to a program, all its properties (muscles, default resistance type) come with it. You configure:
- Target sets and rep range
- Progression mode and starting weight
- Any exercise-specific overrides (min RIR, weight increment)
Exercise detail
Tap any exercise to open the exercise detail panel. It shows:
- Muscle activation — Which muscles are worked and at what percentages
- Volume contribution — How many effective sets per muscle group this exercise contributes based on your program's prescribed set count
- Weight entry — For hand-held implements, which convention to log: One hand ×2 (enter one dumbbell or handle's weight; volume counts both) or Combined weight (enter the total held). See Dumbbell exercises
- Performance chart — A bar chart of your recent sessions for this exercise (max weight and working sets), so you can see strength trends at a glance
- YouTube search link — Tap to search YouTube for the exercise name, useful for checking form or finding cue videos
Can't find an exercise?
If the library doesn't have what you need, create a custom exercise with your own name and muscle activation percentages.