Managing Programs
Once you've created programs, here's how to manage them.
Active program
You can have one active program at a time. This is the running mesocycle that appears on your home screen and drives your mesocycle grid.
Pausing a mesocycle
If you want to switch to a different program mid-cycle, you don't have to lose your progress. When you start a new mesocycle, your current one is automatically paused — all your workout data and week position are preserved.
You can also manually pause a mesocycle without starting a new one. Paused mesocycles remain visible in your program list and can be resumed at any time.
Resuming a paused mesocycle
Open a paused mesocycle and tap Resume. This picks up right where you left off — same week, same exercises, same logged data. If another mesocycle is currently running, it will be paused automatically (only one can be active at a time).
Abandoning (archiving) a mesocycle
If you're done with a mesocycle and don't want it cluttering your program list, you can abandon it. This hides it from your normal views but retains all the data — your workout logs and progression history are preserved for reference.
Pausing is for mesocycles you plan to come back to. Abandoning is for mesocycles you're done with but want to keep the data. Completing is for mesocycles you finished as planned.
Viewing a program
Open any program to see:
- Mesocycle grid — All weeks × workout days with completion status
- Workout days — List of days with their exercises
- Settings — Mesocycle length, progression mode, deload toggle, RIR settings
Starting a mesocycle
To begin training a program, open it and tap Start Mesocycle. You'll be prompted to set the number of loading weeks for this run — you can override the template default here. This is useful when you want a shorter block before a competition or a longer block when building volume.
You'll also set reference weights for each exercise — HyperIron suggests these from your workout history, but you can accept, adjust, or skip them. Reference weights anchor the entire progression curve, so it's worth getting them in the right ballpark. If you get them wrong, you can adjust mid-cycle.
Once started, the active mesocycle appears in the mesocycle grid. The next unstarted workout shows a play button so you can jump straight into it without hunting through the grid.
Editing a program
There are two kinds of edits:
Editing the template
You can edit a program template at any time. Template edits only affect future mesocycles — they don't change a currently running mesocycle.
- Add or remove exercises — New exercises start with your configured defaults
- Change target sets or rep ranges
- Adjust progression settings — Weight increment, progression mode, min RIR
- Add or remove workout days — Restructure your split
Editing the active mesocycle
While training, you can also modify the active mesocycle directly:
- Change exercises, sets, or rep targets — Takes effect from the next workout
- Adjust progression settings — These changes apply to the remaining weeks only
Edits to the active mesocycle don't change previously logged workouts or the original program template. Changes apply to future sessions only.
Changing the week count mid-mesocycle
If you need to extend or shorten a running mesocycle, go to the active program's settings and update the number of weeks. Weeks already completed are locked; only future weeks are affected.
Starting a new mesocycle
You can start a new mesocycle at any time — you don't have to complete the current one first. If a mesocycle is currently running, it will be paused automatically so you can come back to it later.
When your current mesocycle is complete (all loading weeks + optional deload), you can also start a fresh one. HyperIron offers to seed the new mesocycle from your performance data:
- Weights carry forward based on your actual logged performance
- Volume carries forward from your final auto-regulated set counts
- Exercises carry over by default — you can swap variations at this point
This is also a good time to adjust mesocycle length, toggle deloads, or change progression modes based on what you learned from the last block.
Duplicating a program
Create a copy of an existing program as a starting point for a new one. Useful when you want to keep the same split but change exercises or settings.
Deleting a program
Delete a program you no longer need. Logged workout data associated with the program is preserved in your history — only the program template is removed.
Multiple programs
You might have several programs saved for different goals:
- A hypertrophy-focused PPL program
- A strength-focused program for peaking
- A maintenance program for deload periods or busy weeks
Start a new mesocycle from whichever program fits your current goals.