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Exercise Substitution

Swap an exercise mid-mesocycle without losing your place in the program.

When to substitute​

  • Equipment is unavailable or occupied
  • An exercise aggravates an injury
  • You want to try a different variation for a muscle group

How to swap an exercise​

  1. On the workout screen, tap the swap icon (arrows) next to the exercise name
  2. Choose a scope:
    • This week only — the original exercise comes back next week automatically
    • This week forward — the swap applies for the rest of the mesocycle
  3. The exercise picker opens, pre-filtered to the current exercise's primary muscle group
  4. Browse, search, or change the muscle/equipment filters to find your replacement
  5. Tap an exercise to confirm the swap

The workout screen updates immediately with the new exercise, its LAST performance data, and fresh set inputs.

Scope details​

This week only​

Use this when the change is temporary (e.g., bench is taken, you'll do dumbbell press today).

  • The original exercise returns automatically in the next week
  • Your program template is unchanged
  • Sets logged during this week are recorded under the substitute exercise

This week forward​

Use this when you want to permanently replace the exercise for the rest of the mesocycle (e.g., switching to a shoulder-friendly pressing variation after a tweak).

  • The exercise slot shows the replacement from this week through the end of the mesocycle
  • Completed weeks are untouched — they keep showing the original exercise with its logged sets, exactly as you performed them
  • Weight increment is reset for the new exercise; load re-anchors automatically from the new exercise's own logged history (or your first session with it)
  • Swapping back to the original within the same week fully cancels the swap — nothing is lost, including the original's load anchor
  • Your program template is unchanged, so starting a new mesocycle from the same template will use the original exercise

What carries over​

When you swap an exercise, the following are preserved from the original:

  • Target sets, reps, and RIR
  • Position in the workout (exercise order)

The following are reset:

  • Working weight (re-anchors from the new exercise's history, or your first logged session)
  • Weight increment (cleared — set a new increment if needed via the delta chip)
  • LAST performance data (shows the new exercise's history, if any)

Swapping in the program editor instead​

The scopes above exist because you are mid-session. If you want to change the plan itself — permanently in a template, or for the rest of the mesocycle in a running program — swap from the program editor instead, where each exercise row has its own swap button. See Swapping an exercise.

Tips​

  • You can swap the same exercise multiple times — each swap overwrites the previous one
  • To see what the original exercise was, check your program template on the Programs screen
  • Swapping does not affect sets you've already logged in the current session