The weight on the bar moves when you've earned it
Show up, log your sets, and the weight on the bar goes up when you've earned it, not when a calendar says so. No AI guessing at your training. Every number comes from a rule you can read, and it tells you which set of yours produced it.
Five progression methods, all first-class
Double progression (target rep range, fixed sets, load increases when the top of the range is hit), linear (fixed load increment per session), RPE (autoregulated load from rate of perceived exertion), percentage (% of estimated 1RM, recalculated per Epley), and wave loading (cycle through intensity blocks).
Pick one for your whole program. Changing it later, from your training settings, rebuilds the program around the new method. A coach can go further and set the method lift by lift. Whatever the method, you get told why the number moved and which sets moved it: log 8, 8 and 8 reps at 100 kg against an 8-rep top of range, and the next session reads "all sets at top of range" and puts 102.5 kg on the bar.
A deload closes every block
Every block is four hard weeks and a deload week, so fatigue gets cleared before it piles up for months. Train with a coach and they set the rhythm, anywhere from two to twelve hard weeks before the deload.
The deload itself answers to your training. The week you see in your program is the week your logger prescribes: fewer sets at the same weight, or the same sets 12.5% lighter, and the block after it picks up from your pre-deload loads rather than the lighter ones. With recovery tracking on Pro, a run of low-recovery days can bring the deload forward, and you can undo it if you'd rather train through. On Pro you can also mark any week of your program as a deload in the periodization calendar.
Equipment-aware program generation
Tell MuscleBuddy what equipment you have access to (or your gym does). Every program generated filters to lifts you can actually perform. No "barbell back squat" prescriptions when your home gym is dumbbells-only.
The exercise library runs 300+ movements and counting, each tagged with the muscles it trains, the equipment it needs, and how hard it is to learn. When a lift doesn't fit your setup, you get a substitute that trains the same thing.
What training hands the other three modules
Training is one of four modules, and it does not run on its own. On Pro, your training schedule tilts your meal plan's carbs toward training days and your session minutes count toward your hydration target. Your session load also sits next to recovery from HRV and resting heart rate on the Pro analytics chart, so you can see where a heavy week and a rough recovery stretch line up.
Upkeep runs the other direction, in a narrower way. An appointment shows how your recovery and mood looked around it, so there is context if training changed that week. Each module has its own page for what it does with what training reports.
No black box
Every load MuscleBuddy prescribes traces back to sets you actually logged. You can check its work, and so can your coach. Nothing here is "the AI decided to deload": the same training data always gives you the same answer, and the answer comes with its reasoning attached.
If you train with a coach, they can override any of it. MuscleBuddy suggests; your coach approves, changes, or throws it out.
Frequently asked
- Can I use my own program?
Yes. Bring your own program: log your sets and MuscleBuddy handles the load adjustments from there. Or generate a fresh program from one of 5 templates.
- Is the AI generating my workouts?
No. Your program and every load on it come from rules, not a language model. AI handles the conversational parts, coaching chat and summarizing your check-ins, and never touches the numbers you train by.
- What methods does MuscleBuddy support?
Double progression, linear, RPE, percentage, wave, and manual override. You pick one for your program; a coach can set it per exercise.
- How does deload work?
Every block closes on a deload week, after four hard weeks unless your coach sets a different cadence. With recovery tracking on Pro, a run of low-recovery days can bring it forward, and on Pro you can mark deload weeks yourself in the periodization calendar.
- Does the training engine know my gym's equipment?
Yes. Set your gym profile once; programs filter to supported equipment automatically.
Train hard. Let us handle the math.
Free, forever: workout logging, program generation with auto-progression, the curated program library and the Rep Coach tempo pacer. Pro ($9.99/mo) adds periodization and training phases, per-lift progression and volume analytics, wearable-driven readiness and auto-deload and filmed rep-tempo and cue checking.