Getting started

Badger is a workout tracker for lifters. This guide covers what you need to log your first workout within a few minutes of installing.

Installation

Download Badger from the Google Play Store. On first launch you'll go through a short setup:

1. Weight unit - Choose kilograms or pounds. This sets the default for all exercises, though individual exercises can override it.
2. Import data - If you're coming from another app (FitNotes, Strong, or Hevy), you can import your full history here. You can also do this later in Settings.

That's it. You're dropped straight into the home screen.

Your first workout

Badger organizes training around workouts (a day's session) and exercises (movements within that session). Here's the basic flow:

1. From the Home tab, tap New workout. This creates a workout for today and opens the exercise picker.
2. Find the exercise you want. You can scroll by category, search by name, or filter by muscle group or equipment type.
3. Tap an exercise to add it to your workout. You'll land on the training screen.
4. Enter your weight and reps (or whatever fields apply to your exercise type), then tap the checkmark to log the set.
5. The rest timer starts automatically. When it finishes, log your next set.
6. When you're done, tap Add exercise to move to the next movement, or use the exercise list (tap the exercise name in the header) to navigate between exercises.
7. Back on the home screen, tap End workout when your session is complete. This stamps the end time and shows your workout summary.

Setting up a routine

If you train on a fixed program, setting up a routine makes starting workouts faster - it pre-fills exercises and weights for you.

1. Go to the You tab → Routines.
2. Tap the + button to create a new routine, or browse the built-in programs (StrongLifts, 5/3/1, PPL, and others are pre-installed).
3. Long-press a routine and tap Set active. The routine's days appear on the Home screen.
4. Tap a day's row to preview the workout, adjust any weights, then tap Start.

See Routines for the full details.

Importing from another app

Badger can import your full workout history from FitNotes, Strong, and Hevy. Go to Settings → Data and tap the relevant import row. The flow is the same for all three:

1. Tap the import row. The file picker opens automatically.
2. Select your exported CSV (or .fitnotes backup for FitNotes).
3. Badger shows a preview: exercises, workout days, sets, and weight unit. Any exercises already in your library are reused by name - duplicates are avoided automatically.
4. Tap Import to confirm.

New exercises are placed in an "Imported" category. Sets are appended to any existing workouts on the same date - nothing is overwritten. You can edit exercises and reassign categories in the exercise library afterwards.

FitNotes

Export from FitNotes via Settings → Backup to produce a .fitnotes file, then select it in Badger.

Strong

In Strong, go to Profile → Settings → Export Data to generate a strong.csv file. Badger detects the weight unit automatically from the column header (Weight (kg) vs Weight (lbs)) and handles both comma-delimited (most locales) and semicolon-delimited (some European locales) exports.

Hevy

In Hevy, go to Profile → Settings → Export Data → Export as CSV. Badger detects the weight unit (weight_kg vs weight_lbs) and imports warmup sets correctly (Hevy marks them with set_type = warmup).

Key concepts

A few terms that come up throughout the app:

• Working set - A regular logged set at your training weight.
• Warmup set - A lighter set done before working sets. Toggle the warmup chip before logging.
• RPE - Rate of Perceived Exertion (1-10). How hard did the set feel? Optional per-set field.
• RIR - Reps in Reserve (0-5). How many more reps could you have done? Optional per-set field.
• 1RM - One-rep max. Badger estimates this from your sets using the Epley formula.

Full definitions in the Glossary.