Logging workouts

The training screen is where you spend most of your time. It has three tabs: Log (set entry), Graph (progress chart), and History (past sessions for this exercise). Swipe left or right to switch between them.

Today screen

The Today screen (home tab) is your daily hub. It shows the current date, an optional workout timer in the app bar, and several cards depending on your state:

If you have an active routine, your routine days appear at the top with a Start button for each. Tap a day to open the routine log preview before starting.
This Week - A compact card showing how many days you've trained this week, plus muscle-balance warnings if any groups haven't been trained for a while. Visible whenever you're on the Today screen - whether mid-workout or between sessions.
Weekly volume chips - Colored chips showing sets logged per muscle category this week. Colored dots indicate groups that need attention. Tap any chip to open the muscle balance detail sheet.
Monthly report - During the first two weeks of a new month, a dismissible card shows last month's highlights: workout count, total volume (with % change vs the month before), and how many exercises you tried for the first time. Tap × to dismiss it.
Deload banner and Plateau card appear here when those features are active (see Deload and Plateau detection).

Logging a set

The Log tab shows input fields at the top and your logged sets below. The fields shown depend on the exercise type - a barbell exercise shows weight and reps; a plank shows only time; a row machine might show weight and time.

Enter your weight and reps (or duration, distance, etc.) using the +/− steppers or by tapping the field and typing.
Tap the ✓ checkmark to save the set.

The set appears in the list below. The rest timer starts automatically if you have that setting enabled.

Editing and deleting sets

Tap a set row to load it into the input fields for editing. Tap the checkmark again to update it. To deselect without saving, tap the same row again.

Long-press a set row to delete it. A confirmation dialog appears before deletion.

Repeat last set

The repeat button (next to the checkmark) copies your last working set in one tap - useful when you're doing multiple sets at the same weight and reps.

Warmup sets

The warmup chip above the input fields toggles whether the current set is a warmup. Warmup sets are displayed with a "W" badge instead of a set number, and are excluded from volume calculations, PR checks, and progress graphs.

You can also let Badger generate warmup sets automatically:

Tap the ⋮ menu in the top right → Add warmup sets.
Pick a style and the number of sets. The sheet recalculates instantly and pre-checks every row - uncheck any you don't want.
Confirm to insert them at the start of your set list.

Two styles are available:

Percent - a classic ramp as a share of your working weight (3 sets gives the familiar 40% × 8, 60% × 5, 80% × 3).
Plates - evenly spaced jumps from the empty bar up to a tight final warmup, with every weight rounded to something you can actually load.

Either way, every suggested weight is rounded to a load your equipment can reach - the gym's plates for a barbell or plate-loaded machine, or the stack increment for a selectorized machine - and is never rounded above your working weight. Fewer sets means bigger jumps; more sets means a gentler ramp. If two warmups land on the same convenient weight, Badger merges them.

Set your usual style and default number of warmup sets in Settings → Logging. You can override both for a specific exercise on its edit screen (handy for lifts like floor work that need fewer, heavier warmups).

The "Add warmup sets" option becomes "Replace warmup sets" once warmup sets already exist for that exercise. If a routine already defines warmup sets, those are used as-is - the generator only fills the gap when none are defined.

Intensity tracking (RPE & RIR)

Two optional fields sit under Set details, below the main inputs:

RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) - How hard did the set feel, on a scale of 1-10. 10 is a true max effort.
RIR (Reps in Reserve) - How many more reps could you have done, 0-5. 0 means you hit failure.

Both are optional and can be used independently. They're hidden when the warmup toggle is active. Logged values appear as small badges on each set row.

Next to the steppers there's a To failure chip. Tapping it sets RIR to 0 in one tap instead of three, and tapping it again clears it. It's a shortcut for the RIR stepper, nothing more - the two always agree because they write the same value.

Coming up short vs skipping a set

These are two different things and Badger treats them differently.

If you were aiming for 8 and got 6, log the 6. It's a real set: it counts toward your volume, it shows in your history, and it feeds plateau and deload detection. On a routine workout the summary will show it as under plan, which is exactly the information you want later when you're wondering why progress stalled.

Skip is for a set you didn't do at all - you ran out of time, the rack was taken, something hurt. A skipped set is left out of your history and out of the detection features, because nothing happened to measure.

The short version: if you lifted, log what you lifted. Only skip what you genuinely didn't do.

Seeing your target while you log

When a workout was started from a routine day, a line above the set recorder shows what the plan asks for and what you did last time - for example "Plan 8-10 · Last 8 @ 80 kg". It follows along as you work through the sets, so you can always check the number you're typing against both.

Workouts that didn't come from a routine have no plan to show, so the line doesn't appear.

Collapsing the set details

The Set details section holds the controls you reach for less often: the warmup toggle, the RPE/RIR steppers and the To failure chip. Tap its header to collapse it, and the set recorder shrinks to just weight, reps and the complete check.

It starts expanded, so nothing is hidden until you choose to hide it. Collapse it once and it stays collapsed everywhere, for every exercise, until you open it again. When it's collapsed, the header still spells out anything that's in effect behind it - for example "Warm-up", "RPE 8" or "To failure" - so a set never saves with something you can't see.

Rest timer

The rest timer shows as a chip near the top of the training screen. While running, the chip counts down to zero, then plays a sound and/or vibration (configurable in Settings). Tap the chip to open the rest timer sheet.

Timer controls

Tap the rest chip to open the sheet. While the timer is running it shows three buttons:

Stop - Stop and dismiss the running timer.
+30s - Add 30 seconds to the running countdown.
Restart - Restart the countdown from the selected duration.

Pick one of the preset durations or type a custom number of seconds, then tap Start to begin a one-session timer at that length.

How rest duration is determined

Badger uses the following priority order:

One-session override (set via the rest chip dialog)
Routine-day inter-exercise rest (when switching between exercises in a superset group)
Exercise default rest (set in Exercise Settings)
Global default (set in Settings → Logging)
Last used duration
90-second fallback

Warmup sets use a separate, shorter rest duration - configurable per exercise or globally in Settings.

The rest timer does not start after the last working set of your last exercise.

On your lock screen (iPhone)

On iPhone (iOS 16.2 and later), the rest timer also appears as a Live Activity: a countdown card on the lock screen, and on models with the Dynamic Island, a compact countdown there while you're in another app. Tap it to jump back to your workout. When the timer finishes, the card flips to "Rest done".

The first time this happens, iOS asks "Allow Live Activities from Badger?" - that prompt comes from iOS itself, and allowing it is what lets the countdown show outside the app. You can change it later in iOS Settings under Badger.

One iOS limitation: if the timer finishes while your phone is locked, the notification plays the standard iOS sound rather than the Badger sound you picked. That's an iOS restriction on custom notification sounds in this situation, not a setting you can change.

Workout notification (Android)

While a workout is running, Badger keeps a notification in your notification bar showing the exercise you are on and the target for your next set, for example "85 kg × 8". It is there so you can check what is next from the lock screen or an always-on display without unlocking your phone. The elapsed workout time counts up next to it once the workout timer is running, and tapping the notification takes you back to the exercise you were on.

The notification follows you through the workout: it updates when you switch exercises, when a superset moves you to the next movement, and as you complete sets. If the current exercise has no sets left to do, it reads "No target set".

While the rest timer counts down, the same notification shows the countdown instead of the target, then goes back to showing the target when rest is over. Badger keeps this to a single notification rather than stacking a separate one for rest.

To turn it off, use Settings → App → Workout notification. Workouts you log for a past date never get one, since they are not timed. On iPhone the rest timer appears on the lock screen and Dynamic Island instead.

Skipping sets

If you need to skip a set (injury, time constraint, etc.), long-press it and select Skip. Skipped sets are shown with strikethrough text and excluded from all calculations. You can also skip or unskip all sets for an exercise at once via the ⋮ menu.

Skipping the last unresolved working set of an exercise auto-advances to the next exercise that still has work, exactly as completing it would. This respects the Auto-advance to next exercise setting (Settings → Logging) - turn it off to stay put. Skipping a set that isn't the last one to resolve leaves you where you are.

Supersets & exercise groups

A superset is a group of exercises you alternate between. When exercises are in the same superset:

They appear together as a named, colored block in exercise lists, and the training screen shows the superset's name under the exercise name.
After logging a set for one exercise in the group, Badger automatically switches to the next exercise (no rest timer between them).
After the last exercise in the round, the rest timer starts and you cycle back to the first exercise that still has work left.

Creating a superset

During a workout, open the training screen's ⋮ menu and tap Superset…, or open the All exercises list and tap Create superset. Check two or more exercises and confirm - the whole group is created in one step. Checking an exercise that already belongs to another superset moves it over (the row says so).

Editing a superset

Tap the superset's name - in the app bar during training, or on the block header in any exercise list - to open the superset editor. There you can:

Rename the superset and pick its color.
Drag members to set the order you alternate in.
Remove a single exercise without touching the rest of the group. If only one exercise would remain, the superset is removed automatically.
Add more exercises to the group.
Dissolve the superset entirely (with an Undo toast, and no logged data is affected).

The same flow works in the routine editor, and on past workouts from the workout summary screen - tap the superset header above an exercise card to fix up groupings after the fact.

Notes card

A collapsible card appears above the set input for exercises that have notes or technique instructions. Tap it to navigate to the full exercise notes screen. The card shows:

NOTES - your personal reminders for this exercise (form cues, machine settings, etc.).
INSTRUCTIONS - built-in technique cues (pre-filled for all built-in exercises).
GRIP - the currently selected grip type, when a machine with grip types is active. A quick reminder so you set up consistently every session.

The card expands automatically when you log an exercise that has personal notes.

Machine-scoped notes

When a machine is set, your personal notes become machine-specific. This means you can save different setup cues for the same exercise on different machines - for example, different seat-height reminders for two leg-press machines at the same gym.

The Exercise Settings screen title changes to "Notes · MachineName" when machine-scoped, making it clear which machine the notes apply to. Machine notes are shown in the notes card in the training screen alongside global instructions; global exercise notes are shown separately when both exist. Non-notes settings (increment, rest, instructions, muscle assignments) always apply globally to the exercise regardless of machine.

Per-set comments

Each set row has a comment icon on the right. Tap it to add or edit a comment for that set.

The comment icon shows a dot indicator if a comment already exists for that set.
Tap the icon to expand an inline text input field with a Save button.
Type your comment (e.g., "felt strong", "pain in elbow", "form was off") and tap Save to persist it.
Tap the icon again or collapse the field to save and close.
Comments are visible in your Workout Summary and History views (read-only).

Grip type

When a machine has grip types enabled (configured in the machine settings), a chip row appears below the set list so you can record which grip you used. The selected grip is also shown as a reminder in the notes card. Configure available grip types in You → Equipment → Machines.

Personal records

When a working set beats your all-time estimated 1RM for that exercise (on the same machine, if one is set), a trophy badge appears on the set row, a SnackBar notification appears at the bottom of the screen, and a haptic pulse fires (if haptics are enabled in Settings).

Progressive overload suggestions

While you're logging an exercise, Badger shows a suggestion line ("Suggested: 82.5 kg") directly above the input fields when you're ready to progress. The suggestion appears when all your working sets were completed in each of your last N sessions (configurable in Settings → Coaching, default: 3).

The suggested weight is your previous session's max weight plus your exercise's configured increment, then rounded to the nearest achievable step. When a machine is set, the machine's weight increment (if configured) is used as the rounding grid - so the suggestion always lands on a weight the machine can actually produce. Tap × to dismiss the suggestion for this session.

The suggestion is machine-scoped: it looks at history for the same machine you currently have set. Switching machines gives you a fresh suggestion based on that machine's history.

Auto-progress routine weights

By default this is off. Turn it on in Settings → Coaching → "Auto-progress routine weights". When it's on and you finish a workout that you started from a routine, Badger checks whether you lifted heavier than the routine planned. If you did, the workout summary shows an "Update [Routine] · [Day]?" section listing each exercise you progressed - for example 80 → 82.5 kg.

Each progressed exercise has a checkbox (checked by default). Tap Update routine and the checked exercises' new weights are written back into the routine's predefined sets, so next time you run the routine it starts pre-filled with the heavier weight instead of suggesting the same bump again. Uncheck anything you don't want to carry over. (If you have "Workout timer auto-stop" enabled, the same section also appears on the completion pop-up when you finish your last set.)

A few things to know:

It only ever raises weights - never lowers them. A lighter or matched session changes nothing.
It matches set by set, so pyramid and back-off schemes keep their shape - only the sets you beat go up.
Warmups and skipped or incomplete sets are ignored.
Nothing is ever changed silently: the setting controls whether the offer appears, and the checkboxes are your confirmation.
If you swapped an exercise for an alternative mid-workout, that slot won't auto-progress (it's no longer the same exercise the routine planned).

Exercise navigation

Tap the All exercises pill at the bottom of the screen to open the exercise list for your current workout. From there you can:

Tap any exercise to switch to it.
Drag to reorder exercises.
Tap Add exercise to add another movement.

Training screen menu (⋮)

The top-right menu offers additional actions for the current exercise:

Replace exercise - Swap the current exercise for a different one. Existing sets remain attached.
Plate calculator - Opens the plate calculator pre-filled with your current weight.
Warmup calculator - Reference tool showing 40/60/80% warmup weights.
Add warmup sets - Insert suggested warmup sets.
Exercise settings - Open the exercise notes screen to adjust defaults, notes, and muscle assignments.
Change gym - Switch which gym is associated with this workout.
Set machine - Assign a machine and attachment to the current exercise. At the bottom of the machine picker, tap New machine… to create one inline without navigating away. Similarly, at the bottom of the attachment picker, tap New attachment… to add a new attachment on the spot.

Resuming a workout

Forgot an exercise after you'd already finished? Open today's workout summary and tap Resume workout to reopen it and add what you missed. (Resume is only offered for today's workout.)

The elapsed timer behaves like a stopwatch: it picks up where it left off when you log the first set of the new exercise, so the idle time between finishing and resuming is not counted - only the extra active time is added. Adding a single set resumes and finishes almost instantly, so it adds essentially no time. Editing or re-marking sets on a finished workout never changes its recorded duration.

Exercise order

Did the exercises out of order - say a machine was free, so you jumped ahead? Badger records the order you actually performed them. As you complete the first set of each exercise, it slides into place in your done-so-far sequence; exercises you haven't started yet stay queued after. Your workout and its history then show the real order you trained, while your routine's planned order is left untouched for next time. You can still drag-reorder, and a drag sticks afterward if you want to nudge something.