How Hevy Trainer Settings Work

This article explains how to access Hevy Trainer settings and how each setting affects your Hevy Trainer program.

Hevy Trainer settings are divided into two categories:

1. Modify My Program: These settings can be changed without creating a new Trainer program.
2. Start New Program: Changing one of these settings creates a new Trainer program and removes progress associated with your current program.

How to Access Hevy Trainer Settings

To access Hevy Trainer settings:

1. Open the Workout tab.
2. Tap Workout in the top-left corner.
3. Select Trainer from the dropdown menu.
4. On the Trainer page, tap the sliders/settings icon in the top-right corner.

This opens the Hevy Trainer settings page.

Modify My Program Settings

Level

The Level setting controls the fitness experience level used by Hevy Trainer.

Available options:

• Beginner
• Intermediate
• Advanced

You can change this setting without starting a new program.

Equipment

The Equipment setting tells Hevy Trainer which equipment you have available. Trainer uses this information when selecting exercises and suggesting weights for you.

You can select a predefined equipment setup or create a custom setup.

Predefined Equipment Options

At Home

Includes:

• Dumbbells
• Adjustable bench
• Pull-up bar

Garage Gym

Includes:

• Dumbbells
• Barbell
• Weight plates
• Kettlebells
• Pull-up bar
• Squat rack
• Adjustable bench
• Dip bar
• Spinning machine

Commercial Gym

Includes:

• Dumbbells
• Barbell
• Weight plates
• Kettlebells
• EZ bar
• Pull-up bar
• Squat rack
• Adjustable bench
• Dip bar
• Single-cable machine
• Lat pulldown cable
• Leg press machine
• Stack machines
• Treadmill
• Spinning machine
• Elliptical

Large Gym

Selecting Large Gym marks all available equipment as available.

Custom Equipment

You can select Custom if:

• You have a specific combination of equipment available.
• You want Trainer to use only certain types of equipment.

After selecting Custom, you can manually select each piece of equipment you have available.

For some equipment, you can also configure the specific weights available to you:

• Tap Dumbbells to select your available dumbbell weights.
• Tap Plates to select your available plate weights.
• Tap Barbell to select your available bar weights.

Important Rule for Dumbbell Weights

The dumbbell weights you select in Equipment represent the weight of one individual dumbbell.

For exercises that use two dumbbells, Hevy Trainer displays the combined weight of both dumbbells.

Example:

• Available dumbbells: 5-30 lb each
• Possible Trainer weight suggestions for an exercise using two dumbbells: 10-60 lb total

For exercises that use two dumbbells:

Displayed exercise weight = weight of dumbbell 1 + weight of dumbbell 2

Focus Muscle Group

The Focus Muscle Group setting allows you to choose a muscle group that you want to emphasize in your program.

Changing this setting causes Trainer to include more exercises that target your selected muscle group.

However, selecting a focus muscle group does not mean that every exercise in your program will target that muscle group.

Your program will still include exercises for other muscle groups.

Workout Duration

The Workout Duration setting controls the desired estimated length of each Trainer workout.

The duration you select is a target or estimate. It is not a guaranteed workout duration.

Your actual workout duration can vary depending on factors such as:

• How long you take to complete each set
• Your rest time
• Exercise setup time
• Your individual workout pace

Rest Timer Length

The Rest Timer Length setting controls the default rest timer durations used in your Hevy Trainer workouts.

Available options:

• Short: approximately 1 minute 15 seconds to 1 minute 45 seconds
• Medium: approximately 1 minute 45 seconds to 2 minutes 15 seconds
• Long: approximately 2 minutes to 3 minutes

Important Rest Timer Rule

Changing the Rest Timer Length setting is the way to permanently change your rest timer durations for Trainer workouts.

If you manually change a rest timer during an active Trainer workout, the change only affects that workout.

Changing a rest timer during an active workout does not permanently change your Rest Timer Length setting for future Trainer workouts.

Program Variety

The Program Variety setting controls how frequently exercises in your Trainer program change.

Available options:

Consistent

• Your exercises remain the same.
• Trainer does not regularly replace exercises based on program variety.

Balanced

• Your exercises are changed after approximately 6 weeks.

Variable

• Your exercises can change weekly.

The Program Variety setting controls exercise rotation. It does not change the number of workouts assigned to you each week.

Cardio

The Cardio setting controls whether cardio is added to your Trainer workouts.

You can:

• Disable cardio.
• Add cardio at the beginning of your workout.
• Add cardio at the end of your workout.

Adding cardio at the beginning of your workout can be used as a warm-up before resistance training.

Adding cardio at the end of your workout can be used to add additional cardiovascular activity after resistance training.

Excluded Exercises

The Excluded Exercises setting contains exercises that you do not want Trainer to recommend.

There are two ways to exclude an exercise.

Method 1: Exclude an Exercise From Your Program

1. Find the exercise in your Trainer program.
2. Tap the three dots beside the exercise.
3. Select Don't Recommend Again.

The exercise will be added to your Excluded Exercises list.

Method 2: Add an Exercise Through Settings

1. Open Excluded Exercises in Trainer settings.
2. Tap Add exercises to exclude.
3. Select the exercise you do not want included in your program.

Removing an Exercise From the Excluded List

All exercises you exclude using either method appear under Excluded Exercises.

To allow Trainer to recommend an exercise again:

1. Open Excluded Exercises.
2. Tap the three dots beside the exercise.
3. Select Remove from list.

After you remove the exercise from this list, it becomes eligible to be included in your Trainer program again.

Injuries

The Injuries setting allows you to identify areas of your body where you currently have an injury or limitation.

Trainer uses this information when selecting exercises for your program.

When you select an injured body area:

• Trainer attempts to avoid exercises that may aggravate the selected area.
• Some exercises involving that area may still be recommended if Trainer considers them lower-impact.
• Exercises that may affect the selected injury can display a warning.

Selecting an injury does not necessarily exclude every exercise that uses that body area.

Start New Program Settings

Settings in the Start New Program section work differently from the settings above.

Changing one of these settings causes Hevy Trainer to create a new program.

Starting a new program removes your current Trainer program and its associated program progress, including:

• Progress Report data for your current program
• Weekly workout tracker progress for your current program

Changing one of these settings is therefore not simply an edit to your existing program.

Split Type

The Split Type determines how muscle groups or workout types are distributed across your weekly workouts.

Trainer automatically assigns a default split based on your workout frequency.

Default Split by Frequency

• 1 day per week: Full Body
• 2 days per week: Full Body
• 3 days per week: Full Body
• 4 days per week: Upper / Lower / Upper / Lower
• 5 days per week: Push / Pull / Legs / Upper / Lower
• 6 days per week: Push / Pull / Legs / Push / Pull / Legs

You can manually select another compatible split type if you do not want to use the default split.

Split Type Restrictions

Full Body

Available for:

• 1-day frequency
• 2-day frequency
• 3-day frequency
• 4-day frequency
• 5-day frequency

Not available for:

• 6-day frequency

Upper / Lower

Available only for:

• 2-day frequency
• 4-day frequency
• 6-day frequency

Push / Pull / Legs

Available only for:

• 3-day frequency
• 6-day frequency

You can only select a Split Type that is compatible with your workout frequency.

Changing your Split Type starts a new Trainer program.

Goal

The Goal setting controls the primary training goal of your Trainer program.

Available goals:

• Gain Strength
• Build Muscle
• Fat Loss

The goal you select affects how Trainer structures your program, including the rep ranges assigned to your exercises.

For example:

Gain Strength

Generally emphasizes:

• Lower rep ranges
• Higher training weights

Build Muscle

Generally emphasizes:

• Higher rep ranges than a strength-focused program
• Resistance training designed around muscle hypertrophy

Fat Loss

Configures your program around your selected fat-loss training goal.

Changing your Goal starts a new Trainer program.

Frequency

The Frequency setting controls how many Trainer workouts you are assigned each week.

Changing your workout frequency can also change your program's default Split Type.

Default split behavior:

• 1-3 workouts per week → Full Body
• 4 workouts per week → Upper / Lower / Upper / Lower
• 5 workouts per week → Push / Pull / Legs / Upper / Lower
• 6 workouts per week → Push / Pull / Legs / Push / Pull / Legs

You can select another compatible Split Type using the Split Type setting.

Changing your Frequency starts a new Trainer program.

Setting Recommendations

Each Trainer setting can display a recommended option.

These recommendations are based on information and guidance gathered from personal trainers.

The recommendation is intended to help you choose an appropriate setting, but you can select another available option.