Strength workouts
For a strength session the record that matters is the list of exercises you did, and training load is computed from volume and effort rather than heart rate. This article covers both.
Logging a strength session
Select Add Workout under Workouts (or Log Workout on the dashboard) and choose Strength as the activity type. Alongside the usual date, duration, calories, heart rate, perceived effort, and notes, the form shows an exercise list.
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Exercise name | Free text, one row per exercise. |
| Sets | A whole number; the row starts at 3. |
| Reps | Text, so a range or a scheme works: 10, 8-10, or AMRAP. |
| Weight | Optional. |
| Unit | A toggle between kg and lbs, starting from your unit system. Each row has its own. |
Add Exercise adds a row; the cross on a row removes it. Rows with an empty name are dropped when you save. Only the activity type, date, and duration are required; a session logged with nothing but a duration still counts.
Perceived effort matters more for strength than for any other sport, because it is the main input to the session’s load (see below). Rate the session as a whole, not the hardest set. See Workouts and the training calendar for the rest of the form.
What the detail page shows
Open the session from its day on the calendar. Under the metrics the session has (Duration, Calories, Avg HR, and Max HR when you entered them) an Exercises table lists each row with its sets, reps as you typed them, and weight with its unit, or a dash where there is none. Perceived effort shows as flames out of 10. The page has no pace, elevation, or map sections for a strength session. Delete asks you to confirm.
How load is computed for lifting
Every workout earns load points from its duration and intensity. For strength the intensity comes from what you lifted rather than from heart rate:
- With an exercise list, the volume score is the sum of sets times reps across the exercises. A reps range such as 8-10 counts as its midpoint, 9; AMRAP or any other text counts as 10.
- Without an exercise list, the form’s plain sets and reps are used.
- With neither, the session falls back to perceived effort alone, as any sport does.
The volume score is multiplied by an effort factor (perceived effort divided by 5, so a 5 is neutral, a 10 doubles it) and by the duration. Heart rate is not used for strength load even when a watch recorded it, which is why a hard lifting session with a low average heart rate still scores as hard, provided you logged the sets or rated the effort.
The calendar’s weekly column and the Training Load page treat these points like any other sport’s, so a heavy week of lifting moves fatigue, fitness, and form in the same way a heavy week of running does. See Training load and readiness.
Strength programs
The library’s strength programs, Novice Linear Progression (12 weeks) and Strength Wave Cycle (16 weeks), prescribe their working weights as percentages of your one-rep maximums. When you schedule one, each weight variable is set from your profile:
- A variable that names a percentage of your maximum uses that percentage directly.
- A variable named for its intensity uses a standard share: light or warm-up 50 percent, moderate or hypertrophy 70 percent, heavy or strength 85 percent, max 95 percent.
- Set and rep variables scale with the week, so an early week has fewer sets and reps as well as lighter weights.
The maximum VegaLoop prescribes from is the average of the lift maximums you entered on your profile (squat, bench, deadlift, overhead press), or the default for your level when you entered none: 60 kg for Beginner, 100 kg Intermediate, 140 kg Advanced, 185 kg Elite. Weights are stored in kilograms and shown in your unit system, so the prescribed weight is the same whichever unit system you use.
Each week is also scaled by a progression curve: a Beginner’s first week prescribes about half of the goal session and steps up 5 percent a week; Intermediate starts at 65 percent and steps 4; Advanced 75 and 3; Elite 80 and 2. Every fourth week of a program without its own cycle shape is a deload at 70 to 82 percent depending on level. Enter real maximums before scheduling, or complete the 1RM Estimation Test; otherwise the program is scaled from the default for your level. See Fitness tests and thresholds and Training programs.
A scheduled strength session is completed by a synced or logged strength workout on the same day within the usual time and duration windows, or by hand with Mark Complete or Log with Details. See Plan sessions that complete themselves.
Strength sessions from a watch
A watch’s strength, weight training, or gym activity arrives as a Strength workout with the duration, heart rate, and calories the device recorded. The exercise list is filled only when you log by hand, so a synced gym session has no sets or reps and its load falls back to heart rate where the provider sent it, or to a moderate effort otherwise. If you want the volume counted, log the session by hand with its exercises; if a device copy of the same session then arrives within 5 minutes of its start, the device version replaces yours and keeps your notes. See Duplicate or merged workouts.