A "workout" is a single training session composed of one or more blocks. You might generally think of it as a one or two hour training block where the athlete begins a workout with a warm-up, practices some aspect of training, then ends with a cool-down.
Workout principles & best practices
Here are some general principles to consider when building workouts:
Naming
You generally want to give the workout a succinct, descriptive name that informs people what the workout is about. For workout templates, you'll want to give it a unique name that makes it easy to distinguish from other workouts in the library. The name appears in various contexts, including in the calendar, in the program interface, and in the mobile app where athletes will be following the workout.
Blocks
The workout's blocks are where you define the actual work do be done in the workout. As a best practice, try to keep individual blocks small and concise. This generally leads to a better user experience for both coaches and athletes, because it's easier to manage and consume information in small chunks. For example, if your workout calls for 3 sets of 5 @ 65% for bench press, back squat, and hang clean, then separate out those three exercises into their own blocks.
Workout flow
When athletes receive workouts on a mobile device, or when workouts are displayed on the digital whiteboard, the interface is laid out such that each block will be executed in order. So try to design the flow so that each block can be executed independently and in sequence.
Creating workouts
Workouts can be created in a number of different contexts:
In the training library
In a program
On the calendar
Create a library workout
To create a workout template that can be inserted into programs or onto the calendar, head to the Training Library and create a library workout.
Create a program workout
Workouts can be created from scratch within a program by clicking on a program day. This opens the simplified program workout builder, which allows you to give the workout a name, description, and facility. You can create new blocks for the workout from scratch, or you can search and insert blocks from your training library.
See the program building guide for more details on building workouts within the program context.
Create a calendar workout
Workouts can be created from scratch on the calendar by clicking on a time slot. This opens up the new calendar workout form where you select who the workout is scheduled for and assign it a facility.
After saving the workout, you're taken to the workout builder where you can further build out the training instructions.
(Additional options can be configured for calendar workouts by clicking the "Edit" button in the top right of the workout builder.)
Workout builder
The workout builder is the interface for building out workouts. As noted above, the standard workout builder is used when creating workouts in the training library and on the calendar. A simplified workout builder is used for building program workouts.
Workout building context
It's important to recognize the importance of context when building workouts. Specifically, building workout templates in the training library makes them available for future use in programs or on the calendar. Library workouts are not assigned to anyone in particular.
Building workouts on the calendar or in a plan program, however, is effectively scheduling it for execution on the given date. Just keep this in mind to avoid confusion around how workouts ultimately end up getting deployed.
The examples here demonstrate building workout templates for the library.
Add blocks
The main task when building workouts is adding the blocks. The contents of the blocks, as well as their order, dictates the flow of the workout. When building workout templates in the library, you have two options for adding blocks:
Build a new block from scratch.
Insert an existing block template from your training library.
Build a block from scratch
You can build a workout block from scratch using the block builder. Simply click the "New block" button and select the "From scratch" to get started.
See the guide on building blocks for more information about building blocks from scratch.
Insert a block template
If you've created any block templates in your library, you can easily insert those into a workout by selecting the "From library" option in the new block dropdown.
This enables you to quickly search for and insert a block template from the library into the workout.
Add an image
You can attach an image to a workout to provide a visual component for athletes when they follow the workout. Simply expand the image option and drag/drop an image from your computer into the image capture area, or click to open your file browser.
Workout images are displayed in a number of places when the workout is deployed.
Mobile phone
When an athlete views the workout on their mobile phone calendar, the image will be displayed on the workout card.
TV mode
If the workout is pulled up in TV mode from the calendar, the workout's image will be displayed in the background of the screen.
