programs, built set by set.
Day to workout to exercise to set, each prescribed as a percentage of the client's one-rep max.
a program is a shape, not a list.
A flat list of lifts tells a client what to touch but not how hard, or in what order, or why this week differs from the last. A program is a nesting: a day holds its workouts, a workout holds its exercises, an exercise holds its sets, and each set is prescribed as a percentage of that client's one-rep max. Trainbase builds the shape, then resolves every percentage to real weight from the strength the client actually has.
day to workout to exercise to set.
One program drawn as the hierarchy the whole product is built on. The spine is the structure a coach designs; the leaves are what the client trains. Here the back squat carries four working sets that ramp from a warm-up intensity to a heavy double, then a back-off at max reps. Every percentage is of this client's one-rep max, so the same template lands at the right weight for a 60 kg squatter and a 200 kg one.
a week of an upper-lower split.
A four-day upper-lower week, the workhorse split for intermediates. Main lifts are prescribed in percent of one-rep max; the percentages map to the rep targets by the same strength curve every lifter follows, where heavier means fewer reps. Two rest days sit where recovery does the building.
| day | focus | key lift | main work |
|---|---|---|---|
| mon | upper (strength) | bench press | 5 x 3 @ 85% |
| tue | lower (strength) | back squat | 5 x 3 @ 85% |
| wed | rest | mobility, walk | - |
| thu | upper (hypertrophy) | overhead press | 4 x 8 @ 72% |
| fri | lower (hypertrophy) | deadlift | 3 x 6 @ 78% |
| sat | rest | optional cardio | - |
| sun | rest | full recovery | - |
Strength days sit near 85% for low reps; hypertrophy days drop to 72-78% for higher volume. Percentages are illustrative working sets, after warm-up ramps, and resolve per client.
three ways to make the line climb.
Progress is not adding weight every session forever; that road ends in a stall or an injury. Periodization is how a coach plans the climb so adaptation outruns fatigue. The three classic models trade off differently, and Trainbase builds all three from the same set-and-percentage primitives. Undulating is highlighted: it manages fatigue well and suits the intermediates who make up most rosters.
| linear | undulating (dup) | block | |
|---|---|---|---|
| progression | load climbs, reps fall over weeks | intensity and volume vary within each week | phases of one quality, stacked in sequence |
| fatigue management | weak; fatigue accrues late | strong; hard and light days alternate | strong; deloads built between blocks |
| variety | low, can stale | high, every session differs | moderate, shifts each block |
| best for | novices, fast early gains | intermediates, busy rosters | advanced, peaking for a date |
Models reflect standard strength-and-conditioning programming. Most real plans blend them; a block can run undulating weeks inside it.
the drivers of progress, ranked.
A program only works if the inputs behind it hold. These are the levers that decide whether the line climbs, ordered by how much they actually matter over a training block. Progressive overload is the engine; everything else either fuels it or protects it.
the honest answers.
Why prescribe in percent of one-rep max instead of fixed weights?
Because one template should serve every client. A set written as 80% x 3 lands at the right weight for a beginner and an elite lifter alike, and it tracks their strength as it changes. Fixed weights go stale the moment a client gets stronger.
How do reps and percentages relate?
By the strength curve every lifter shares: heavier loads allow fewer reps. Roughly, 100% is one rep, 85% is about five, 75% is about ten. Trainbase uses that relationship so a coach can prescribe in either language and the numbers agree.
What is an AMRAP set, and why use one?
As many reps as possible at a set load, taken near but not to failure. It is the autoregulation lever: the reps a client hits at a fixed percentage reveal how recovered and how strong they are that day, which informs the next session.
Do I have to build every program from scratch?
No. Trainbase ships with over 1,600 templates to start from. A coach picks one, reshapes the days and percentages to the client, and assigns it. The structure is reusable; the weights resolve to the individual.