How to prescribe exercises with sets and training variables

When you add an exercise to a client's plan you do not just choose the exercise: you set how many sets it has and which variables you define in each one. Those variables are the columns of the set editor, and you choose them for each exercise.

That is why TrainerStudio is not just for strength. With the same editor you can prescribe a squat at 4 × 8-12 with 80 kg, a 10 km run at 5:30 min/km in zone 2, 8 × 400 m intervals, 45 minutes on the bike at 75% of FTP or a 40-second plank. The only thing that changes is the columns.

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The basics: sets and variables

A prescribed exercise is a table:

• Each row is a set.
• Each column is a training variable: reps, weight, RPE, rest, distance, pace…

In each cell you write the target for that variable in that set. Your client sees those targets in their app and, when training, logs what they actually did in each set. That way you can compare what was prescribed with what was done.

If you want to know what each variable means and when to use it, see Training variables.

1. Add the exercise and open its sets

1. Open your client's plan (or a program in your library) and go to the day you want.
2. Add an exercise to the block.
3. Open its sets to edit them and press «Add set».

The editor is a table on desktop and an adapted version on mobile. They do the same thing; when a button is in a different place, this guide says so.

The first set is created with these columns, in this order:

It is a starting point designed for strength. You can change the values, remove the columns you do not use and add the ones you need. If you have already applied one of your set templates to that exercise, the first set starts from that template's columns.

2. Add and adjust the sets

• Press «Add set» again to create another row. The new set copies the values of the previous one, so you only need to tweak what changes.
• Edit any cell to give each set its own target: a pyramid, a lighter ramp-up set, a last set to failure…
• To delete a set or change its type, on desktop use the bin and the selector in the first column (# / Type); on mobile, the set options.

Set types

By default every set is a working set. You can mark a set with another type so your client knows how to do it:

3. Choose the training variables

Columns are not fixed. For each exercise you decide what you want to prescribe:

• Add a column: press «+ Column» to the right of the table (on mobile, «Add training variable») and choose the variable from the catalog. They are grouped by category and each one includes a description.
• Swap one column for another: open the column header menu and choose «Change column». The values you had already written are kept and the column takes the new variable's default unit (meters for Distance, for example), so check it.
• Change the unit: from the same menu (kg or lb, seconds or minutes, min/km or min/mi…).
• Reorder: on desktop, drag the column; on mobile, use «Move left» and «Move right».
• Delete: «Delete column» removes it from every set of the exercise.

Column changes apply to every set of the exercise, and only to that exercise: each one can have its own variables.

The variables are organized into five categories:

The Training variables guide explains each one, with its units and when to use it.

Exact value or range

Each numeric column can be prescribed in two ways:

• Exact: a single value. 10 reps, 80 kg, 90 s.
• Range: a minimum and a maximum. 8-12 reps, RPE 7-8, pace 5:20-5:40.

On desktop you just type it in the cell: 10 is an exact value and 8-12 a range. On mobile you choose it with «Exact» or «Range» in the column options.

Use a range when you want to leave the client room to autoregulate and an exact value when the target is fixed.

Notes

Notes is the only free-text column: "per leg", "slow lowering", "to technical failure". It is the last column of a new exercise and starts empty. Your client reads it exactly as written, below the set, and it does not go into any calculation. You have the details in Training variables.

Beyond strength: prescribing endurance

There is no "cardio mode" to turn on. To prescribe endurance, change the exercise's columns: remove Reps and Weight and add Distance or Work time together with Pace, HR zone or Power.

Two examples:

Squat — 4 sets

400 m repeats — 8 sets

In intervals, each repeat is a set. You have more combinations (continuous running, cycling, swimming, rowing, isometrics, unilateral work) in Training variables.

Save time: set templates

If you often repeat the same structure, there is no need to build it every time:

• Quick presets: ready-made schemes, grouped into Strength (5×5…), Hypertrophy (4×8-12 RIR 1, Drop set…), Endurance (5K Z2, 20-min threshold…) and Speed (8×400m repeats…).
• Your templates: from the «Templates» menu, save the current columns and values with «Save current values as template» and bring them back in any exercise with «Load an existing template». A template can also include the notes column with its text.
• Repeat last session: copies the values the client logged for that exercise in their last session. It only appears when you edit a client's plan.

To reuse whole days or blocks, see How to reuse sessions and blocks with templates.

What your client sees

In their app, your client sees each exercise with a summary of what was prescribed (for example, 4x8-12@80kg). When they open it to log their results, they find a table with the same columns you chose, with your targets as a reference in each cell. For each set they note what they did and mark it as completed. Notes appear below their set, read-only.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• Training variables
• How to create routines
• Calculate weight from 1RM
• How to reuse sessions and blocks with templates
• Circuit timer