New features are coming! Excited to announce TWO of our top requested features. With this beta update, you’ll be able to hear yours truly say how many reps you have to do when your rest timer ends (e.g. “5 reps” instead of the usual “ding”). Toggle this on by tapping the timer icon top-right during any workout. Also, you can now customize your equipment in full for plates, dumbbells, and pulleys. This gives you full control over your increments, min, and max weights for exercises using those implements. Big thanks to all who voted for these features!

Full release notes (version 2134)

– Added: “X reps to do” after rest timer
– Improved: Subsequent reps and sets adjustments after first work set
– Improved: Onboarding cards (responsive design)
– Fixed: Custom increments at the exercise level now override global equipment settings
– Fixed: Pyramid sets on pulley exercises now always match equipment settings
– Fixed: Protein recommendations now update instantly to match your body weight

Coming soon
– Better onboarding

Full release notes (version 2124)

– Added: Custom pulley increments
– Improved: Onboarding screens on first open
– Improved: “Finish workout?” overlay at end of workout
– Improved: Updated Google Play billing library to 4.0
– Fixed: The app now correctly recommends easy variations of body part priority exercises during easy workouts
– Fixed: Pistol squat is now a unilateral exercise

Coming soon
– Custom pulley increments

Full release notes (version 2115)

– Added: Custom dumbbell increments
– Improved: Feedback site (layout and voter registration)
– Fixed: “No training in 5 days” notification sent in error in rare cases

Coming soon
– Custom pulley increments

Full release notes (version 2106)

– Added: Countdown to auto-hide on Start workout overlay
– Improved: Workout preview email (unsubscribe links)
– Improved: End-of-workout question rating the workout
– Improved: Workout coaching tips (clearer, simpler text)
– Fixed: Confirmation message for workouts rated “good” not showing

Full release notes (version 2091)

– Added: Push/pull/legs gym programs levels 4-6
– Improved: Increments for users without small plates
– Improved: Workout duration estimate
– Fixed: Cannot change custom exercise from heard to medium in rare cases

Full release notes (version 2079)

– Added: “Prepare for today’s workout” email reminder
– Improved: “How hard” question for bilateral exercises
– Improved: Video demo for Cable Upright Row exercise
– Fixed: Cable Chop is now a bilateral exercise
– Fixed: Rest timer when adding an extra set
– Fixed: Rare issue causing server utilization to spike
– Fixed: Order of backoff set when adding sets

Full release notes (version 1588)

– Added: Anatomical exercise video demos (phase 1: demo workouts only)
– Added: Explainer popups when tapping home page charts
– Improved: App now remembers your bar weight selection
– Fixed: Unswapping an exercise deletes progress on unfinished exercises

Coming soon
– Anatomical video demos for more exercises

Total strength is here! Before, on the chart on your home page, you would see your strength averaged across all the exercises you were doing. But when you did new exercises (some with lighter weights), your average could actually go down (even if all your individual exercises were going up). That was rather misleading and we’d like to thank all the users who patiently reported it. The issue is fixed! You can now see your total strength instead. Everytime you do a new exercise, it goes up. And when you increase your strength on that exercise, it will go up as well. Notice any issue with the app? Let us know, we release updates almost every week.

Full release notes (version 1574)

– Added: Callouts during onboarding
– Improved: Walkthrough of 22 smart features
– Improved: Strength chart on home page (showing true total strength)
– Fixed: Chin-up (easy) is now a bodyweight exercise
– Fixed: Custom increments decimals when switching kg/lbs

Coming soon
– Smarter “Tired today?” popup

Full release notes (version 1561)

– Added: Custom chat solution (loads 20% faster)
– Added: 2 kettlebell exercises (Swing and Thruster)
– Improved: Program setting (moved to Settings page)
– Fixed: 1.25 lbs and 0.5 kg plates now show for all users
– Fixed: Text display in dark mode
– Fixed: Login issue with Facebook

Coming soon
– Improved walkthrough of 22 smart features

Having a pure strength program is our #1 most requested features, so I’m excited to bring it to you today! Obviously, a pure strength phase makes you stronger. But some coaches also believe it can help you build more muscle in the long run, as tension is a key driver of muscle growth (and tension increases when you lift heavier weights). Wanna try it out? You’ll find our new powerlifting programs under Workouts > Gym. To make it your current program, save any of its workouts. If you already have some experience benching, squatting, and deadlifting, I suggest starting at levels 2 or 3.

Full release notes (version 1541)

– Added: Powerlifting program
– Improved: Account creation (better reviews)
– Improved: Subscription page (better reviews, annual button)
– Improved: Plate calculator (bar weights in 0.5 kg / 1 lb increments)
– Fixed: Crash issue related to Google Play service
– Fixed: Edits to custom programs now save as expected
– Fixed: App now asks how hard the first set was as expected

Coming soon
– Get your program by email

Full release notes (version 1526)

– Added: “Take the tour” of app features
– Added: 5 new exercises
– Improved: Multiple equipment profiles (less text and loading)
– Improved: Home and arms workouts for users with just dumbbells
– Fixed: Edit workout no longer conflics with body part priority

Coming soon
– New onboarding (with 2 steps) and improved demo at the end

Smart watch integration is our #1 most requested features, so I’m super excited to bring it to you today! You can now save sets and workouts on your watch. More features are coming, and we’ve loooooooove to hear from you. What features would you like us to build next for your watch? Let us know!

Full release notes (version 1494)

– Added: Smart watch integration (iOS and Android)
– Fixed: Demo videos for some exercises

Coming soon
– Multiple equipment profiles

Changed goals? Want a fresh new program, but not sure how to configure all the advanced settings inside Dr. Muscle? We got you covered! You can now reconfigure your account easily with a guided walkthrough. It can update your program, goals, and settings, but won’t reset your training history or exercise progress. You’ll find the new Reconfigure button at the bottom of your Settings page.

Full release notes (version 1491)

– Added: Walkthrough to reconfigure account (program, goals, and settings)
– Added: User reviews to account creation
– Improved: Home page headline (shows strength going up or down)
– Fixed: Exercises sometimes won’t open on iOS
– Fixed: Removed Barbell Row from dumbbell-only programs
– Fixed: Welcome back popup sometimes shows incorrect recovery times

Coming soon
– Smart watch integration

In recent updates, we moved the Workouts menu from a button at the bottom of the home page, to a menu at the top-right of the home page, to the Exercise page now (in the bottom navigation bar). We think it has finally found its place ;- )

Full release notes (version 1467)

– Added: Workouts to Exercise page (bottom bar)
– Improved: Design of home page, exercise page, and workout summary
– Fixed: Diet tips should now appear in all weekly recap emails

Coming soon
– Faster account creation and onboarding

How many weeks have you been working out in a row? Now you can tell, with the new weeks streak icon on your home page. Every time you open the app, you’ll see a reminder your dedication is paying off, and I bet it will put a smile on your face. Miss a workout? Don’t worry. As long as you work out a least once a week, you won’t lose your streak. And the app will remind you to. I’ve been working out 22 weeks in a row. How about you?

Full release notes (version 1445)

– Added: Weeks streak, icons, and body weight to home page
– Added: Recommended recovery and next workout to Workout summary
– Added: Body weight under settings
– Improved: Look and feel of Exercise results and Workout summary pages
– Fixed: Charts now show correct dates under data points

Coming soon
– Smarter guidance for your recovery

Full release notes (version 1409)

– Added: Welcome back! Popup when you open the app
– Added: Congratulations messages after milestone workouts (5, 10, 20, 50, 100+)
– Improved: App speed by computing warm-ups locally
– Fixed: When you edit a workout on the fly, you’ll now see your edits right away
– Fixed: Wrong exercises in some featured programs

Coming soon
– New app: Eve Diet Coach (adjusting calories based on your body weight progression)

Full release notes (version 1390)
– Improved: Design of results page after you finish an exercise
– Fixed: History sometimes displays inaccurate weights

Coming soon
– New app: Eve Diet Coach (improved account creation and order new meal plan flows)

You can edit any workout on the fly in Dr. Muscle. But until now, those changes were saved in your session, and you would lose them if you logged out or reinstalled the app. Not anymore! We now save your edits to our database, so you’ll still see them after you log back in.

Full release notes (version 1373)
– Added: Edit workout changes now survive log out
– Improved: Weekly recap email (now includes lifetime stats)
– Fixed: Wrong weights and reps in coach tip line in some cases

Coming soon
– New app: Eve Diet Coach (simplified meal questions and notification text)

Confused about an exercise? We’ve just made it easier than ever to watch a video demo. Every exercise in the app now has a Video button next to it (only custom exercises you create don’t). We’ve also renamed the Edit button next to all exercises to More (it describes that button’s function better). Hope you like it!

Full release notes (version 1352)
– Added: Video button next to all exercises in workouts
– Added: Video button next to all exercises on exercise page
– Added: Now accepting email format email+whatever@gmail.com
– Improved: Max strength (1RM) chart for new exercises (removed estimates)
– Improved: Replace the pen (edit) icon with More next to exercises
– Fixed: Display issues with exercise Swap function

Coming soon
– New app: Eve AI Diet Coach (in-app version update notification)

Wanna prioritize a body part? In Settings, you can now choose from biceps, chest, or abs (for men) or abs, legs, and glutes (for women)—we selected those based on popular parts among users. This will add one exercise for that muscle group at the end of all relevant workouts. That way, you’ll still do balanced, optimal workouts. But that body part will now progress a bit faster.

Full release notes (version 1329)
– Added: Prioritize a body part
– Improved: Toggling on “I have a chin-up bar” now also adds chin-ups to bodyweight workouts
– Fixed: “Working out” text on home page

Coming soon
– New app: Eve AI Diet Coach (added meal plan ready popups)

Training is hard. It requires time, knowledge, and motivation. Life can get in the way, and it’s easy to get off track. Fear not: we got you covered. The next time you travel, or you’re in a slump, if you can’t train for 5 days, Dr. Muscle will suggest a short, 10-min bodyweight workout. You’ll get a reminder email, and a notification on your phone. Don’t want them? No problem, you can opt out. This is just one more way we’re improving Dr. Muscle so it helps you get (and stay) in top shape.

Full release notes (version 1312)
– Added: Can’t train for 5 days? Stay on track with 10-min bodyweight workouts
– Added: New guide on training safe with coronavirus
– Improved: Workout frenquency suggestion for reminders
– Fixed: Duplicate welcome message inside app chat

Coming soon
– New diet app

Want to speed up your workouts? You can now toggle on 30-min mode (2 work sets) or 45-min mode (3 work sets) under Settings.

Full release notes (version 1301)
– Added: 45-min mode (3 work sets per exercise)
– Added: “Include cardio?” to account creation
– Added: Reload workout after changing global settings
– Improved: Account creation (removed confirmation steps)
– Improved: Google or Facebook photo in app chat
– Fixed: Custom sets now also apply to pyramid sets

Coming soon
– New diet app
– Customize equipment (chin-up bar)

When you open Dr. Muscle, you’ll see a new Learn tab at the bottom. Tap it to learn about your reps, your program, and your recent progression.

Full release notes (v1283)
– Added: Learn tab with custom coaching tips
– Added: 17 new exercises (many bodyweight)
– Improved: Home page layout (dashboard style)
– Improved: Layout of my.dr-muscle.com
– Fixed: Log in failed when using Facebook
– Fixed: Crash when deleting a custom program

Coming soon
– New diet app
– Better chat

No dumbbells? No problem! In Settings, you can now toggle off dumbbells to swap out all dumbbell exercises from your workouts automatically.

Full release notes (v1264)
– Added: toggle off dumbbells to swap out all dumbbell exercises
– Improved: exercise videos in fullscreen
– Improved: design of action buttons (green is now blue)

Coming soon
– Share a free month
– New diet app

We’re making Dr. Muscle even more flexible! You can now customize sets at the workout level to create Heavy, Low, Medium days (and other popular routines).

Full release notes (v1250)
– Added: Customize sets at the workout level
– Added: Recommended weekly workouts to reminders
– Improved: New user onboarding (demo first + walk-through)
– Improved: Reps when exercise is “very, very hard”
– Fixed: Auto-correct keyboard now works in chat (thx Ben!)
– Fixed: Cannot log in with Facebook (thx Neil!)

Coming soon
– New diet app
– Customize equipment (dumbbells)

By default, Dr. Muscle does not include cardio in your program. You don’t have to do cardio to get lean and doing too much can slow down your mass gains. But you may want to do cardio for other reasons (e.g. it’s like medicine for your health). High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is the most efficient cardio for fat loss (Boutcher, 2011), so I usually recommend it to clients who want to do cardio. To add a short HIIT session to your workouts, you can now simply toggle on “Cardio” in Settings. To add cardio to a single workout, add it as you would any other exercise (search for “HIIT Cardio”).

Full release notes (v1225)
– Added: Cardio! Support for HIIT (more coming soon)
– Added: Lower weights instantly when very, very hard
– Improved: It’s easier to select pyramid sets now (new menus)
– Improved: Design of workout and exercises lists
– Fixed: Weight lowers twice for very hard left/right side exercises
– Fixed: Chat notifications now open Dr. Muscle on chat page

No plates? No problem! Toggle them off under Settings, and the app will swap out all plate exercises from your workouts. In most cases, you’ll get dumbbell variations instead. Update also includes two more top requested features: plate calculator shows on fullscreen timer now, and easy/medium exercises are now setup automatically.

Full release notes
– Added: Toggle plates off to swap out all plate exercises automatically
– Added: Plate calculator to fullscreen timer
– Added: “New update!” popup that links to new features
– Added: Pictorials to exercises lists
– Improved: Easy and and medium exercises (automatic setup)
– Fixed: Background of unlock featured program screen
– Fixed: “Your last workout was 1 hours ago”

The secret to building muscle is to get stronger over time. But as you work out and build strength, you also accumulate fatigue. When you accumulate too much fatigue, your progress slows down, or stalls. That’s when you should deload. Dr. Muscle automates that for you, but some users have requested more control over deloads. That’s why I’m pumped to bring you today’s update. Now, you can cancel a deload when the app suggests one, or trigger one yourself when you feel you need to.

Full release notes:

– Added: 13 new dumbbell exercises
– Added: manual deloads
– Added: cancel a deload
– Improved: workout interface (yellow buttons)
– Improved: timer for unilateral exercises

Now, if you toggle off “I have a pulley” under Settings, you automatically swap out all pulley exercises from your Dr. Muscle workouts. Similar exercises (that don’t require a pulley) replace them.

Goto et al. (2004) studied back-off sets. They found that lifters who did back-off sets gained more strength and endurance than those who did not. There was also a trend (p = 0.08) for more muscle gain. Good news! Dr. Muscle now automates them for you. You’ll do a back-off set on your last set whenever you have three or more work sets. This update also includes better looking exercise cards and pictorials, as well as easier and more frequent challenges.

You can now work out with fewer and shorter load times. In our tests, the app now loads 36% faster (opening a workout, doing 4 sets of an exercise, and saving it now takes 31 seconds, down from 48).

You’ll now get better coaching tips during your workouts (e.g. “10 x 200 lbs 3 days ago—now try:”).

We’ve merged the default and custom exercises lists and moved all navigation to the bottom bar.

You can now edit any workout on the fly. Swap exercises or add and reorder them with the new floating action button.

You can now create and do unilateral exercises (like dumbbell rows). When you do them, the app will guide you as you do all sets for side 1 and then all sets for side 2.

Next time you work out, you’ll notice a big white + button. Tap it to add any number exercises of exercises to your workout on the fly.

You’ll now get a notification on your phone when you chat with 1-on-1 support inside the app and we reply.

Previously, you could customize reps at the global and exercise levels. Now, you can also customize reps at the workout level. Great for templates with heavy / light / medium days.

We’ve added new, more challenging bodyweight programs to the app (levels 3-4).