How the recovery map works
The map colours seven muscle groups by how hard you’ve worked them in the last three days. Here is exactly how it decides.
Red Worked hard recently. Give it time.
Amber Partly recovered.
Green Ready to train.
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Every exercise you log gets a load
When you finish an exercise, the app works out a load from what you logged:
Kind of exercise Load With weights sets × reps × weight Bodyweight sets × reps Cardio on a machine minutes × (1 + speed × 0.1 + incline × 0.05) Other timed cardio minutes × (1 + level × 0.25) So 4 sets of 8 bench presses at 60 kg is a load of 1,920. Weight is used as logged, in kilograms or pounds, so it only matters that you’re consistent.
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The load halves every 24 hours
Recovery takes time, so each load fades. A day later half of it is left, two days later a quarter.
load left = load × 0.5hours since / 24
Hours since 0 12 24 36 48 60 72 Load left 100% 71% 50% 35% 25% 18% 13% After 72 hours an exercise no longer counts at all.
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Loads add up for each muscle group
Every exercise belongs to one of seven groups: chest, back, shoulders, arms, core, legs and cardio. The faded loads from the last 72 hours are added together for each group. That total is the load score you see when you tap a group on the map.
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Each group gets a colour
Two rules decide the colour, and the group gets whichever of the two is lower, so green beats amber and amber beats red.
Compared with your hardest-worked group
The map doesn’t know what counts as a lot for you, so it compares your groups with each other. The group with the highest load score sets the bar:
- Red at two thirds of the top score or more
- Amber from a third to two thirds
- Green below a third
A load score under 25 is always green, so one light set doesn’t turn a group red just because it’s the only thing you’ve done.
How much of the load is left
Comparing groups alone would keep your last session red for all three days, because everything fades at the same rate. So the colour is also capped by how much of the group’s load is left:
- Red only while at least half is left, about a day
- Amber at most while at least a quarter is left, about two days
- Green after that
Try it with your own numbers
Change any number to see the load scores and colours update. Leave the weight at 0 for bodyweight exercises.
| Muscle group | Sets | Reps | Weight | Hours since | Load score | Load left | Colour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chest | |||||||
| Back | |||||||
| Legs |
What the map can’t know
The map only sees what you log. It doesn’t know how well you slept, how fit you are or how a muscle actually feels, and the numbers above are rules of thumb, not medical advice. Use it as a reminder of what you’ve trained lately, and listen to your body.
In the app
The map is on the My Workouts tab for subscribers. Tap a muscle group to see its colour, load score, when you last trained it and the three exercises that added most to it. The fade described above applies from version 2.0.1 on iPhone and Android.