Focus Exercises

Focus Exercises add structure and consistency to your training by highlighting key compound lifts that repeat across a four-week cycle, giving you a clear way to track progress, refine technique, and build strength over time.

Table of Contents

Understanding Focus Exercises
How to Enable 
What to Expect
View Your Progress
FAQ

Understanding Focus Exercises

Focus Exercises are your primary strength movements. These are major compound lifts that engage multiple muscle groups at once, like squats, bench presses, and rows. Each workout typically includes one, rotating across your sessions to align with your training split and weekly goal.

They're selected based on your training split, available equipment, and exercise preferences. Reps and weights adjust automatically as you progress through each four-week cycle.

How To Enable 

Go to Workout tab → My Plan → scroll to Focus Exercises and toggle it ON.

Fitbod automatically selects a Focus Exercise for each training day when one is available. To change an exercise, tap the Replace icon (two arrows), then tap Save when done.

When assigned, your Focus Exercise appears at the top of each workout. Supporting exercises continue to adapt around it.

Note: Focus Exercises is compatible with the following goals: Build Muscle, Get Lean, and Get Stronger. If you see a compatibility message, adjust your goal or training settings as prompted.

What To Expect

Each Focus Exercise progresses through four phases over a four-week training cycle. Reps and weights automatically adjust based on your performance, so each phase feels challenging but manageable.

You’ll move to the next phase after completing all workouts in your current training split. If a workout is skipped, the phase will remain the same until every workout in the split is completed.

After completing all four phases, your Focus Exercises refresh and a new cycle begins. You can preview or replace exercises before beginning the next one.

Note: While all exercises adapt based on your performance, only Focus Exercises follow this structured phase progression.

View Your Progress

You can view your Focus Exercise progress anytime from the Body tab:

1. Tap the Body tab at the bottom of the screen.
2. Scroll down to the Focus Exercises section.
3. Swipe right to view your progress for each exercise.
4. Tap one to see detailed stats, including your estimated 1RM, personal records, and averages over time.

Your data updates automatically as you train, so you can easily see your progress week by week.

FAQ

Why can't I enable Focus Exercises?

Focus Exercises requires:

• One of these goals: Build Muscle, Get Lean, or Get Stronger
• Equipment-based workouts (not Bodyweight-Only)
• A compatible training split (not Fresh Muscle Groups) and Timed Intervals turned off.

Adjust your My Plan settings to meet these requirements.

Can I turn Focus Exercises off?

Why does my split seem out of order?

If your split looks off, it's because a day was swapped at some point in your phase. Swaps apply to that workout only. The overall split stays intact and continues from the next uncompleted day in your phase. When a new phase begins, the sequence resets to the start (e.g., Push for PPL).

Note: Focus Exercises need a stable internet connection to generate the correct workout for your split. If your connection drops during generation, you might get a workout that doesn't match your plan. If you saw an offline banner when your workout was generated, that's likely why. Make sure you're online before generating a new workout.

Can I change or replace a Focus Exercise?

Yes. You can replace a Focus Exercise anytime from:

• The (•••) menu next to the exercise in your workout, or
• My Plan → Focus Exercises

We recommend choosing a similar movement (e.g., swapping barbell squat for dumbbell squat) to stay aligned with your training plan. The replacement takes effect immediately and phase tracking continues with the new exercise.

Why can’t I select both Back Squat and Deadlift as Focus Exercises in a 3 day routine?

In 3-day routines, only one primary lower body focus exercise is prioritized at a time. Since Back Squat and Deadlift are both major lower body compound movements, you're limited to one as a focus exercise.

This helps manage training load and recovery when you have fewer workout days. You can rotate between squats and deadlifts across different cycles, or increase to 4+ days per week if you want both as focus exercises in the same week.

Why did my Focus Exercises change on their own?

Your Focus Exercises update automatically when you change your goal, training split, or available equipment. This keeps your plan aligned with your current setup and training focus.

Your Focus Exercises also update automatically after completing all four phases.

Can I delete a Focus Exercise?

You can remove a Focus Exercise from a single workout, but not delete it from your entire cycle.

To change a Focus Exercise, use Replace from the (•••) menu in your workout or go to My Plan → Focus Exercises. Focus Exercises stay consistent across your cycle to help you build strength and track progress over time.

How do I access training splits like PPL + Upper/Lower?

When Focus Exercises is enabled, additional training splits become available based on your weekly workout frequency:        

  To access these splits:

  1. Enable Focus Exercises (if you haven't already)

  2. Go to My Plan → Workouts / Week

  3. Set your weekly goal to match the frequency above

  4. Select your preferred split from the available options

Why didn't my workout include a Focus Exercise?

Not every workout will include a Focus Exercise, and that's normal. Focus Exercises are chosen from a curated list of compound movements based on your training split, available equipment, and exercise preferences.

Here are common reasons you might not see one:

• Equipment: Focus Exercises are big movements that often require equipment. If your setup doesn't include the right gear for that day's workout, one can't be assigned. This is most common on pull days: exercises like rows and pulldowns need equipment such as a pull-up bar, cables, barbells, or a machine.
• Exercise preferences: If you've excluded several key exercises (such as Barbell Bench Press, Back Squat, Deadlift, Bent Over Barbell Row, or Pull Up) there may not be enough options left to assign one.

Workouts without a Focus Exercise still contribute to your progress. Every session, whether it centers on big compound lifts or smaller accessory movements, plays an important role in a well-rounded program.

How can I get a Focus Exercise on every training day?

Add equipment in My Plan → Available Equipment. Even a single addition can open up new options:

• A pull-up bar unlocks Pull Ups, Chin Ups, and Neutral Grip Pull Ups
• A lat pulldown cable unlocks Lat Pulldowns, Reverse Grip Pulldowns, and Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns
• A row cable unlocks Cable Rows

Review your excluded exercises in My Plan → Manage Exercises. Re-enabling compound lifts like Bench Press, Barbell Row, or Lat Pulldown gives the app more to work with.

Try a different training split. If a particular day consistently has no available exercises, splits that include Upper/Lower (which combine push and pull into the same day) may work better with your setup.