Programs vs workouts vs templates

Three words come up everywhere in Rackd: program, workout, template. They are not interchangeable. Each one solves a different problem, and picking the right one saves you from rebuilding the same thing twice.

Programs

A program is a multi-week structure. It plans your training over time: which days you lift, which lifts run on which day, how weights move from session to session, and when a deload sits in the cycle. 5/3/1, 5x5, a 12-week push/pull/legs build, all programs. You add one to My Rack, tap Start, and Rackd handles progression with one of the 11 systems behind the scenes.

Pick a program when you want a plan that runs for weeks without redesigning it every Sunday.

Workouts

A workout is a single session. One day, one set of lifts, one log. When you tap Start on a program day, Rackd generates that day's workout from the program's schedule. It knows which lifts, sets, target weights, and rest timers apply today. It does not care about next week.

A workout can also live outside a program. Open Explore, filter by muscle group, equipment, or duration, and run any one as a standalone session. Pick a workout when you want to train today without a multi-week commitment.

Templates

A template is a reusable session shape. It captures the lifts, sets, rep targets, and rest cues, but no calendar and no progression rules. Save a workout as a template and rerun it next week or next month with the same structure and fresh logging.

Inside a program, every day is built from a day-type template that defines what that kind of day looks like. Outside a program, a personal template is your own go-to session: travel pull day, hotel-gym arms, garage bodyweight finisher. Pick a template when you want repeatability without a program around it.

When to reach for each

Program: you want a plan that runs for 4, 8, or 12 weeks with progression handled. Workout: you want one session today, logged and done. Template: you want a session shape you can rerun on demand without a program around it.

Three layers, three jobs. Programs hold the long arc, workouts are the day, templates are the shape you keep coming back to.