Stubborn on progress,
flexible on life.

Bring your knack out for strength training.

Rooted in coaching practice and research, Knack handles and guides you through your program, updating it based on your physiology, recovery, and progress. And when life throws you off, worry less about replanning as Knack keeps you progressing with the work that matters most.

Join the waitlist
Coach-built Math-driven optimization Smart adjustments
Missed sessions don’t break the program.

Key compounds kept. Sets trimmed. Keeps you moving forward.

Considers Recovery in Context
Schedule-Sensitive
Smart Progressive Overload
Built to Outlast Motivation
Based on Coaching Practice and Research

Our mission

“We’re building a world where you make the gains you never thought you could.

That means programming tailored to you, guidance that hits just at the right times, and applied behavior science that isn’t just telling you to ‘be more disciplined’.

The vision: an app that functions as a good coach. We’re making it possible to delegate the complexity, so you can just focus on showing up and training.”

Gavin Bender and Jimmy Xiao on the gym floor, mid-conversation over a loaded bar.
Gavin Bender Co-Founder & CTO
Jimmy Xiao, CSCS, ACSM-EP Co-Founder & CEO
02Built to compound

Plan less. Progress more.
For the long run.

01

Get a program tailored to you

Experience, goals, equipment, preferences, and limits are all considered.

02

Fit it with your schedule

Check your confidence before committing. We support calendar syncing, too.

03

Progress according to your physiology

Our algorithms do progressive overload based on your recovery and physiological feedback.

04

Finish strong, build the next

What worked well in your current plan shapes your next program.

Join the waitlist $19/month. Your first month is on us. No card required.
03The coach behind

Make every rep count.

Optimization driven by coaching logic

We developed a proprietary non-AI optimizer to build and edit your routine based on how coaches think. Every exercise and set earns its place.

Tailored feedback

In-app tips tell you when to push intensity, focus on technique, or swap exercises entirely.

150+ “Details matter” technique videos

Built-in to make sure you’re getting a good stimulus, and so you’re not wasting your time looking for a good explanation.

Prioritized recovery when needed

If your performance starts degrading and you feel less energized, we’ll back you off.

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04Reprogrammed when called for

Say when and where.
We’ll say what and how.

  • Built-in Scheduling System

    Easily plan when you'll do your workouts, reorganize, and sync to your personal calendar.

  • Smart Merging

    Need to miss a day? Auto-combine your sessions to keep the important work and optimize for your time.

  • Time and Equipment changes

    Time is tight? Or training somewhere else? Knack adjusts with just a few taps.

  • Exercise swaps based on context

    Someone taking forever on a machine? Or a movement not feeling good? Change it out for a similar exercise without having to look for it.

Week 5 of 8

22 of 40 Sessions Completed
Month Calendar Sync
October 2026
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
27
Wk 4 D1Upper
28
Wk 4 D2Legs
29
30
Wk 4 D3Push
1
Wk 4 D4Pull
2
3
Wk 4 D5Legs
4
Wk 5 D1Upper
5
Wk 5 D2Legs
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
Workout
Planning
Hub
Profile

Week 5 of 8

22 of 39 Sessions Completed
Month Calendar Sync
October 2026
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
27
Wk 4 D1Upper
28
Wk 4 D2Legs
29
30
Wk 4 D3Push
1
Wk 4 D4Pull
2
3
Wk 4 D5Legs
4
Wk 5 D1Upper
5
Wk 5 D2Legs
6
7
Busy
8
Wk 5 D4Push + Pull
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
Workout
Planning
Hub
Profile

Week 5 Day 4

Thu, Oct 8, 2026
45–60 min Outfitted Gym
Coaching Note

This session merges your most important work from your unfinished Push day with Pull.

IntensityHigh
Set Changes
  • 43Incline Barbell Press
  • 43Chest-Supported Row
  • 32Weighted Chin-Up
  • 32Standing Overhead Press
  • 21Rope Triceps Extension
  • 21Preacher Curl
2 more
Exercise Changes

DroppedCable Lateral Raise, Cable Crossover, Face Pull, Concentration Curl

Chest
Technique
Incline Barbell Press
Barbell
WeightReps
135
×
8
135
×
8
135
×
8

Week 6 Day 1

Equipment Select
Commercial Athletic facility Home gym
Free weights1/3
  • Dumbbells
  • Barbell & Plates
  • Trap Bar
Benches & racks1/4
  • Adjustable BenchAlso covers Flat Bench
  • Flat Bench
  • Squat Rack
  • Smith Machine
Machines & cables0/4
  • Cable Tower
  • Lat Pulldown
  • Leg Press
  • Leg Curl

Week 6 Day 1

Sun, Oct 11, 2026
30–45 min Home gym
Chest
Technique
Dumbbell Bench Press
Dumbbells
WeightReps
60
×
10
60
×
10
60
×
9
Back
Technique
Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
Dumbbells
WeightReps
70
×
10
70
×
10
70
×
10
Shoulders
Technique
Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Dumbbells
WeightReps
40
×
12
40
×
11

Week 6 Day 5

Mon, Oct 19, 2026
45–60 min Outfitted Gym
Quads
Technique
Barbell Back Squat
Barbell
WeightReps
185
×
8
Swap exercise

Barbell Back Squat

Different equipmentHack Squat
Different movementBulgarian Split Squat
SimplerGoblet Squat
More complexFront Squat
Search manually

Curious or skeptical? More details on these pages.

How are my workouts optimized?

Five passes, with lots of constraints. 

How does this app help me stay consistent?

Behavioral sciences, applied. 

How is my recovery monitored? How is progressive overload handled?

Push hard, pull back when needed. 

Coach-built.
Not coach-priced.

Limited launch special To find out
$0/ first month

First month free, no card required. Nothing to cancel.

Join the waitlist

*A free tier will be available for simple logging and data tracking

*See FAQ for student discounts

05Join the waitlist

Get the guidance of a coach, without one.

“I hope you liked the website. Thank you for checking us out. We’re trying to get this out by late October. Join the waitlist and we’ll keep you posted! You’re welcome to contact us with any feedback, questions, or if you just want to chat. I also wrote additional pages in the Details tab to explain how things will work more. Make sure to check it out.”

— Jimmy, Co-Founder & CEO

Target launch: Late October

Limited launch special Your first month is free at launch. No card required, because we're not hoping you forget to cancel.

By clicking Join the waitlist, you agree to our Waitlist Terms and Privacy Policy. You must be 18 or older.

Your info is never sold.

You're on the list.

Thank you for joining! We'll keep you updated.

06Questions

FAQs

Is Knack available now?
Not yet. We plan to launch in late October 2026, and we'll email you if that changes. Join the waitlist and we'll let you know the moment Knack officially launches.
Is Knack AI-based?

No, not in the machine-learning or language-model sense. All proprietary algorithms are based on evidence and coaching heuristics. Down the road, we’ll test if AI can produce even more accurate coaching results. When/if it does, we’ll apply it. We’ll let you know.

Note: We do use AIs/LLMs to help us build this app. Implementation of it in the app is what is restrained.

Does Knack track my progress?
Absolutely! Your lifts are calculated to estimated 1-rep-maxes and plotted on a graph.
Is there a student discount?
Yes. Students pay $9/month or $69/year while you're enrolled.
If I don't renew, what happens to my logged workouts?
There'll be a free tier that works as a logger with analytics. If you like our UI you can log away without ever paying for the premium. If you don't continue with premium, what you lose is the “smart” stuff.
Is it for beginners or experienced lifters?

Good programming is good programming. We can only build for beginners if we consider what works for the experienced, and vice-versa. So, both beginners and experienced lifters can benefit a lot.

“I have been lifting for over 7 years and plan to use our app as long as we can keep the server running. Or when the zombie apocalypse comes. Then unfortunately I’ll have to give up my gains to survive.” —Jimmy

Join the waitlist