The Workout Optimizer

How Knack Optimizes Your Workouts

By Jimmy Xiao, CSCS, ACSM-EP

Our Philosophy

“Would we happily give this program to a real client?” Each time our optimizer created a program, the answer had to be yes, or we come back to the drawing board.

Summary

Our optimizer is made up of “passes,” or steps within the optimizer where key coaching questions get answered. How much work you should do, how it should be organized, and what specific exercises fit you are answered among five passes. With the passes, specific constraints further narrow down exactly what your program should look like. With this framework, we aim to deliver personalized programs as if a coach was creating it.

What goes in

Your personal parameters.

Every answer serves multiple functions.

Time & days
How long you actually have per session, and how many sessions a week you can commit to.
Experience
How long you've trained and your starting conditioning level.
Goals
Strength, muscle, or general fitness.
Muscle priorities
What you want to bring up first, and what can wait.
Equipment
Exercises match your equipment availability.
Limits
Movements that have been cranky.
Preferences
The exercises that have worked well for you, and the implements you'd rather train with.
Your last program Not asked at signup
At the end of a program each exercise is evaluated for how effective it is for you. This affects the algorithm for future plans.
Optimizer overview

Five passes for your initial program.

We build your week in the following order. This allows us to comprehensively apply coaching principles and communicate to a computer.

  1. The Skeleton

    How much total work should you be doing? What muscles should you target on each of your available days?

    ReadsTime & daysGoalsExperience

    Session capacity60 sets · week
    Mon · Upper16
    Tue · Lower14
    Thu · Upper16
    Sat · Lower14
    Slight prioritization of upper body

  2. Movement Pattern Needs

    What should your work look like across movement patterns?

    The example below indicates a user who wants to prioritize back muscles, which require more pulling movements.

    ReadsMuscle prioritiesLimitsExperienceEquipment

    Weekly pattern volume60 of 60 sets
    Upper · 32 sets
    Vertical pull7
    Horizontal pull7
    Horizontal press4
    Vertical press3
    Shoulder abduction3
    Shoulder extension2
    Elbow flexion3
    Elbow extension3
    Lower · 22 sets
    Quads-focused squat5
    Glutes-focused squat3
    Hamstrings-focused hinge2
    Glutes-focused hinge2
    Knee extension3
    Knee flexion3
    Hip abduction2
    Plantar flexion2
    Trunk · 6 sets
    Spinal flexion3
    Lateral flexion3

  3. Movement Pattern Sorting

    How should we organize your workload across the week?

    ReadsTime & days

    Mon · Upper16 of 60 sets
    Vertical pull4 of 7
    Horizontal pull4 of 7
    Horizontal press2 of 4
    Vertical press3 of 3
    Elbow flexion2 of 3
    Elbow extension1 of 3
    1 of 4 days shown.

  4. Exercise Selection

    What exercises fit best for you to cover each movement pattern?

    ReadsExperienceGoalsEquipmentLimitsPreferencesTime & daysYour last program

    Mon · Upper6 exercises
    Incline Dumbbell Curl
    Chest-Supported Row
    Cable Triceps Pushdown
    Weighted Pull-Up
    Seated Dumbbell Press
    Barbell Bench Press
    Ruled out
    Barbell Overhead PressToo fatiguing
    Lat PulldownPattern already covered

  5. Organization

    What should we start with? How many reps should you do to promote the muscle adaptations you are looking for? How intense should we train?

    ReadsExperienceGoalsMuscle priorities

    Mon · Upper16 sets
    1Weighted Pull-Up4×5–83 RIR
    2Barbell Bench Press2×6–103 RIR
    3Chest-Supported Row4×8–123 RIR
    4Seated Dumbbell Press3×8–123 RIR
    5Incline Dumbbell Curl2×10–153 RIR
    6Cable Triceps Pushdown1×12–153 RIR
    Ordered by fatigue cost. Pull-ups were placed ahead of the bench press due to user priority. Three reps in reserve (RIR) is selected for all exercises as this is the beginning of a new program, so intensity can be lower.
Constraints

Okay, but what is the optimizer really answering to?

Here are a list of considerations that help the optimizer choose the exercises for you.

How your movement pattern needs are determined

6 checks
  1. 01Does this pattern move you toward the muscles you asked to prioritize?
  2. 02For this muscle, is the balance of compound to isolation patterns right for the sets it's getting?
  3. 03Back can be trained many ways, so is the spread of back patterns varied enough?
  4. 04Glutes can be trained many ways, so is the spread of glute patterns varied enough?
  5. 05Is this pattern appropriate for your experience level and exercise limitations?
  6. 06Is this pattern possible with the equipment you have?

How your movement patterns are sorted

6 checks
  1. 01Does this day carry too many sets, or too few?
  2. 02Is this muscle getting the right amount of work today, given the work it gets on your other days?
  3. 03Are the muscles this split day is meant to cover actually covered?
  4. 04Is each movement pattern slot receiving an appropriate amount of sets based on muscle priorities?
  5. 05Are there too many movement pattern slots for one day?
  6. 06Are there too little movement pattern slots for one day?

How your exercises are selected

17 checks
  1. 01Is this exercise efficient for the time you have?
  2. 02Does it match your implement preferences for dumbbells, barbells, or machines?
  3. 03Is it appropriate for your experience level?
  4. 04Is it a fundamental, or a niche movement better saved for later experimentation?
  5. 05How well does it serve your goal of strength, muscle, or general fitness?
  6. 06Are single-limb and two-limb versions properly distributed across your exercises?
  7. 07When the same pattern repeats across the week, do the exercises vary?
  8. 08Does your last program, or a preference you've stated, argue for or against it?
  9. 09Is hamstring isolation work varied across lengthened and shortened positions?
  10. 10Do the calves get comparable exposure at lengthened and shortened positions?
  11. 11Is rear-delt work balanced between face-pull-style and normal variations?
  12. 12Are the biceps and triceps being trained across lengthened, neutral, and shortened positioning in roughly equal share?
  13. 13Is the work for side delts being distributed across variations where peak tension is at different muscle lengths?
  14. 14Does the rectus abdominis and oblique work spread evenly across lengthened, shortened, and isometric work?
  15. 15Is chest isolation balanced across lengthened, shortened, and inclined work?
  16. 16Are flat, incline, and decline pressing angles represented in equal share?
  17. 17Is grip style and pulling width varied for back movements?

Questions, concerns, or suggestions? Contact us, we’re happy to chat.

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