Progression

Your first season, week by week

What happens after you download Train Smart — from the first testing session to a year of blocks — and why the program gets more useful the longer you run it.

Start your free month How setup works

One month free, then A$24.99/month. Cancel any time. iPhone and iPad.

Short answer

Train Smart runs in four-week blocks — three building weeks and a deload — and retests you on your sport’s five-test battery every 8 weeks. The free month covers the first complete block. The first retest comes after two blocks, and it is the first time the program measures what your training did and re-prices your weights and paces from the result.

Across a year that is 13 blocks and 6 retests, with each block’s character following your season.

The timeline

What happens, and when

Day one — a week built for you

Your sport, goal, available days, equipment, injuries and team nights. The first week is built around them before you close the app.

Week one — the testing session

Five numbers on your sport’s own battery. They set your starting weights and conditioning paces, so nothing in week one is a guess — and they become the baseline everything after is measured against.

Weeks one to three — the first block builds

The block’s character comes from where you are in the season. Muscle-building block: Higher reps, a little lighter — this block is about building tissue, not testing it. Max-strength block: Lower reps and heavier bars. Rest properly between sets; quality over quantity. Hit your reps and the weight goes up; miss them and it comes back.

Week four — the deload

Volume drops for a week. This is the week the previous three become fitness. If you started on the free month, it is ending around now — with one complete block behind you, not a sample of one.

Weeks five to eight — block two changes shape

The lifts rotate to a fresh selection and the block can change character — muscle-building into max-strength, or strength into power. The weights are priced from the top sets you just did.

After 8 weeks — the first retest

The same five tests, under the same conditions. A tested max re-prices every related exercise; a conditioning result resets your running paces. This is the first time you see, in numbers, what two blocks of structured training did.

When the season turns

Pre-season raises volume and converts strength to power. Once games start, volume comes down, the weights hold and the block becomes a maintenance block — so you are fresh on game day, not fighting your own program.

Month after month

Testing every 8 weeks builds a trend line of your own numbers across the season — the thing a single club testing day can never show you, and the thing that tells you which quality to chase next.

A year on the program

In numbers

Four-week blocks

Retests after your first

Tests in every battery

Block types across the year

Block types by season phase, cycling block to block
Sport	Off-season	Pre-season	In-season
AFL	Muscle-building → Max-strength	Max-strength → Power	Maintenance
Rugby league	Short break only	Max-strength → Power	Maintenance
Soccer	Muscle-building → Max-strength	Max-strength → Power	Maintenance
Basketball	Muscle-building → Max-strength	Power → Max-strength → Power	Maintenance
Netball	Muscle-building → Max-strength	Power → Max-strength → Power	Maintenance
Cricket	Muscle-building → Max-strength	Max-strength → Power	Maintenance
Rugby union	Muscle-building → Muscle-building → Max-strength	Max-strength → Power	Maintenance
Hockey	Muscle-building → Max-strength	Max-strength → Power	Maintenance
General fitness	No season — Muscle-building → Max-strength → Power
Bodybuilding	No season — Muscle-building → Muscle-building → Max-strength
Bodyweight training	No season — Muscle-building → Max-strength → Power

Boxing, MMA, gymnastics and dance periodise around a fight camp or competition block rather than a calendar month, and never run a muscle-building block — for those athletes, extra mass without extra strength is a cost.

Along the way

What reshapes the plan as you go

You get injured

A rehab block is woven into your existing sessions, conditioning is modified, and a short pain check-in decides whether the rehab progresses.

Injury rehab

You have a bad night

Sleep, HRV and resting heart rate from Apple Health feed a readiness score that lightens today’s working sets.

Readiness

Your week changes

Tell the AI coach you have three days instead of five, no barbell this month, or a sore knee — and the week rebuilds around it.

The AI coach

You move up a level

A coach can pair with you by @handle and write sessions straight into your program — and if your club joins, the club pays and your membership is free.

For clubs

FAQ

Questions about progressing

What happens when the free month ends?

Your membership continues at A$24.99 a month unless you cancel in your Apple ID subscription settings. The free month is an Apple introductory offer and can be used once per Apple ID. If you cancel during it, you keep access until the month ends.

How often does Train Smart retest me?

Every 8 weeks — exactly 2 four-week blocks — so the test lands on a block boundary rather than in the heaviest week of a build. The testing session replaces a session rather than being added on top.

Does the program change during the season?

Yes. Pre-season raises set volume and converts strength to power; once the competition starts, volume comes down, prescribed weights hold, and the block becomes a maintenance block so nothing accumulates into a game weekend.

Will I do the same sessions every month?

No. The lifts rotate to a fresh selection every block, and the block’s character — muscle-building, max-strength, power or maintenance — changes with your season phase, so block seven is a different program from block one rather than the same one with new exercise names.

What is a deload week?

The fourth week of every block, with reduced volume. It is not optional: it is the week the previous three turn into fitness. The deload guide.

Keep reading

Your first block starts this week

Download, answer a few questions, and run your testing session — the baseline every block after it is measured against.

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